​Birmingham Tigers V Balsall and Berkswell (Saturday 2pm)

Birmingham Tigers have struggled in division three so far this season with 0 points from 15 matches and are bottom of the table. Their record at home has been challenging with 0 wins from six matches at the Hadley Stadium.

​On a positive, they have fared better defensively at home compared to on the road with 31 goals conceded at home to 52 goals conceded away.

The Tigers could do with a result to build a bit of confidence for the rest of the season. Ahmed Mohamed is a player to watch for the Tigers with four goals from 10 games in all competitions.

Balsall and Berkswell have been good in division three of the MFL and are comfortably in mid table. The Hornets are 9th with 18 points from 11 matches. Their away record has been good with just two losses from six league matches.

The visitors are capable of aiming for a top half finish come the end of the season in a competitive division.  

Their recent form is the league is eye catching with 13 points from their last six league matches. Jack Archer is a player to watch for the Hornets with six goals in 10 matches in all competitions.  

Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons V Meadow Park (Saturday 2pm)

Boldmere play Meadow Park in Jordan Lengthorn’s first home game in charge of the Falcons. It’s been a tough season for the Falcons so far and their in lower mid table. Their currently in 13th with 11 points from 13 matches having been relegated from division two last season.    

The hosts have one point from their last six league matches and are coming off an away loss at AFC Solihull last weekend. On a positive, their in a position to climb up the table and have a strong second half of the season in division three. The squad could do with a result to build a bit of confidence and belief in a tough division.    

There’s genuine quality in the squad and Ellis Whitelaw is a player to watch from midfield.

Meadow Park have been brilliant since joining the league over the summer and have adapted to division three well. The Worcester club are 10th in the table with 16 points from 13 matches and have been competitive across the course of the season.

None the less, one of their issues has been on the road with just one win from six league matches. Their recent form is good with ten points from their last six matches which includes a 3-2 home win against AFC Solihull. Daniel Lowe is a player to watch with eight goals in all competitions this season.  

Northfield Town V AFC Birmingham (Saturday 2pm)

Northfield have been excellent since joining the MFL over the summer. Their currently in 2nd with 34 points from 13 matches. Their home form has been one of their main strengths with five wins from six league matches and only five goals conceded at Shenley Lane.

Their in a good position to get promoted to division two and have impressed so far. Their recent form is also noteworthy with fifteen points from their last six matches. Patrick Behan is a player to watch who has 13 goals from 14 matches in all competitions.

AFC Birmingham have gone a bit under the radar but are having a quality season in division three. The visitors are in 5th with 27 points from 13 matches and it’s been an impressive season from the Halesowen based club.

A key strength has been their away form with six wins from nine matches and just 10 goals conceded. The visitors have also lost just twice in the league. Rahiem Faulder is a player to watch with 9 goals from 10 matches in all competitions  

​Solihull Sporting V Leamington Hibernian (Saturday 2pm)

Solihull Sporting have been ok in division three and are comfortably in mid table. Their currently 12th in the table with 14 points from 13 matches. They have played ten of their thirteen matches at home at the Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst. The hosts have struggled in the league recently with three points from their last six league games.

None the less, they beat Continental Star in their last league match at home and will be looking to build on that result against Leamington Hibernian tomorrow. Gabriel Harding is a player to watch with 9 goals from 14 matches in all competitions.

Leamington Hibernian have also been ok in division three and are comfortably in mid table. Their currently in 11th with 15 points from 12 matches. Their recent form is impressive with 12 points from their last six matches which suggests they have grown into the season.

The visitors are coming off a momentum building home win against BNJS last weekend which should help them going into this match. Their away record has been a mixed bag with four wins and six losses from ten matches. Kyle King is a player to watch with four goals in ten matches in all competitions.

Castle Vale Town V Continental Star (Saturday 3pm)

Castle Vale Town have been good in division three and are competing in the top half of the table. The Spitfires are in 6th with 26 points from 15 matches.

The club has come a long way within a year. This time last season they were in 11th with 4 points from ten matches in a 12-team division. ​The turnaround has been one of the stories of the season in division three.

One of the club’s struggle this season has been their home form at CV Stadium. The Spitfires have won one home match out of five coming into this one and have been excellent on the road with seven wins from ten matches.

Their recent form has been patchy with seven points from their last six matches. None the less, to be in the top half of the table is testament to how well the season is going.

Jordan McKenzie is a player to watch for Castle Vale Town who has 17 goals in all competitions.

Continental Star have struggled in division three and are second from bottom in the table going into this match. The Perry Barr club are 16th in the table with three points from 14 matches. They have struggled on the road with six losses out of six matches and 25 goals conceded.

Kemarl Campbell is a player to watch with three goals from seven matches in all competitions.   

DSC United V Feckenham (Saturday 3pm)

DSC have been good in division three and are competing in the top half of the table. The club have been competitive in a tough division and have six wins and five losses from 11 matches. Their 8th in the table with 18 points.

Their record at home has been ok with two wins and two losses at the Triplex Sports Association. Rabab Ali is a player to watch with 14 goals from nine matches in all competitions.

Feckenham have been one of the standout teams in division three this season and are competing near the top of the table. The Millers are in 3rd with 33 points from fifteen matches and in contention for the top two.

The defence has been a key strength of the team with only 13 goals conceded at the back. The visitors have the best defensive record in the division so far. Another strength has been up front with 57 goals scored which is also the best in the division. In terms of away form, they have four wins from seven matches on the road.

William Skelton is a player to watch with 15 goals from twelve matches for the Millers.  

Gornal V BNJS (Saturday 3pm)

Gornal have been good since joining the MFL over the summer and have been competitive in division three. The hosts are in 14th with three wins and seven losses from ten matches. Their record at home has been their main strength with three wins from six matches compared to four straight losses on the road.

They have also scored more goals at the Wombourne Leisure Centre with 12 goals scored compared to just four away.

Their recent form is eye catching with six points from their last four matches and includes beating Meadow Park at home. Habil Darboe is a player to watch with nine goals from ten matches.

BNJS have struggled in division three since joining the MFL over the summer. The visitors are 15th in the table with four points from 14 matches. None the less, their capable of causing an upset and beat Solihull Sporting away from home earlier this season.

The visitors have struggled away from home so far with one win from eight league matches. Josh Sarmento is a player to watch who has six goals from ten matches in all competitions.   

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League 

​FA Vase (Third Round Proper)

Eastwood Community 1-4 Stourport Swifts

Stourport got an excellent win against Eastwood Community at Coronation Park on Saturday afternoon. The Swifts continued their FA Vase run in front of an excellent crowd of 134 supporters in the East Midlands.

Jack Bailey opened the scoring for the Swifts in the 35th minute which involved a brilliant ball into the box by Benjamin Tilbury. Eastwood equalised in the 41st minute through Tyler Blake to make it 1-1 before Jack Bailey scored again for Stourport near the end of the half to make it 2-1 going into half time.

Further goals in the second half from Adam Hanson and Benjamin Tilbury gave the Swifts the win against the UCL Premier Division North side who are chasing the play offs this season. Stourport supporters can look forward to the fourth round draw later this afternoon.   

Premier Division

Atherstone Town 2-0 Studley

Atherstone continued their good record at home and beat play-off chasing Studley 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. The win makes it 12 points from their last six matches for the Adders and moves them up to 13th in the table. Their well clear of any relegation worries and 11 points ahead of Dudley Town in 17th.  

Goals from Tom Smith and James Matthew either side of half time gave the Adders their third home win of the season.

The loss continues Studley’s challenging run of form in the league with one point from their last six matches. The team could do with a win over the next few weeks to build some confidence to get the season back on track.

Division One

Coventry Copsewood 1-4 Hinckley AFC

Hinckley continued their excellent run of form with a huge away win against Coventry Copsewood at Allard Way on Saturday afternoon. The win makes it seven wins from nine away matches for the Leicester side and puts them in a good position for the league title. Their top of the table with 42 points and have a 9-point gap over Cradley Town in 2nd.

First half goals from Brady Middleton and Tom Weale gave the visitors a 2-0 lead going into half time. Joe Cairns scored in the 58th minute to make it 3-0. Brady Middleton got a second late on to make it 4-0 in injury time. Sean Kavanagh got a consolation goal for the hosts late on to make the full time score 4-1 to the visitors.  

Despite the loss, Coventry Copsewood have played well recently and have nine points from their last six matches. Their comfortably in mid table in 14th with 22 points from 18 matches and well clear of any relegation worries with a 10-point gap over Smethwick in 18th on 12 points.    

Sutton United 3-2 Wolverhampton Sporting Community

Sutton got a momentum building win against Wolves Sporting on Saturday to climb up the table into 9th with 26 points from 18 matches. It’s the fourth home win of the season at Coleshill Road for Sutton and they have adapted well to step six football having been promoted from division two last season as champions. The win makes it 11 points from their last six league matches.

The loss leaves Wolverhampton Sporting Community looking over their shoulders with Smethwick winning against Droitwich Spa. Their now in 17th with 14 points from 17 matches and two points above Smethwick.

Their away form has been a problem this season with two points on the road from eight matches. On a positive, they have a game in hand over Smethwick and have plenty of the season left to pick up points to move clear of the relegation zone.   

Division Two

Central Ajax 1-3 Cadbury Athletic

Cadbury got a confidence building win to move up to 9th with 17 points from 14 matches. The Chocolate men’s away form has been decent this season with four wins from nine matches and they were looking to respond to a disappointing loss at Lane Head last time out.

One of the struggles for Cadbury has been their home form with one win from five matches. If the team can improve on their home form at the Bournville Recreation ground, they should be capable of a top half finish come the end of the season.

Nigel Hinkulow scored in the first half to give the visitors the lead going into half time. Adam Taylor equalised for Central Ajax to make it it 1-1 before the visitors scored twice late on seal the win. Goals from Darren Green and Aaron Evans in the last ten minutes gave Cadbury the three points and something to build on for this weekend’s home match against Fairfield Villa.

Central Ajax have been good in Division Two since being promoted from division three last season. The Warwickshire club are in 11th with 15 points from 11 matches and five points clear of the relegation places. They have a huge game away at Bolehall Swifts this weekend at Rene Road.      

Coventrians 2-5 Lane Head

Lane Head got a brilliant away win at Coventrians to continue their recent turnaround in the league. The Walsall club now have three consecutive wins in the league and move up to 12th with 14 points from 14 matches. Their now four points clear of the relegation places.

A hat-trick by Urio Hijambazapo and further goals by Craig Tuckley and Claudio Shimmer gave the visitors the three points and their second away victory of the season.   

Despite the loss, Coventrians are still in a good position in the league and have a bit of breathing room over the relegation zone. Their six points clear of Inkberrow in 17th and not far off Coventry Alvis in 7th on 19 points. The hosts are comfortably in mid table so far in 10th with 16 points from 13 matches.  

Division Three

AFC Solihull 5-3 Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons

AFC Solihull went top of the table with a thrilling home win over Boldmere Falcons at the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre on Saturday. The win puts them in 1st with 36 points from 14 matches and three points ahead of Feckenham in 3rd with the top two getting promoted. The Worcester club have a better goal difference, but AFC Solihull have a game in hand over them in the race for promotion.  

The victory makes it six wins from seven matches at home for AFC Solihull.

Cydon Walker gave the Falcons a surprise lead in the 5th minute in new manager Jordan Lengthorn’s first game in charge of the club. AFC Solihull equalised a few minutes later through Dylan Daniels in the 9th minute to make it 1-1. They took the lead a minute later through Cherno Sey to make it 2-1.

Jake Davis scored in the 31st minute to make it 3-1 before AFC Solihull got a fourth through Ross Kaar in the 35th minute. Boldmere responded through Christopher Uwabor who scored in the 42nd minute to make it 4-2 going into half time.

Lee Chakmak scored on the hour mark for AFC Solihull before Marvelous Omoregie scored in the 66th minute for the Falcons to make the full time score 5-3.

It was a memorable first game in charge of the Falcons for Jordan Lengthorn and something to build on going forward. They competed well with a quality side and showed their capable of climbing up the table. The defence has been an issue this season with 37 goals conceded but if they could tighten up at the back, they could pick up some results.   

The Falcons have a home game against Meadow Park this Saturday.    

Castle Vale Town 0-2 Feckenham

Feckenham got an excellent away win at CV Stadium on Saturday afternoon to move up to 3rd in the table with 33 points from 15 matches. The Worcester club have been good on the road so far with just one loss from seven matches to put themselves in contention for the top two.

First half goals from Josh Bowen and Janny Dinanga gave the Millers the three points. They now have 16 points from their last six league games with 25 goals scored and just three conceded in that run.

Despite the loss, Castle Vale Town are having a good season in division three and competing well in a tough division. The Spitfires are in 6th with 26 points from 15 matches.

Their main issue has been their home form with three losses from five matches. None the less, when looking at the season it’s been good, and a top half finish would be a notable achievement.  

Leamington Hibernian 3-0 BNJS

Leamington got their first home win of the season to climb up the table. The win moves them up to 11th with 15 points from 12 matches. The club’s recent form in the league is eye catching with 12 points from their last six matches and they have grown into the season.  

The hosts have beaten the teams around them to climb into mid table and have done the league double over BNJS in their last few leagues games.

BNJS have had a challenging season since joining division three over the summer and are getting use to the division. Their currently 15th in the table with 4 points from 14 matches with a points adjustment made.

Their main highlights are the wins against Castle Vale Town and Solihull Sporting which shows the squad can pull off a few upsets over the course of the season.  

Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League