Paget Rangers V Cradley Town (Division One)

​Paget were looking for a statement result yesterday against Cradley Town at CV Stadium to kickstart their season in division one. It’s been a challenging start for the Bears with no points from eight matches going into yesterday. They were competitive in their matches against Nuneaton Griff and Sutton United and were looking to cause an upset last night.

Cradley Town have shown a lot of ambition this season and are looking to kick on in division one. The Hammers are aiming to challenge for the play offs and have made some encouraging moves over the summer. They bought in Stuart How as their new manager and have kept key players from last season’s 7th place finish such as Brad Ward and Darren Whitley.

The atmosphere was positive and relaxed prior to kick off with Paget and Cradley bringing a good following for a Monday night game at Castle Vale Stadium. It’s an old school non-league ground and well worth a visit for supporters of grass roots football. The main stand is brilliant and offers a good view of the pitch and the facilities are impressive for the level. 

​Starting line ups

The starting line up for Paget included Ashley O’Neill starting in goal and Jonathan Baka captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 3-4-3 with Ashawne Tucker and Kariem Hussein playing up front and being supported by Duaine Hall from attacking midfield.

There were six changes from the side that started against Stapenhill at the weekend with Matt Richardson coming into the team and playing in midfield.

Cradley Town’s starting line-up included Reece Francis starting in goal and captaining the team. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Jordan Crump playing as the main striker up front and being supported by Traevay Wright and Umaru Saho on the wings.

There were four changes from the side that started against Sutton United at the weekend with Jack Ricketts coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Darren Whitley.    

​First Half

Cradley started the match on the front foot and were looking to take the game to Paget early on. The visitors were linking up well and building attacks down the channels. They took the lead when Umaru Saho had a shot deflected into the top right corner to make it 1-0.

They made it 2-0 a few minutes later to take control of the match. Umara Saho made a brilliant run off the ball and played a good ball to Traevay Wright who anticipated it well and headed in at the back post. It helped Cradley settle into the match, and they made the most of their early momentum yesterday.

​The main pattern of play throughout the first half saw Cradley Town looking to break down a Paget defence that were working hard off the ball. The Bears were playing on the counterattack and looking to draw Cradley onto them so they could break with pace and make the most of the available space.

The visitors were playing well in the first half and regularly creating chances in the box. A good ball from Daniel Harvey found Umaru Saho who made a good run off the ball and beat the offside trap. He ran with the ball before squaring it to Jordan Crump who produced a composed finish to make it 3-0 on the half hour mark.

It was a difficult first half for Paget who were struggling to build any sort of momentum in front of goal. They struggled to get on the ball and create chances against a well organised Cradley defence. Joe Fitzpatrick was playing well from holding midfield and not allowing Paget into the game. He was constantly breaking up the play and getting the ball back for the visitors in the first half.

Cradley were on form yesterday and looked to bounce back from the 4-1 defeat at Sutton United on Saturday. They made it 4-0 in the closing stages of the first half with Lucas Muckley playing an inviting cross to Traevay Wright at the back post who headed the ball into the bottom left corner.

Paget showed character and kept going in the latter stages of the first half despite the score. A player who impressed for the Bears was Mackenzie Humphreys who was getting on the ball and building attacks from holding midfield. He was driving them on and linking up the play well.

The best chance for Paget came when Ricardo Heaven got a shot off in the box that was saved by Reece Francis a few minutes before half time.

Second Half

Cradley started the second half positively and continued where they left off. A good free kick from the left-hand side found Darren Whitley who headed the ball in at the front post to make it 5-0.

A moment of quality from Paget Rangers got them a goal back to make it 5-1. Ricardo Heaven produced a brilliant finish into the top right corner from the edge of the box.  

The Bears were positive in the second half and committed a lot of players forward. They had a good fifteen-minute spell in front of goal where they looked an attacking threat in the final third. It was always going to be difficult to comeback from 5-0 down early in the second half but credit to Paget for not sitting back and taking the game to Cradley.  

Ashawne Tucker had a good effort in the box well saved by Reece Francis which came from Paget being brave on the ball and getting players forward.

Stuart How made some clever substitutions in the middle of the second half and bought on Daniel Meredith and Cameron Milne to shore up the midfield and help Cradley get the momentum back.

Both players impressed in the latter stages of the second half and were passing the ball around with purpose from midfield. Umaru Saho got into a good position in the box before having a shot instinctively saved by Ashley O’Neill who managed to tip it over the bar.

Daniel Meredith had a free kick from just outside the box that went into the bottom left corner to make it 6-1. It was a goalkeeping mistake from Ashley O’Neill who saw the ball late before it went into the net.

Cradley pushed on in the latter stages of the second half and Traevay Wright produced a good header that went into the bottom right corner to make it 7-1.

Jordan Crump had a guilt edged chance to make it 8-1 from a well worked free kick into the box. A low ball was played to him from the right-hand side, and he had a shot go over the bar from close range.

A good passing move from the visitors saw a good ball played to Traevay Wright who accelerated into the box before finishing past Ashley O’Neill into the bottom right corner to make it 8-1 in the closing stages.

Full Time

It was a tough evening for Paget yesterday at CV Stadium against a side that are going to be challenging for the play offs in division one this season. They have a crucial run of fixtures coming up against Birstall United and Wednesfield over the next week. There’s players to build around such as Mackenzie Humphreys and Ricardo Heaven which offers hope.  

Cradley Town were brilliant yesterday and looked like a side that will be challenging at step six. Traevay Wright and Umaru Saho came into the starting line-up and impressed on the wings.

The visitors have also got good depth in midfield with the likes of Dan Meredith coming off the bench and playing well. They have consecutive home games against Allexton and Smethwick coming up.        

FT score: Paget Rangers 1-8 Cradley Town

Man of the match: Umaru Saho (Cradley Town)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League