MFL Weekend round up (FA Vase, first round proper)

Bishop Auckland 3-0 Northwich Victoria

​Bishop Auckland continued their excellent season with a convincing 3-0 win at Heritage Park against Northwich Victoria. An impressive crowd of 408 supporters turned up to watch the Two Blues progress to the second round of the FA Vase.

Craig Gott opened the scoring for Bishop Auckland in first half stoppage time to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. A brace from Liam Henderson in the second half made it 3-0 at full time and a deserved victory for the side from County Durham.

It was always going to be a tough test for Northwich this weekend. The amount of travelling involved and the challenge of facing one of the best teams in step five made it tough to cause an upset. The Vics can now focus on the league and get some results over the next few weeks to climb up the table.  

Lichfield City 4-1 Romulus

Lichfield recorded an impressive home win against Romulus at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium to progress to the second round. A good crowd of 123 supporters turned up to watch Lichfield continue their positive start to the season.

The hosts were brilliant throughout the 90 minutes and took control of the match in the first half.  Daniel Smith opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Dan Lomas scored in the 31st minute to make it 2-0. A late goal in the first half by Liam Kirton made it 3-0 going into half time.

Lichfield scored again late on in the second half with Liam Kirton finishing well from a header to make it 4-0. Romulus managed to score a consolation goal through Jose Paz in the 89th minute to make the full time score 4-1.

The win equals Lichfield’s best run in the FA Vase and the club will be looking forward to the second-round draw this afternoon.  

Stourport Swifts 2-1 Sherwood Colliery

Stourport got a statement win against Sherwood Colliery on Saturday to progress to the second round. The visitors had been flying in the Premier Division North of the United Counties League going into this match and were marginal favourites to get a result.

Stourport’s record at home has been their main strength this season and has put the Swifts in play off contention with five wins from six matches. Beating Sherwood Colliery at home has to be one of the standout results in the FA Vase this weekend involving a MFL team. A good crowd of 145 supporters turned up to the match at Walshes Meadow on Saturday to watch Stourport get through to the second round.  

Sherwood took the lead in the first half when Jobe Shaw finished well from a cross to make it 1-0. Stourport equalised later in the half through Jack Watts to make it 1-1 going into half time.

The second half involved an outstanding goal from Adam Hanson. He scored a goal of the season contender from a bicycle scissor kick into the top corner to give the Swifts the win.  

Wolverhampton Casuals 3-1 Whittlesea Athletic

Wolverhampton Casuals put in a composed performance to avoid an upset in the FA Vase and progress to the second round. Whittlesea were looking to get an eye-catching win against a team from a higher division and travelled all the way from Cambridge for this match.

The Cassies went into the half time break with a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Joe Clarke and Tom Hurley in the opening 22 minutes to take control of the match.

Benny Wilson scored early in the second half to make it 3-0 before Whittlesea managed to get a consolation goal late on through Aaron Dunmore to make it 3-1.

The win equals the Cassies best run in the FA Vase where they reached the second round seven years ago.

Hinckley AFC 1-4 Stone Old Alleynians

Stone Old Alleynians got an excellent win away at Hinckley AFC to progress to the second round. An excellent crowd of 162 supporters turned up on Friday night at Kirkby Road to see the visitors get the win.

Louis Anthony opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute before Matt Thomas made it 2-0 in the 25th minute. Hinckley managed to get a goal back later in the first half through Lewis Rankin in the 40th minute to make it 2-1 going into half time.

Matt Thomas scored again early in the second half to make it 3-1 and give Stone Old Alleynians control of the match. Substitute Will Lloyd made it 4-1 to the Stoke club late on to cap off a brilliant win against a quality side from a division lower.

The win equals the club’s best run in the FA Vase where they reached the second-round last season before bowing out to Atherstone Town.     

Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League