Preview of the Les James Challenge Cup (First Round) (Part One)

AFC Coventry Rangers V Cadbury Athletic

​AFC Coventry Rangers go into the Les James Challenge cup in a good run of form. The club have won all four of their matches at the Coventry Technical Sporting Club and scored 13 goals from those matches.

​They should be challenging for both the league and the Les James Challenge cup this season. Curtis Cutts and Jordan Powell have impressed going forward and will be looking to continue their form in this match.

Cadbury Athletic have had a difficult start to the season and have lost all three of their matches in the league so far. They are coming off the back of a 6-2 loss to Coventry Rangers last weekend and all of their matches have been away from home. There were some positives from the performance for Cadbury last Saturday and they looked good going forward in the second half.

The visitors have got a really tough bank holiday schedule and go to the Robins Nest to play Knowle on Monday.     

AFC Solihull V Solihull Sporting

AFC Solihull have started the season in division three brilliantly under new manager Dean Newman following Joe Ballinger leaving to join the coaching staff at Romulus. The club look to be challenging near the top of the league this season and have won all three of their matches so far. They have scored 11 goals with new signing Jahvan Howell impressing as their top scorer with three goals. The forward impressed for DSC United last season in division three.

Despite being the underdogs going into this match, Solihull Sporting have had an under the radar season so far. The club have impressed in both the league and the Les James Challenge cup where they beat Silhill in the previous round 2-1. They have got four points from two games in division three and Louis Buck is their top goal scorer with three goals. He’s continued his good form from last season for Solihull Sporting and should be a key player for the club in this match.

Alcester Town V Continental Star

Alcester have had a reliably good start to the season in division two. They have won three out of their four matches with the only loss coming to AFC Coventry Rangers. One of the main highlights so far was beating Knowle on the opening day 3-1. The Romans also beat Cadbury Athletic and Bolehall Swifts at Stratford Road. Odane Barnes is the club’s top goal scorer for the season with three goals and they should be a dark horse for the Les James Challenge cup this season.

Continental Star have had a difficult start to the season in division three and have picked up one point from three matches in the league. One of the positives is the team scoring 9 goals from three matches. However, the visitors have also conceded 12 goals from three matches against Silhill, Gornal and Castle Vale Town. The visitors go into this match as underdogs, and it should be an opportunity to test themselves against higher opposition.  

Birmingham Tigers V Redditch Borough

Birmingham Tigers have had a tough start to the season in division three and go into this match as big underdogs against Redditch Borough at the Hadley Stadium. The hosts have conceded 22 goals in the league. The club have also played a tough schedule of teams including Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons and Wake Green Amateur. They are coming off an 8-0 loss to Feckenham last weekend and this match is their first home game of the season.

Redditch have started the season well in Division Two under new manager John Edwards and have picked up seven points from three matches played. The club have recorded convincing wins over Coventrians and Inkberrow at home and they drew away at Littleton 1-1.

The main positive for Birmingham Tigers supporters is that the match is taking place at home. Overall though, it should be a difficult afternoon against Redditch Borough and the visitors will be expected to progress to the next round.  

Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons V AFC Birmingham

Boldmere Falcons have had an excellent start to the season under new manager Callum Lee and the signs are looking good for the club. The aim is get promoted from division three and the team have made a positive start against good opposition. They have won all three of their matches so far and beaten DSC United and Balsall and Berkswell to pick up 9 points. The Falcons sit alongside AFC Solihull at the top of the division. Adriano Robinson has been brilliant so far for Boldmere Falcons and has four goals this season.

AFC Birmingham have had a good start to the season and have picked up four points from three matches. The club have beaten Leamington Hibernian and drew against Balsall and Berkswell at home. They also lost to AFC Solihull away on the opening day to sit comfortably mid-table. Their attendances at Illey Lane have been good this season with both home games being watched by over 50 supporters. The visitors go into this match as marginal underdogs but on paper this should be a close match on Saturday.       

Bolehall Swifts V Balsall and Berkswell

Bolehall have had a challenging start to the season and have picked up one point from three matches in division two. All of the club’s matches have been away from home and this will be the Swifts opening home game of the season. The hosts have admittedly played a tough run of teams this month and lost to Alcester Town and Central Ajax and drew 5-5 with Earlswood Town on the opening day. The bank holiday period is going to be huge for the club as they also play Inkberrow at home in division two on Monday.

Balsall and Berkswell have had a challenging start to the season in division three and go into this match as the underdogs. They have picked up two points from three matches against AFC Birmingham and Feckenham and lost to Boldmere Falcons in their first game of the season. All of the club’s matches have been away from home and they have played tough teams. The club’s opening home game of the season will be against BNJS on the 2nd September and the schedule looks a bit more encouraging for next month against teams looking to finish mid table.     

Central Ajax V BNJS

Central Ajax have started brilliantly and adapted comfortably to life in MFL Division Two with 10 points from four matches. Shaye Eden has continued his impressive form from last season in division three and is the division’s top goal scorer with 9 goals. The Warwickshire club have been on an excellent run of form throughout August and go into this match with a lot of confidence.

BNJS have had a difficult start to life in MFL Division Three and have lost all three of their matches in the league. Their best result of the season was a narrow 3-2 loss at home to Wake Green Amateur on the opening day with the team performing admirably against tough opposition. The club’s run of opponents for August has been difficult as they have also played AFC Solihull and Meadow Park. The visitors go into this match as big underdogs and will do well to get a result.       

Earlswood Town V DSC United

Earlswood have started the season well in division two under new manager Joel Hughes and are in a good run of form going into this match. The Earls have won three out of their four matches and scored a total of 15 goals in the league so far. Louis Bridges has been brilliant and has continued his form from last season with four goals from three matches started. The standout result so far for the club was the opening day win over Fairfield Villa away from home. The club are unbeaten so far and go into this match as heavy favourites.

DSC United have had an ok start to the season and are adapting to key forward Jahvan Howell departing for AFC Solihull. The club’s fixtures for August have been really difficult and they have played both AFC Solihull and Boldmere Falcons away from home in their two matches in division three. They did well to compete with Boldmere Falcons last weekend and narrowly lost 1-0. The club are playing at Kings Norton this season at the Triplex Sports association and are big underdogs going into this match against higher opposition.    

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League