Romulus V Darlaston Town (Premier Division)

​Romulus were looking for a statement result yesterday against play off chasing Darlaston Town at Castle Vale Stadium. It’s been a transitional season for Romulus in the premier division with an eye on building for next season. They were comfortably in mid table going into yesterday’s match and in no danger of relegation.

Darlaston are in the hunt for the play offs and were in a good position going into yesterday’s match. The visitors had been one of the most consistent teams in the league going into this one with just five losses from 26 matches which had put them in contention for the play offs. A notable area where they’ve struggled was away from home with three wins from 14 matches.

The Citizens were in a decent run of form going into this match with 9 points from their last five league games and were looking to continue their six-game unbeaten run against Romulus.   

The atmosphere around CV Stadium was positive prior to kick off with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. Darlaston Town brought a commendable number of supporters who made the trip down to Castle Vale which added to the atmosphere. The main stand of CV stadium is excellent for the view it offers of the pitch.  

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line up for Romulus featured Lewis Gwilliams starting in goal and Stephen Palmer captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Isai Marselia leading the line up front and being supported by Ryan Nesbitt and Fin Douglas on the wings.

There were four changes from the team that started against Dudley Town last weekend with Joe Perry coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Sam Paddock.

Darlaston Town’s starting line up included Tom Allsopp starting in goal and Alexander Foreshaw captaining the team from central defence.  The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Rivel Mardenborough leading the line up front and being supported by Aaron Bishop and James Rowland on the wings.

There were two changes from the team that started against Studley last weekend with Ryan Winwood coming back into the team and starting in holding midfield. 

​First Half

The match started with an opening goal in the first five minutes with Romulus starting well and taking the initiative. A well delivered corner into the box found Isai Marselia who headed the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 in the 3rd minute. This was excellent for the neutral as it opened the game up with Darlaston needing something from it in their hunt for the play offs.

The visitors were building attacks well and had a few chances to get a quick equaliser. Their best chance came in the middle of the first half when a neat passing move involved Rivel Mardenborough who played a brilliant ball down the left that found James Rowland. He flicked the ball onto Jake Pearson who fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box.

​The main pattern of play was Darlaston playing a possession-based style and looking to break down a well organised Romulus defence. The Roms were looking to play on the break and draw Darlaston on to them so they could make the most of the available space. It was an entertaining watch with a lot of neat build up play from both sides going forward.  

The visitors managed to find an equaliser near the half hour mark to make it 1-1. James Rowland got into an excellent position in midfield before playing an accurate ball to Jake Pearson down the right. He crossed to Aaron Bishop who finished well into the left corner of the net. It was a moment of quality on the ball from Darlaston rather than any glaring mistake at the back from Romulus.

Romulus responded well to conceding the equaliser and showed character to keep going. There was a brilliant chance for Isai Marselia to make it 2-1 in the 35th minute when he capitalised on a mistake at the back by Rueben Lal and went one on one with Tom Allsopp who made a good save.

The Roms persevered and made it 2-1 a few moments later. It was an excellent move in the final third where Isai Marselia made a dangerous run down the left before sending a good cross into the box for Ryan Nesbitt to head in at the near post. It was a quality goal from Romulus and showed what their capable of.

The visitors responded and put pressure on the Romulus goal in the final stages of the first half. They were building some momentum in front of goal, and this paid off a few minutes before half time. The Citizens were awarded with a penalty for a handball in the box by Joe Perry. James Rowland stepped up and took a composed penalty into the left corner to make it 2-2 at half time.

It was a really entertaining first half between two teams that were going for it and looking to make things happen in the final third.

Second Half

The second half continued where the first half left off with a lot of action in front of goal and a free-flowing match. Romulus started brightly and took the game to Darlaston and were getting forward with numbers into the box. A good ball into the box lead to a scramble where Isai Marselia reacted quickest to the second ball to make it 3-2 in the 50th minute.

He scored again a few minutes later to complete his hat-trick. It was the finish of a player in form, and he made it look easy to make it 4-2 to Romulus. He was brilliant yesterday and held the ball up well to provide an attacking outlet for the Roms so they could build attacks.

Darlaston responded straight from the resulting kick off to make it 4-3 and set up a nervy finish to the match. A long ball found Rivel Mardenborough in the box who was one on one with Lewis Gwilliams. He managed to chip the ball into the net for Darlaston’s third in the 55th minute.

A subtle tactical change led to Darlaston having more of the ball in the second half. Kieron Miller came on for Rueben Lal in central defence and provided the backline with a greater sense of physicality to stop Romulus’ momentum in front of goal. He played well alongside Alexander Foreshaw at the back, and they were managing to clear dangerous balls away to prevent attacks.

The visitors managed to find an equaliser to make it 4-4 in the 65th minute. It was similar to the third goal with James Rowland making a clever run off the ball before being found and flicking the ball over Lewis Gwilliams. From this moment on, Darlaston were in the ascendancy and looking to find the winner. Romulus were looking to hold on and catch the highline of Darlaston off guard.

The best chance of a winner for Darlaston came when Aaron Bishop had a half chance from the edge of the box in the 75th minute. There was also a notable chance where Romulus struggled to clear a corner and the resulting second ball went wide of goal.

Romulus showed resiliency to hold on and find an unlikely winner in injury time for a dramatic win. A dangerous free kick was delivered into the box where Sam Paddock was on hand to head the ball into the net for the three points. It was a brilliant response from the Roms and something to really build on going forward.   

Overall, this was a brilliant match and a great advert for step five football.

FT score: Romulus 5-4 Darlaston Town

Man of the match: Isai Marselia (Romulus)

Attendance: 101

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League