OJM Black Country V Stapenhill (Division One)

​​OJM were looking to build on the positives of the 1-1 mid-week draw against Cradley Town on Tuesday with a result against Stapenhill yesterday evening. The hosts have been one of the form teams in division one over the last month with 13 points from their last five matches to leave them in a strong position for the play offs.

One of the main challenges for OJM is the schedule which has been hectic, and they had eight matches to play within the space of a few weeks going into yesterday.

Stapenhill were comfortably in mid table going into this match and in no danger of relegation. It’s been a transitional season from the Swans and they changed their manager in the middle of the season with Mick Woods serving as there current manager. There’s been positives for the visitors over the last month such as the 2-2 home draw with Hinckley AFC.

Their main issue has been away from home where they have struggled to pick up points to be higher up the table. 13 points from 16 matches is ok but could be better to be challenging for a top half position. Yesterday was a good test to see where the Swans are at against a play off chasing team.

The atmosphere around the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground was relaxed and welcoming prior to kick off with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. It was moved to Boldmere yesterday for a 6pm kick off which gave local supporters the opportunity of a double header of MFL Division One matches. Both teams brought a good number of supporters who added to the atmosphere and made for a good match. 

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line up for OJM featured Zach Biggs starting in goal and Callum Nimmo captaining the team from central defence. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Kosheen Sappelton playing up front and being supported by Zaqib Hussain and Taylor Homer on the wings.

There were four changes from the team that played against Cradley Town on Tuesday with Taylor Homer coming into the team and playing on the right hand side of an attacking front three.

Stapenhill’s starting line up included Paul Hollis starting in goal and Matt Roome captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Ben Novis leading the line up front and being supported by Cameron Steele and Ashton Frost on the wings.

There were two changes from the team that played against Nuneaton Griff on Easter Monday with Connor Richins coming into the team and playing in an attacking midfield role behind Ben Novis. 

​First Half

The opening twenty minutes of the match were fairly scrappy with OJM playing a possession based style and looking to break down a resolute Stapenhill defence which looked well organised. The visitors were looking to draw OJM on to them so they could break on the counterattack and make the most out of the available space to cause the hosts problems.  

There were not that many chances of note up until the 25th minute when Blake Kindred had a long range shot for OJM that hit the bar for the first real chance of the game.

The visitors managed to take the lead slightly against the run of play near the end of the first half when Zach Biggs made a mistake playing out from the back and gifted the ball to Connor Richens on the edge of the box. He showed composure to make the most of the opportunity and produced a classy finish into the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 to Stapenhill in the 40th minute.

To the visitor’s credit, they were playing well at the back throughout the first half with Harry Lansdowne having an impressive game and heading dangerous balls out of play for the Swans.

The best chance for OJM near the end of the half came from Taylor Homer who did brilliantly to cut inside before having a shot well saved by Paul Hollis in the 44th minute. The visitors were doing well to limit the clear-cut chances and OJM were gradually committing more numbers forward as the half ended which set it up well for the second half. 

Second Half

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Stapenhill playing slightly deeper and looking to keep their lead intact. The visitors had an early chance to make it 2-0 and involved a nice passing move where Ashton Frost played a good ball to Jake Meakin whose shot was well saved in the 52nd.

OJM were getting more into it as the second half progressed and had a few chances to equalise on the hour mark. Taylor Homer had a good chance at the back post from a header that went wide before Jordan Sangha had a shot well saved by Paul Hollis.

As the match went into the later stages it looked like Stapenhill might be getting a statement win against one of the form teams. Jake Meakin was having a solid game for the visitors and was regularly breaking up the play and looking a threat going forward. The defence looked organised enough to see out the match and put pressure on OJM to see if they could get something from it.

OJM found an equaliser when it mattered to get back into the match and it was a moment of genuine quality from the hosts. A good ball was played to substitute Kofi Williams on the edge of the box who produced an excellent finish into the top left corner to make it 1-1 with five minutes to go.

From there the hosts were pressing for the winner with Stapenhill settling for a point near the end of the match. A brilliant ball into the box by Jordan Sangha found Kosheen Sappleton at the back post whose header went wide.

Similar to the match earlier in the day between Smethwick and Wednesfield, it looked like it was heading for a competitive draw before the hosts found a last-minute winner. They scored from a throw into the box which caught Stapenhill off guard and Adam Keough did well to get in between the defender and the goalkeeper before heading into the bottom left corner.    

It was an excellent finish to a brilliant match between two teams that put in a committed performance yesterday. Fair play to Stapenhill who put up a good fight against a strong OJM side that will be looking to get in the play offs over the next few weeks. The win leaves OJM in 5th with seven matches to play with three of those coming over the next week.

Full Time

OJM played well in this match and showed character and resiliency to get back into and not let it drift away. As good as the 6-0 win against Paget was last weekend, this result was hard earned and Stapenhill asked questions of OJM which they came through to get the three points. The result adds to their impressive record at home with only two losses from fourteen matches.

Callum Nimmo was reliably good at the back and helped OJM settle into the match and get into a passing rhythm. He reads the game well and manages to take the pressure off the hosts. Jordan Sangha had an underrated match and really helped to move the ball along midfield and create chances for the hosts. Taylor Homer made the most out of being called up to the starting line up and looked an attacking threat throughout.

It’s a good squad at OJM and it will be interesting to see how they get on over the next few weeks.

Stapenhill will feel disappointed not to get something from this match as they looked like getting a draw until the final few minutes. The Swans were well set up and caused OJM problems both in the final third and defensively which made for an entertaining game. They played well and hopefully they can build on the positives of this performance in their remaining matches.

FT score: OJM Black Country 2-1 Stapenhill

Man of the match: Taylor Homer (OJM Black Country)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League