MFL Weekend Round up (Premier Division)

​Congleton Town 2-0 Romulus

Congleton continued their brilliant form at Booth Street with a huge win against Romulus on Saturday afternoon. An excellent crowd of 550 supporters turned up to watch the Bears open a crucial six-point gap at the top of the table.

Carl Dickinson opened the scoring for the hosts in the 26th minute to take a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Max McCarthy made it 2-0 early in the second half and scored in the 61st minute to seal the three points. The win makes it seven wins from seven matches at home in the league for Congleton.

The Cheshire club have been one of the standout teams in step five so far this season. They play Lincoln United away in the third round of the FA Vase on the 2nd December before a crucial stretch in the league between the 16th December to the 6th January where they play five matches.  

Despite the loss, Romulus are still in the play off hunt and are only three points off Darlaston Town in 5th. The Roms are next in league action away at Darlaston Town on the 2nd December and have plenty of the season left to narrow the gap. They are currently in 8th with 21 points from 15 matches.     

Darlaston Town 3-2 Dudley Town

A last-minute penalty from James Rowland gave Darlaston Town the win against Dudley Town in front an excellent crowd of 220 supporters at the Paycare Stadium. The win keeps the citizens in the mix for the play offs, and their currently in 5th with 24 points from 13 matches.

The match was eventful and involved a lot of quality from both teams to make for a thrilling contest. James Rowland scored in the middle of the first half to give Darlaston the lead and capitalised on a Rivel Mardenborough shot that was blocked to make it 1-0.

The Robins found an equaliser later in the first half from a quality free kick routine. Harry Crook took it and found Connor Archer who scored from a header to make it 1-1.

Darlaston managed to re-take the lead a few minutes later with Aaron Bishop beating his man and finishing well from 18 yards out. Harry Crook was fouled for a penalty for Dudley in the second half. Dan Danks was on hand to convert the penalty to make it 2-2.

An unfortunate handball by Lewis Mitchell late on gave Darlaston a penalty which was well taken by James Rowland to give the Citizens the three points. To compound matters for the Robins, Lewis Mitchell was also sent off by receiving a second yellow card for the handball. 

The result was tough on Dudley Town who competed well and showed a lot of character in the second half to get back into the match. Despite being in 17th with five points from 13 matches, Dudley are capable of staying up and have been a bit unlucky in a few of their matches so far.         

Stourport Swifts 1-1 Lichfield City

Stourport continued their unbeaten record at home with a 1-1 draw against an in-form Lichfield City at Walshes Meadow. A notable crowd of 157 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch two play off chasing teams battle it out in a tight contest.

Benjamin Tilbury gave the swifts the lead in the middle of the second half and scored in the 65th minute. Stourport were close to sealing an impressive win against Lichfield before the visitors responded through a late goal in the 90th minute. Full back Lewi Burnside got into a good position at the back post before finishing well to make it 1-1 at full time.

The result makes it nine games unbeaten for Lichfield and underlines why they have been so good in the division this season. The visitors are in 2nd with 29 points from 14 matches and have two games in hand over Congleton.

Stourport are just outside the play offs. The Swifts are in 7th with 23 points from 13 matches. It’s been a really good season so far from the Worcestershire club in both the league and the FA Vase. Their through to the third round and play Eastwood Community away from home.         

Uttoxeter Town 1-0 AFC Wulfrunians

Uttoxeter got a brilliant win against AFC Wulfrunians at the Oldfield Sports Ground to continue their recent run of form in the league. Tom Thorley scored late on in the 88th minute to give the Staffordshire side the three points and continue their push for the play offs.

They have picked up 10 points from their last six matches and are currently on a run of three consecutive wins. The club have gone a bit under the radar within the division but are in 6th with 24 points from 14 matches and level on points with Darlaston in 5th. A key part of their success has been their home record with just one loss from seven matches.

Despite the loss, AFC Wulfrunians are not out of the play-off chase and only four points off Darlaston in 5th. The Wulfs are 10th with 20 points from 16 matches and have shown moments of quality this season.    

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