MFL Weekend Round up (FA Vase, second round)

​AFC Wulfrunians 2-3 Stourport Swifts

Stourport Swifts got an impressive win away at AFC Wulfrunians on Saturday to progress to the third-round draw.  The Swifts have been on an eye-catching run in the FA Vase with an outstanding home win at Sherwood Colliery in the previous round.

It’s been a positive season for Stourport so far and their also firmly in the mix for the play offs in the MFL Premier division. New signing Goodluck Eke scored a first half brace for Stourport on his debut to make it 2-0 to the visitors going into half time.

Adam Hanson scored for the Swifts in the second half to make it 3-0 late on before AFC Wulfrunians got a couple of consolation goals. Brad Maslen Jones scored a late brace for the Wulfs in the last five minutes to make the final score 3-2 to the visitors.

Despite the defeat, AFC Wulfrunians have been playing well since the appointment of Carl Abbott and can now focus on building a run of form in the league to challenge for the play offs.        

Boston Town 1-1 Stone Old Alleynians (Boston Town win on penalties 3-0)

Boston Town beat Stone Old Alleynians on penalties to advance to the third round of the FA Vase and continue their good record at home. This match was the tightest of the matches involving a MFL side this weekend and could have gone either way. A good crowd of 75 supporters turned up to watch Boston Town win against Stone Old Alleynians on Saturday.  

The match involved an unfortunate injury to Ollie Davis for Stone Old Alleynians who had to be taken to hospital. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery and can return to the pitch soon.

Stone Old Alleynians took the lead early in the second half with Sam Wilson scoring in the 49th for the Stoke based club. Richard Ford equalised for the Poachers later in the second half to take the tie to penalties following full time.

Boston Town played well in the penalty shootout and managed to win 3-0 to progress to the third round thanks to well taken penalties by Liam Adams, Layton Maddison and Marshall Young.         

Congleton Town 3-1 Loughborough Students

Congleton beat play off chasing Loughborough Students 3-1 on Saturday afternoon to progress to the third round. An excellent crowd of 425 supporters turned up at Booth Street to watch the Bears get the win and continue their notable record at home.

First half goals from Darren Chadwick and George Sankey gave the Bears a 2-0 lead at half time. Max McCarthy scored for the Cheshire club in the second half to effectively seal the match. Loughborough managed to find a consolation goal late on with Dylan Edwards scoring in the 73rd minute to make it 3-1.

It was an impressive win for Congleton who have grown into the season. The Bears are playing well in both the league and the FA Vase.  

Eastwood Community 4-1 Dudley Town

Eastwood won against Dudley Town at Coronation Park to be in the draw for the third round later this afternoon. The Nottingham club have been excellent in the premier Division North of the United Counties league this season. A good crowd of 71 supporters watched Eastwood continue their good home record with a win against the Robins on Saturday.

First half goals from Terry Atem in the 20th minute and substitute Kamani Wilson in the 38th minute gave Eastwood a 2-0 lead at half time. Tyler Blake scored in the 61st minute to make it 3-0 and effectively seal the match before Kamani Wilson struck again to make it 4-0 in the 77th minute. Dudley managed to get a goal back late on through an own goal to make the final score 4-1 to Eastwood Community.

Despite the result, the Robins have had a good run in the FA Vase and faced one of the more difficult ties of the second round this weekend. They can now focus on battling to avoid relegation from the MFL Premier Division and are away at Darlaston Town on Saturday.  

Hallam 3-2 Atherstone Town

Hallam continued their recent momentum in the league with a good home win against Atherstone Town to progress to the third round. An excellent crowd of 648 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch the countrymen get the win against the Adders at Sandy gate.

Jake Brown scored in the 37th minute to give Atherstone the lead before Iren Wilson equalised for Hallam on the stroke of half time to make it 1-1 at the break. Atherstone took the lead through an own goal in the middle of the second half to make it 2-1 to the visitors.

Hallam managed to find a response late on and equalised in the 80th minute through Nicolantonio Degirolamo to make it 2-2. The Countrymen pushed on in search of a late winner and were rewarded with a goal for Calum Ward in the 89th minute to make it 3-2 at full time.  

It’s a tough result to take for Atherstone, but the North Counties East premier division is a strong league with a lot of quality teams in it. The Adders can now focus on the league and pushing for a top half finish come the end of the season.    

Highgate United 3-1 Pinchbeck United

Highgate continued their excellent season so far with a home win against Pinchbeck United at the Coppice to get through to the third round. The Gate have been notably strong at home and continued it here against the Knights in front of a crowd of 53 supporters.

The visitors from Lincolnshire took a surprise lead in the first half through Ben Robson to lead 1-0 at half time. Pinchbeck have been struggling in the premier division north of the United Counties League this season and would have been the underdogs coming into this match.

The way they competed with Highgate shows the character in the squad. Hopefully it can aid their battle to stay in the division. Highgate responded in the second half and produced when it mattered to avoid the upset and get through. Shay Palmer scored in the 47th minute to make it 1-1 before substitute Ryan Harkin came on and scored a brace for the Solihull club late on to win the match.

The Gate have form in the FA Vase and went on a notable run last season before getting a tough draw against Walsall Wood and bowing out in the third round.        

Tividale 2-0 Shirebrook Town

Tividale got a notable win at home against Shirebrook Town to avoid an upset and advance to the third round. Despite being a league higher than the visitors this looked like a match where there could be an upset with Tividale struggling in the league. Full credit to Tividale for getting the win against an in-form team at step six in front of a crowd of 94 supporters at the Beeches.

There was not much in the match and Shirebrook Town more than held their own against step five opposition and went into half time 0-0. The Derbyshire club competed well with Tividale throughout the 90 minutes and made a match of it. Taylor Townsend was the difference and scored a second half brace for Tividale to make the full time score 2-0.

Despite struggling in the league, Tividale’s run in the FA Vase has been a key positive this season with quality wins against Wisbech Town and Shirebrook Town giving the squad confidence in their battle to stay in the MFL Premier Division.     

Wolverhampton Casuals 1-3 Worcester City

Worcester City got a noteworthy away win at Wolverhampton Casuals to be in the draw for the third round this afternoon. The Cassies had a tough second round draw and came up against the league leaders in the Hellenic League premier division.

Liam Lockett scored in the 10th minute to give Worcester City the lead and was a moment of genuine quality from the visitors. Wolverhampton Casuals found an equaliser in the 44th minute with Joe Drakeley scoring from a header to make it 1-1.

The visitors responded immediately through a goal by Dylan Hart into first half injury time to make it 2-1 going into half time. Worcester managed to find a third early in the second half with Jamie Insall scoring in the 51st minute to make it 3-1. The Hellenic league side managed to see out the match to get through and will be looking forward to the third round draw this afternoon.  

Despite the defeat, it’s been a good run in the FA Vase from Wolverhampton Casuals and the club can now focus on staying in the MFL Premier Division. The Cassies have a huge game away at Bewdley Town this weekend in league action.  

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