MFL Weekend Round Up (Premier Division)

​AFC Wulfrunians 0-1 Atherstone Town

Atherstone finished their season with a win against AFC Wulfrunians at Castlecroft over the weekend. It’s been a positive campaign for the Adders at step five and the result confirms a top half finish which is a good achievement in a competitive division.

Gabe Webster scored the winner for the visitors in the second half in a tight match against two evenly matched teams.  AFC Wulfrunians have one more game remaining which is against Stone Old Alleynians next weekend at Kings Park.

Both teams will be looking ahead to next season and are in a good position to challenge with the future looking bright.

Dudley Town 1-5 Congleton Town

Congleton got a memorable win against Dudley Town at the Guardian Warehousing Arena on Saturday. It’s their 8th away win of the season and was watched by an excellent crowd of 601 supporters.

It was a team effort in front of goal for the visitors with the five goals coming from George Sankey, Ethan Hartshorn, Daniel Cocks, Max McCarthy and Tom Hampton. Dudley Town scored a consolation goal late on through Abdul Bashiru to make it 5-1 to the visitors at full time. 

The Bears have one of the best attacks in the league with 96 goals scored over the course of 33 matches. They have one more match to go against Tividale in mid-week to finish the campaign. 

Regardless of the result, it’s been a positive season for Dudley Town who have finished in the top half of the table and been one of the form teams since the New Year.

Highgate United 7-0 Wolverhampton Casuals

Highgate got a convincing win against Wolverhampton Casuals at the Coppice over the weekend to keep their play off push on track. It’s their 12th home win and The Gate will be looking to get in the play offs and take it from there over the next few weeks.

A crowd of 46 supporters turned up to watch Highgate get their 18th win of the season. It was a team effort in front of goal with efforts from Aaron Brown, Liam Cairns, James Wilcock, Jake Collins, Tyree Sanusi and a brace from Ryan Harkin giving them a resounding win. It’s a brilliant result and a good way to bounce back from the loss at Darlaston last Thursday.

The play offs are in Highgate’s hands with two games to go and if they win against Northwich Victoria and Bewdley Town away from home they’re in.

It was a tough day at the office for Wolverhampton Casuals but when looking at the season overall it’s been a success with their future at step five confirmed for another season.

Lichfield City 2-1 Studley

Lichfield got a momentum building win against Studley at the weekend to finish off their season. They have gone throughout the whole league season without losing at home from 17 matches with 13 wins and four draws which is an excellent achievement.

There going into the play offs in 2nd place which means they will be at home which is a huge plus. None the less, it can be a lottery and the teams below them have a lot of quality so it’s shaping up to be an even play off field and anything can happen in a one-off match.  

An excellent attendance of 234 supporters turned up to the Trade Tyre Community stadium to watch Lichfield get their 22nd league win of the season.

Bailey Fuller scored early on for Studley before goals from Dan Smith and Joe Haines got the win for Lichfield City. It’s a good win from Lichfield who showed character to come back and win the match and respond to the mid-week loss away at Highgate United.   

​The play off race is out of Studley’s hands and the Bees will have to rely on results going in their favour over the next week to make the play offs. The crucial fixture to look out for is Northwich Victoria v Highgate United on Tuesday evening. If the Vics beat Highgate, Studley would probably get in on goal difference. 

Northwich Victoria 7-0 Bewdley Town

Northwich got a confidence boosting win against Bewdley Town at Booth Street on Saturday. It’s been a transitional season for the Vics at step five and there comfortably in mid table with a few games to go.

A commendable crowd of 107 supporters watched Northwich get their sixth home win of the season.

The main highlight was Callum Parker scoring four goals for the Vics in a resounding win over relegation strugglers Bewdley. Further goals from Sam Unwin who scored a brace and Eli Fisher made it 7-0 at the full-time whistle. The hosts have a fair bit to play for over their three remaining matches and could influence the play-off picture alongside climbing up the table.

It was another tough day at the office for Bewdley Town who are playing for pride over the final week of the season. Similar to Northwich, they could have a big say on the play off race with home games against Stourport and Highgate coming up. If they could defy the odds and hold one of them to a draw it could have a huge say on the play offs.  

Romulus 0-0 Uttoxeter Town

Romulus finished their spell at Castle Vale Stadium with a goalless draw against Uttoxeter Town watched by a decent crowd of 61 supporters. The Roms are comfortably in mid table with a game to go and are looking at the future.  There’s been some positives and if they can keep players and build during the summer their capable of challenging next season.

Uttoxeter are comfortably in mid table going into the final week of the season. It’s been an encouraging season from the visitors, and it will be interesting to see if they can build on it next season. The main aim was to establish themselves in step five which they have done comfortably.

Tividale 0-2 Shifnal Town

Shifnal got a good win at the Beeches against Tividale to put them in a strong position for a top half finish with two matches to go. The visitors are challenging to finish in the top half and are a point better off than AFC Wulfrunians in 10th.

A decent crowd of 43 supporters turned up to watch Shifnal get their sixth away win of the season.

Goals from Brandon Tanomjit and prolific forward Joe Ellis Cuff was enough to give the visitors the three points. There’s positives for Shifnal and there building a squad that is capable of challenging next season with a good amount of attacking quality up front.  

Tividale have got one match remaining which is against league champions Congleton on Tuesday evening to round off their season. It’s been a transitional campaign under new manager Stuart How and there’s been some positives to build on. They should take confidence from the FA Vase run and taking points off the likes of Highgate United.  

Stone Old Alleynians 3-4 Stourport Swifts

Stourport got a crucial win against Stone Old Alleynians at Evans Park on Saturday evening to put them in a strong position for the play offs with two matches to go. If they can win against Bewdley Town on Tuesday, they will be competing in a semi final in a few weeks’ time.

The Swifts took a 2-0 lead going into half time thanks to an own goal and an effort by Aaron Birch. Stone Old Alleynians responded in the second half and managed to get it back to 2-2 before the visitors retook the lead through Jamie Meddows.

In a thrilling match the hosts got it back to 3-3 which would have dented Stourport’s play off hopes before they got the win a few minutes before full time. A corner by Martin Slevin went directly in at the far post for a huge three points for the Swifts. It puts them in a strong position to be in the play offs and as long as they beat Bewdley there in.

The goals from Stone Old Alleynians came from a brace from Jack Bowater and a solo effort by Charlie Batho in an action-packed game. Full credit to the hosts for making it one of the matches of the weekend in the MFL. 

Regardless of the result, it’s been a good season for Stone Old Alleynians who have stayed up and established themselves at step five. They could still have a big say on the play off picture with a home game against Darlaston Town on Tuesday which could decide who finishes in the top three.    

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