MFL Weekend Round up

​FA Vase (Third Round Proper)

Eastwood Community 1-4 Stourport Swifts

Stourport got an excellent win against Eastwood Community at Coronation Park on Saturday afternoon. The Swifts continued their FA Vase run in front of an excellent crowd of 134 supporters in the East Midlands.

Jack Bailey opened the scoring for the Swifts in the 35th minute which involved a brilliant ball into the box by Benjamin Tilbury. Eastwood equalised in the 41st minute through Tyler Blake to make it 1-1 before Jack Bailey scored again for Stourport near the end of the half to make it 2-1 going into half time.

Further goals in the second half from Adam Hanson and Benjamin Tilbury gave the Swifts the win against the UCL Premier Division North side who are chasing the play offs this season. Stourport supporters can look forward to the fourth round draw later this afternoon.   

Premier Division

Atherstone Town 2-0 Studley

Atherstone continued their good record at home and beat play-off chasing Studley 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. The win makes it 12 points from their last six matches for the Adders and moves them up to 13th in the table. Their well clear of any relegation worries and 11 points ahead of Dudley Town in 17th.  

Goals from Tom Smith and James Matthew either side of half time gave the Adders their third home win of the season.

The loss continues Studley’s challenging run of form in the league with one point from their last six matches. The team could do with a win over the next few weeks to build some confidence to get the season back on track.

Division One

Coventry Copsewood 1-4 Hinckley AFC

Hinckley continued their excellent run of form with a huge away win against Coventry Copsewood at Allard Way on Saturday afternoon. The win makes it seven wins from nine away matches for the Leicester side and puts them in a good position for the league title. Their top of the table with 42 points and have a 9-point gap over Cradley Town in 2nd.

First half goals from Brady Middleton and Tom Weale gave the visitors a 2-0 lead going into half time. Joe Cairns scored in the 58th minute to make it 3-0. Brady Middleton got a second late on to make it 4-0 in injury time. Sean Kavanagh got a consolation goal for the hosts late on to make the full time score 4-1 to the visitors.  

Despite the loss, Coventry Copsewood have played well recently and have nine points from their last six matches. Their comfortably in mid table in 14th with 22 points from 18 matches and well clear of any relegation worries with a 10-point gap over Smethwick in 18th on 12 points.    

Sutton United 3-2 Wolverhampton Sporting Community

Sutton got a momentum building win against Wolves Sporting on Saturday to climb up the table into 9th with 26 points from 18 matches. It’s the fourth home win of the season at Coleshill Road for Sutton and they have adapted well to step six football having been promoted from division two last season as champions. The win makes it 11 points from their last six league matches.

The loss leaves Wolverhampton Sporting Community looking over their shoulders with Smethwick winning against Droitwich Spa. Their now in 17th with 14 points from 17 matches and two points above Smethwick.

Their away form has been a problem this season with two points on the road from eight matches. On a positive, they have a game in hand over Smethwick and have plenty of the season left to pick up points to move clear of the relegation zone.   

Division Two

Central Ajax 1-3 Cadbury Athletic

Cadbury got a confidence building win to move up to 9th with 17 points from 14 matches. The Chocolate men’s away form has been decent this season with four wins from nine matches and they were looking to respond to a disappointing loss at Lane Head last time out.

One of the struggles for Cadbury has been their home form with one win from five matches. If the team can improve on their home form at the Bournville Recreation ground, they should be capable of a top half finish come the end of the season.

Nigel Hinkulow scored in the first half to give the visitors the lead going into half time. Adam Taylor equalised for Central Ajax to make it it 1-1 before the visitors scored twice late on seal the win. Goals from Darren Green and Aaron Evans in the last ten minutes gave Cadbury the three points and something to build on for this weekend’s home match against Fairfield Villa.

Central Ajax have been good in Division Two since being promoted from division three last season. The Warwickshire club are in 11th with 15 points from 11 matches and five points clear of the relegation places. They have a huge game away at Bolehall Swifts this weekend at Rene Road.      

Coventrians 2-5 Lane Head

Lane Head got a brilliant away win at Coventrians to continue their recent turnaround in the league. The Walsall club now have three consecutive wins in the league and move up to 12th with 14 points from 14 matches. Their now four points clear of the relegation places.

A hat-trick by Urio Hijambazapo and further goals by Craig Tuckley and Claudio Shimmer gave the visitors the three points and their second away victory of the season.   

Despite the loss, Coventrians are still in a good position in the league and have a bit of breathing room over the relegation zone. Their six points clear of Inkberrow in 17th and not far off Coventry Alvis in 7th on 19 points. The hosts are comfortably in mid table so far in 10th with 16 points from 13 matches.  

Division Three

AFC Solihull 5-3 Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons

AFC Solihull went top of the table with a thrilling home win over Boldmere Falcons at the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre on Saturday. The win puts them in 1st with 36 points from 14 matches and three points ahead of Feckenham in 3rd with the top two getting promoted. The Worcester club have a better goal difference, but AFC Solihull have a game in hand over them in the race for promotion.  

The victory makes it six wins from seven matches at home for AFC Solihull.

Cydon Walker gave the Falcons a surprise lead in the 5th minute in new manager Jordan Lengthorn’s first game in charge of the club. AFC Solihull equalised a few minutes later through Dylan Daniels in the 9th minute to make it 1-1. They took the lead a minute later through Cherno Sey to make it 2-1.

Jake Davis scored in the 31st minute to make it 3-1 before AFC Solihull got a fourth through Ross Kaar in the 35th minute. Boldmere responded through Christopher Uwabor who scored in the 42nd minute to make it 4-2 going into half time.

Lee Chakmak scored on the hour mark for AFC Solihull before Marvelous Omoregie scored in the 66th minute for the Falcons to make the full time score 5-3.

It was a memorable first game in charge of the Falcons for Jordan Lengthorn and something to build on going forward. They competed well with a quality side and showed their capable of climbing up the table. The defence has been an issue this season with 37 goals conceded but if they could tighten up at the back, they could pick up some results.   

The Falcons have a home game against Meadow Park this Saturday.    

Castle Vale Town 0-2 Feckenham

Feckenham got an excellent away win at CV Stadium on Saturday afternoon to move up to 3rd in the table with 33 points from 15 matches. The Worcester club have been good on the road so far with just one loss from seven matches to put themselves in contention for the top two.

First half goals from Josh Bowen and Janny Dinanga gave the Millers the three points. They now have 16 points from their last six league games with 25 goals scored and just three conceded in that run.

Despite the loss, Castle Vale Town are having a good season in division three and competing well in a tough division. The Spitfires are in 6th with 26 points from 15 matches.

Their main issue has been their home form with three losses from five matches. None the less, when looking at the season it’s been good, and a top half finish would be a notable achievement.  

Leamington Hibernian 3-0 BNJS

Leamington got their first home win of the season to climb up the table. The win moves them up to 11th with 15 points from 12 matches. The club’s recent form in the league is eye catching with 12 points from their last six matches and they have grown into the season.  

The hosts have beaten the teams around them to climb into mid table and have done the league double over BNJS in their last few leagues games.

BNJS have had a challenging season since joining division three over the summer and are getting use to the division. Their currently 15th in the table with 4 points from 14 matches with a points adjustment made.

Their main highlights are the wins against Castle Vale Town and Solihull Sporting which shows the squad can pull off a few upsets over the course of the season.  

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