Paget Rangers V Nuneaton Griff (MFL Division One)

​Paget Rangers played Nuneaton Griff yesterday evening at Castle Vale Stadium in their first home match of the season. The Bears were looking to respond to their 6-1 defeat at Nuneaton Town over the weekend and get off to a good start under new manager Sean Feeney. There’s been a lot of changes over the summer, and they will be aiming to finish above the bottom three this season.   

Nuneaton Griff were looking to respond to their 4-2 home loss against Ingles at the weekend where they lost following a 2-0 half time lead in the season opener. The Heartlanders have gone a bit under the radar over the last few seasons, but they will be aiming to be competitive this season and secure a mid-table finish.

The weather conditions were encouraging for an evening game of football with no signs of rain and a slight overcast of clouds. The atmosphere around the ground was positive prior to kick off and there was a good turnout despite the Olympics going on.  

Castle Vale Stadium is an excellent ground to visit for casual groundhoppers across the West Midlands. Supporters can get there by getting on the 67-bus route and stopping at St Athan Croft where it’s only a few minutes’ walk to the ground. 

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line up for Paget Rangers featured Callum Cook starting in goal and Jordan Ambris captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation looked like a 5-3-2 with a front two of Ashawne Tucker and Dante Hesson being supported by Nuno Neves in the number ten position.

There were five changes from the team that started against Nuneaton Town at the weekend with Raphael Johnson coming into the line up and playing in central defence.

Nuneaton Griff’s starting line up included Josh Thompson starting in goal and Nick Brandish captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Jacob Dumbleton playing up front and being supported by Owen Wassell and Dan Edmonds on the wings.

There were four changes from the team that started against Ingles at the weekend with Jared Bradshaw coming into the team and playing in attacking midfield.

​First Half

The opening stages of the first half were mainly free flowing with both sides committing players forward and showing positivity on the ball. Nuneaton Griff managed to take the lead in the 7th minute when a brilliant ball down the right-hand side found Dan Edmonds who produced a quality finish into the top right corner to make it 1-0.   

He came close to making it 2-0 a few minutes later when he capitalised on a rebound in the box before narrowly hooking it wide of the left-hand post.

The visitors were hitting a good run of momentum in the opening stages of the match and made it 2-0 inside the opening fifteen minutes. Jared Bradshaw did excellently to beat two players on the edge of the box before producing a quality finish into the bottom left corner in the 13th minute.

The best chance for Paget fell to Dante Hesson on the edge of the box who had a shot go wide in the middle of the first half. The Bears kept going despite the early set back and were trying to get back into it. Matty Richardson was playing well from holding midfield by linking up the play and giving Paget more of the ball to start off attacks.  

They were growing into the match as the first half went on and were looking more comfortable after the half hour mark. The only thing missing was that final ball to create the chances in front of goal, but the effort and commitment was there. Their best chance of the half came when McKenzie Humphries cut inside from the left before having a shot well saved by Josh Thompson in injury time.

​Second Half

The pattern of the second half was more even than the nature of the first half with not one team dominating for large spells. Paget were playing a possession-based style and were looking to break down a stubborn Nuneaton Griff defence. The visitors were mainly inviting the hosts onto them so they could catch them on the break and make the most of the space available.  

The visitors had a good chance to make it 3-0 on the hour mark when Jacob Dumbleton got free in the box before firing wide of the bottom right corner.

The bench really impressed for Paget in the second half with Pervez Nedaie being bought on and making a notable difference to the momentum of the match. He had a good run into the box where he beat a couple of players before having a shot well saved in the 67th minute. The pace and directness of Pervez Nedaie offered the Bears something different in the second half.

​Just as Paget were building some momentum in front of goal Nuneaton Griff hit them on the counterattack with a moment of quality to make it 3-0. An excellent ball into the box found Dan Edmonds who raced through and produced an instinctive finish for the visitor’s third.

Paget kept going and found a lifeline to get back into the match a few minutes later thanks to a deflected effort at goal that went into the net. Despite the goal being a bit scrappy the positivity going forward created it and caused a bit of havoc in the Nuneaton Griff box. 

The Bears reduced the deficit further a few minutes later when a quality attacking move saw substitute Jonny Baka play a brilliant defence splitting through ball to Pervez Nedaie who made a good run off the shoulder to be through one on one with Josh Thompson. He rounded the keeper and kept his cool to finish into the bottom right corner to make it 3-2 with ten minutes left.

The hosts had a good go at finding the equaliser in the closing stages of the match and were committing players forward. They just couldn’t quite find the goal to make it 3-3 and Nuneaton Griff held on to get the win.

​Full Time

This was a good advert for step six football with both sides positive on the ball and committing players forward. Both teams knew the importance of yesterday’s match in terms of the season, and it contributed to a free-flowing match to watch.   

Despite the loss, Paget showed character throughout the ninety minutes and were close to getting something. There was a lot to be positive about and the only thing missing was that bit of composure in the box to create more chances in front of goal. It felt like they settled into the match after the difficult opening twenty minutes which is something to build on.  

There’s a decent amount of attacking potential on the ball that will hopefully get better as the season goes on. It’s a new look squad since the end of last season and it will take a bit of time before it all clicks in front of goal.       

It was a battling performance from Nuneaton Griff who showed resolve to pull through and get their first win of the season. They had an excellent first twenty minutes where it all clicked in front of goal which helped them to the win yesterday. There’s attacking quality through players like Dan Edmonds who was excellent in this match and there’s a nice balance throughout the team.   

Based on this match they should be looking to finish comfortably in mid table this season.

Paget will be preparing for their upcoming home match against Leicester St Andrews while Nuneaton Griff are away at Birstall United at the weekend.   

FT score: Paget Rangers 2-3 Nuneaton Griff

Man of the match: Dan Edmonds (Nuneaton Griff)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League