MFL Weekend Round Up (Premier Division)

​Bewdley Town 0-6 Atherstone Town

Bewdley’s home problems continued with a 6-0 lose against Atherstone Town at Ribbesford Meadow on Saturday afternoon. It’s been a challenging season for the Worcestershire side, and they have struggled at home with nine consecutive losses in the league.

The result leaves them 15 points off safety and it’s looking an uphill task to stay at step five for next season. It’s all about building for step six when relegation is confirmed and hopefully the club can bounce back.

Atherstone have been one of the form teams since the turn of the New Year and they continued it here against Bewdley Town. The result makes it five wins from their last six league matches and leaves them just five points off the play offs.

A commendable crowd of 94 supporters turned up to watch Atherstone get their fourth away win of the season.  The visitors controlled the first half and went 4-0 up at half time thanks to efforts from Ryan Quinn, Tom Smith, Richard Blythe and Nathan McGarrity in what was an excellent team performance from the Adders.

Further goals in the second half from Jess Adcock and Jacob Shilton made it 6-0 at full time and helped Atherstone’s goal difference. It’s been a positive season for the visitors who have an outside chance of the play offs.

Dudley Town 5-1 Stourport Swifts

Dudley Town continued their excellent home form with a convincing 5-1 win against play off chasers Stourport Swifts on Saturday. The Guardian Warehousing Arena has been a real strength for the Robins this season with only three losses from 13 matches at home.

An excellent crowd of 186 supporters turned up to watch Dudley’s sixth home win of the season. Harry Crook opened the scoring in the first half for the hosts before Stourport found an equaliser to make it 1-1 going into half time. Dudley found another gear in the second half with Harry Crook completing his hat trick and Ethan Muckley also getting on the score sheet. There was also an own goal by Stourport to make it 5-1 at full time.

Stourport’s issues on the road continued. It could prevent them from getting in the play offs which would be a shame as they have been excellent at Walshes Meadow.   

Lichfield City 2-0 Highgate United

Lichfield continued their impressive home form at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium with a huge win against play off chasers Highgate United at the weekend. The result continues Lichfield’s unbeaten home record where they have conceded just 9 goals from 14 matches.

A brilliant crowd of 187 supporters turned up to watch Lichfield get their 11th home win of the season to leave them only five points off Congleton Town. Second half goals from Jack Edwards and Dominic Lewis gave Lichfield the three points. It was a clinical performance from Lichfield who produced the quality when it mattered to get the win.

Despite the loss, Highgate are still in a good position in the league and are three points better off than Stourport Swifts in 6th with the same number of games played.

Romulus 3-4 Studley

Studley beat Romulus in a thriller at the CV Stadium at the weekend to cement their position in the play offs. A good crowd of 83 supporters turned up to watch Studley get their 4th away win of the season and continue their consistent record on the road with just three losses from eleven matches.

Romulus got off to a brilliant start and took the lead through Isai Marselia inside the opening ten minutes. The visitors responded and efforts from Finley Holmes and Zach Guinan made it 2-1 to Studley at the end of the first half.

The hosts showed character to get back in it and took the lead early in the second half thanks to goals from Rob Hanna and Jack Sang to make it 3-2. Studley found an equaliser near the hour mark through Zach Guinan before John Mills scored a late winner in the 80th minute to give the Bees the three points.

The Roms competed well in this match against a play off chasing team and there’s some positives to take going into the next run of matches.  

Shifnal Town 1-1 Darlaston Town

Darlaston got a battling point against Shifnal Town at the Acoustafoam Stadium in their hunt for the play offs. It could prove to be a big point in the race for the top five with Stourport Swifts struggling against Dudley Town at the weekend.

A notable crowd of 88 supporters turned up to watch the match in Shropshire. Michael Nelson scored early on for Shifnal to give them the lead before Alexander Foreshaw scored an equaliser just before half time to make it 1-1.

Out of the two teams, Darlaston will be happier with the point and Shifnal might have to settle for a top half finish for the rest of the season. 

Stone Old Alleynians 1-1 Wolverhampton Casuals

Wolverhampton Casuals battled to get a point against Stone Old Alleynians at Kings Park to give themselves some breathing space over the bottom two. A decent crowd of 67 supporters turned up to watch a big match near the bottom of the table. If either team lost, it could have dragged them into a relegation battle, so it was huge for both.

Louis Anthony gave the hosts the lead in the first half in the 7th minute in a tight match. The visitors found an equaliser in the second half thanks to an effort by Benni Wilson to make it 1-1 at full time.

It’s a good point for both teams and gives them a bit of space over the bottom two. Stone Old Alleynians will be looking over their shoulders with Northwich and Tividale having a few games in hand but being seven points above the bottom two is a big advantage at this stage of the season.

Whitchurch Alport 2-2 Congleton Town

Whitchurch battled back to get a point in the second half against league leaders Congleton Town at Yockings Park. It’s a statement result for the Shropshire side under Adam Shillcock and leaves the door open for Lichfield in 2nd who have a five-point gap to make up with two games in hand over the Bears.

Congleton took an early 2-0 lead in the opening twenty minutes thanks to goals from Peter Williams and Max McCarthy. Whitchurch responded a few minutes later with Macauley Taylor scoring an excellent individual goal to make it 2-1 going into half time.

The hosts were reduced to nine men in the second half with red cards for Aaron Simms and Adam Hailes. Jack Sheward produced a brilliant save from a free kick by Carl Dickinson late on to leave Whitchurch with a chance of getting something in the final few minutes. They managed to get an equaliser in injury time with Nicky Parker scoring from a header at the back post to make it 2-2.

It’s an eye-catching result for Whitchurch who are comfortably in mid table. There’s been signs of progress this season since Adam Shillcock has come in as manager and they have competed well in both the league and the FA Vase.    

It’s a tough result for Congleton who were moments away from getting a crucial win to keep their lead at the top of the table. None the less, they have a chance to respond against Tividale this weekend at the Beeches and play Lichfield on the 2nd of March at Booth Street in a huge match.      

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