MFL Weekend Round Up (Premier and Division One)

​Premier Division

Congleton Town 2-0 Lichfield City

Congleton got a huge win against Lichfield City on Saturday to continue their unbeaten home record and extend their lead at the top of the league. The Bears are now eight points clear at the top of the premier division with eight matches remaining. They have been excellent this season at step five and making Booth Street a fortress has gone a long way with fourteen wins and one draw.

An incredible crowd of 1,002 supporters turned up to see Congleton get their 18th league win of the season. In a tight game, two second half goals from Congleton made the difference with Daniel Needham and Richard Duffy scoring to give the Bears the three points.

Congleton have responded to the challenge of joining a new league well. They now have a strong chance of playing in the Northern Premier League next season and competing at step four.

There’s no shame in losing to Congleton for Lichfield and the visitors are still in with a strong chance of finishing in the top three which will be the aim between now and the end of the season.    

Dudley Town 2-0 Uttoxeter Town

Dudley continued their impressive unbeaten run by beating Uttoxeter 2-0 at the Guardian Warehousing Arena on Saturday afternoon. It’s now 13 matches unbeaten for the Robins in the league and the result moves them up to 7th in the table. They have been incredible since December with 35 points from 13 matches.

A good crowd of 161 supporters turned up to see Dudley Town get their seventh home win of the season. Harry Crook scored a second half brace to give the Robins the three points against Uttoxeter Town who are comfortably in mid table.

​Uttoxeter were just unlucky to meet one of the form teams in the league on Saturday. It’s now four consecutive losses for the visitors but they have the chance to respond on Tuesday against Tividale.  

Highgate United 4-3 Stourport Swifts

Highgate got a crucial win at the Coppice on Saturday to keep their play off push on track. A decent crowd of 67 supporters turned up to watch Highgate get their ninth home win of the season. The result leaves them 4th and three points better off than Darlaston Town in 6th who drew with Atherstone Town at the weekend.

The win was capped off by Ryan Harkin scoring a hat-trick for Highgate. Stourport showed character in the second half and managed to score three goals thanks to efforts from Goodluck Eke who scored a brace and Drew Canavan. Bassit Mandey also got on the scoresheet for Highgate in the second half in an action-packed match.

Stourport have been better on the road of late and notably beat Uttoxeter in February alongside testing the likes of Highgate United this weekend. There in a good position in the play off race and three points better off than Darlaston in 6th.

Studley 3-2 AFC Wulfrunians

Studley continued their excellent home form with a win against top half side AFC Wulfrunians at the weekend. Their now in 3rd and seven points better off than Darlaston Town in 6th in the race for the play offs. None the less, the teams below them have a few games in hand so getting points on the board leaves them in a good position.

A decent crowd of 68 supporters watched Studley get their 10th home win of the season against a good AFC Wulfrunians side. They started the match brightly and went into a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes thanks to efforts from Zach Guinan and Reiss Taylor Randle. The visitors responded through a Finlay Barker goal to make it 2-1 before Studley scored again near the end of the first half through Zach Guinan to make it 3-1 at half time.

AFC Wulfrunians got a goal back in the second half thanks to an effort by Daniel Munday, but Studley held out to get the three points. The hosts did well to see the match out and were reduced to ten men early in the second half with Zak Harbon being sent off in the 55th minute. 

Division One

Coventry Copsewood 2-3 Wednesfield

Wednesfield got a brilliant win to cement their position in the play offs on Saturday. It’s been an incredible few months for the visitors who have won six consecutive matches in the league to sit in 2nd and four points better off than Bilston in 6th. A key part of their success has been away from home with seven wins from 13 matches.

Coventry Copsewood took the lead in the first half thanks to a penalty by Daniel Lole to make it 1-0 going into the break.  Wednesfield showed character in the second half and managed to score three goals thanks to a brace from Freddie Cockerell and a solo effort from Jay Holdcroft. The hosts scored in the second half directly from a corner thanks to Charlie Gordon which made it 2-2 at one stage.

Despite the loss, the hosts are comfortably in mid table and in no real danger of getting dragged into a relegation battle.
They have gone a bit under the radar but are having a good season at step six with Sean Kavanagh scoring 14 goals in all competitions.

Nuneaton Griff 6-2 AFC Bridgnorth

Nuneaton Griff got a momentum building 6-2 win against AFC Bridgnorth at the Pingles Stadium at the weekend. The win cements the Heartlander’s position in mid table and they are well clear of any relegation concerns with a fourteen-point gap over the bottom three.

A good crowd of 90 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch Nuneaton Griff get their fifth home win of the season. It was a team effort in front of goal with their six goals coming from efforts by Matt Chadaway, Ruben Wade, Lucinee Donzo, Jared Bradshaw and substitutes Jacob Dumbleton and Harry Taylor. AFC Bridgnorth scored what proved to be two consolation goals.

It’s been a tough few months for AFC Bridgnorth with one point from their last seven matches. They are currently five points off safety with ten matches remaining this season to stay at step six.  

Paget Rangers 1-3 Heather St John’s

Heather St John’s got a big win against Paget Rangers at Coles Lane to have an outside chance of the play offs. The win leaves the Saints in 9th and three points off the top five. None the less, they have played a few games more than the teams above them and would have to rely on teams slipping up between now and the end of the season.

It’s Heather St John’s fifth away win of the season and their now three matches unbeaten in the league. The goals for the visitors came from efforts by Jake Finnerty, Kian Taylor and prolific striker Kyle Jardine to give the Saints the three points. Paget scored what proved to be a consolation effort in a defeat.

Paget are currently three points off safety with nine matches remaining. They got a huge win against Wolves Sporting last weekend to give themselves a chance of finishing above the bottom three. The Bears will need to get on a run of form and rely on Wolves Sporting slipping up with their two games in hand over the next few months. None the less, it’s not a lost cause just yet for Paget. 

Sutton United 2-5 Cradley Town

Cradley Town got a momentum building win against Sutton United at Coleshill Road on Saturday to give their play off chances a boost. It’s the Hammers sixth away win of the season and leaves them in 7th and only two points off the play offs.

It was a team effort in front of goal by Cradley with efforts from Harry Edwards, Luke Morris, Umara Saho and substitutes Farid Mikidam and Cameron Milne giving them the three points.

Sutton United were competitive in this match and got to a stage where they were close to making it 3-3 at one stage. The hosts are comfortably in mid table and challenging for a top half finish in step six this season.

They have gone a bit under the radar due to the race for the play offs but are having a brilliant first season at this level having come up from division two. It will be interesting to see how they get on next season. 

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