Midland Football League (Division Two) Weekend Preview

AFC Coventry Rangers V Cadbury Athletic 

​AFC Coventry Rangers have started the season brilliantly and go into Saturday’s match in a good run of form having won all three of their league games so far. Their record at home has been excellent and there’s been notable wins over Alcester Town and Birmingham United. Jordan Powell has continued his brilliant form from last season and has scored three goals from three games so far.    

Cadbury Athletic have had a tough start to the season. It might take a bit of time before new manager Daniel Moses gets his ideas across and the team starts to click and build a run of momentum. The club have played tough opposition in their first few games against Alcester Town and Coventry Alvis away from home. One of the positives is Danico Johnson impressing for the club and scoring two goals so far.  

Alcester Town V Bolehall Swifts 

Alcester have had a reliably good start to the season following what appeared to be a tricky run of fixtures throughout August. This includes notable wins over Knowle at the Robins Nest and Cadbury Athletic last weekend, and they are playing well. Odane Barnes is their top goal scorer so far with two goals. 

Bolehall have had an interesting start to the season and have picked up one point from two matches. They were involved in an eventful 5-5 draw on the opening day away at Earlswood Town and lost 2-0 to Central Ajax last Saturday. This match will be the last of the club’s away games for August. They return to Rene Road throughout the August bank holiday period for games against Balsall and Berkswell (Les James Challenge Cup) and Inkberrow.    

Central Ajax V Lane Head

Central Ajax have adapted well to life in MFL Division Two and have picked up 7 points from their three league matches. They have scored 7 goals in total with prolific striker Shayne Eden scoring 6 of them for the club and having a great start to the season. The striker is continuing his form from Division three last season where he was clinical in front of goal.

Lane Head have had a good start to the season and have managed to pick up four points from a tough run of games against AFC Coventry Rangers, Fairfield Villa and Knowle. The highlight so far was the home win over Fairfield Villa with Josh Lewis scoring the winning goal for the club in front of an impressive crowd of 70 supporters.     

Coventry Alvis V Inkberrow

Coventry Alvis have had a really good start to the season and have adapted well to bringing in Martin Ascroft as their new manager and recruiting a fresh squad for the new season. The club beat Cadbury Athletic 4-3 in their opening home game and beat Littleton away from home on the opening day.

Scoring 9 goals from three games is an impressive tally and should get Alvis supporters excited for the season ahead. New signing Jagit Aujla has looked really good so far, scoring five goals for the club. 

Inkberrow have had a challenging start to the season following the departure of prolific striker Jay Higgins-Pugsley to Birmingham United during the summer. The club have struggled to score goals and have conceded 11 goals from three matches throughout August. Hopefully the team can grow into the season and get better with each match.   

Fairfield Villa V Hampton

Fairfield Villa have had a bit of a slow start to the season and kickstarted their season last weekend with a huge win over Coventry Alvis following surprising defeats to Lane Head and Earlswood Town. This match should be a good opportunity to build some momentum in the league before the break for the Les James Challenge cup next Saturday.

Hampton have had an eventful start to the season and have been playing at New Mill Lane throughout August following a fire at Field Lane. Ciaran Lawless has had a huge month for the club and is the joint top scorer in the division with 6 goals. The Solihull club have scored 10 goals from their last two games and are going into this match in a good run of form.   

Knowle V Birmingham United

Knowle have had a good start to the season and have picked up two wins from three matches in the league. The Robins have won against Coventrians at home and Lane Head away and are growing into the season. The hosts have scored seven goals from their last two matches in the league. 

Birmingham United have also made a positive start to the season and have collected four points from three games in the league so far. Prolific striker Jay Higgins-Pugsley got on the score sheet against Central Ajax in a 2-2 draw and the club beat Inkberrow on the opening day of the season at the Trico Stadium in Redditch. Similar to Knowle, the club are building into the season and have picked up some good results throughout August so far.   

Littleton V Earlswood Town

Littleton have had a tough start to life in MFL Division two and have picked up one point from three matches in the league. The point they did get was an excellent result against Redditch Borough who are fancied to be challenging near the top of the league. MFL Division two is really competitive this season so finishing mid table would be a positive result for the Worcestershire club.

Earlswood have started the season well under new manager Joel Hughes. They look an entertaining side this season with 11 goals scored from three matches so far. Louis Bridges has been brilliant for the Earls and has scored four goals which included a hat-trick against Bolehall Swifts in the club’s opening home game.   

Redditch Borough V Coventrians

Redditch have started the season well under new manager John Edwards and have picked up four points from their two games. This included an opening day win against Inkberrow and a 1-1 draw away at Littleton last Saturday. The club will be looking to continue their unbeaten run and get a result against Coventrians this Saturday.

Coventrians have had a challenging start to the season which is understandable following the key departures of Nathan McGarrity to Nuneaton Griff and Sean Kavanagh to Coventry Copsewood. Both players were huge for the club last season in their promotion from MFL Division three and scored a combined total of 50 goals in their league winning season. The visitors lost their two games against Knowle and Earlswood Town and face a tough test against Redditch this Saturday.  

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League