CADBURY ATHLETIC 3 - 1 KNOWLE

 

    MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION TWO

Cadbury Recreation Ground, Bournville Lane, Birmingham, B30 2HP

                 5th November, 2022                 2:00 pm Kick-Off  

So the rail strike has been called off but not in time for most services today to be disrupted. This has helped to make me make a decision to go to a venue that will be easy to reach by local bus and I have plumped for the MFL Div 2, top of the table clash in the 'village' of Bournville, between 3rd placed Cadbury Athletic v 2nd placed and unbeaten Knowle F.C.

It's also a good excuse to visit this unusual ground set in beautiful surroundings.

I initially have trouble getting a No.1 bus from Acocks Green as the one I wanted doesn't show up, so I have to wait another 15 minutes for the next one. I then get off opposite the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, walk round the corner on to the Pershore Road and catch the No.5 to Stirchley, where I find my planned meal stop at the Bournville Cafe is not possible as this establishment is not open, or even closed for good?

As I'm pushed for time, I grab a coffee at another cafe, (which doesn't serve food) and then walk in to Bournville, buy some cheap chicken sandwiches at a local corner shop and eat them on the way to the ground.

I make it to the ground with 20 minutes before kick-off, pay my entrance fee and buy a programme, which is quite unusual and welcome for this level. I'm even able to buy a welcome cheese roll at the tea bar at the bottom of the magnificent Pavilion building, which is the headquarters of the football and cricket teams.

I take up a position at the opposite end to the pavilion, with the factory building and team dug-outs on my left and the rest of the playing fields to my right.

Unfortunately the kick-off is delayed to 2:15 pm due to the match officials for some reason arriving late to the ground.    

Cadbury troop out on to the turf, in their usual purple shirts, white shorts and purple socks while Knowle are also in their first team colours of red shirts, black shorts and socks.

I had made a mental pre-match prediction of a 1-1 draw, given that Knowle have the meanest defence in this division and they take an early lead, when they are awarded a free kick on the right, the shot hits the right hand post, comes out to the Knowle No.6 who hits a goal bound shot and is deflected off a Cadbury defender in to the right hand corner of the net.

After this set back, the 'Chocolate Men' begin to take control of the game. After mounting pressure, a cross comes in from the right and is headed in by their lively No.11 after 21 minutes.

It's no surprise when goal number number 2 arrives when the Knowle keeper, Craig Johnson, is beaten by a shot across the goal from the left.

Johnson then does well to make a save from an incoming header but it proves to be a short reprieve, when in the 32nd minute he comes out to block the Cadbury N0.9, Tom Craine, only to see the ball rebound off him to the oncoming Jeson Dinanga to slot the ball home.

So my pre-match prediction has been destroyed by a 'purple patch' of 12 minutes play by last seasons champions, Cadbury Athletic, who take this 2 goal lead into at the interval. 

I have a cup of Cadbury's hot chocolate and wonder if there will be any more goals in the second period?

I think this ground is a haven for ground hoppers as I have met 3 today. I get talking to one guy who has managed to travel by train from Coventry. He originally comes from Barnet in North London and we reminisce about grounds we have visited in the past and also music concerts. It turns out that he is going to watch the old 70's punk band 'The Damned' this evening.

Also there is a guy from Leicester, taking photos for a website (called 'Football Grounds In Focus') about football grounds around the country and abroad too, which is worth checking out.

The second half of this game sees Cadbury Athletic largely content to keep the visitors at bay. 

Knowle's stand out player today is undoubtedly their No.10, Reece Hewitt, who has shown great skill and energy in his efforts to rally his team (as shown below).

 Knowle do go close late on in the game to getting a second goal when a header hits the base of a post and out.

The match ends in a well deserved win for the home team, who by courtesy of a surprising slip-up at home by the league leaders, Sutton United (1-2 losers v Inkberrow), duly take over Knowle in second place and 2 points behind Sutton. 

Knowle drop to 4th place on goal difference from Alcester Town. The top 7 teams are only seperated by 7 points, so this bodes well for a possible tight title race this season.

It's been good to visit this ground (one of my favourites) again and I might make another visit, possibly for a cup match, in the next few months.

Match Attendance:                     75

Entrance Fee:                              £5 (£3 concession)

Match Programme:                    £ 1.50

Entertainment Value:                7.5/10  

  

 

   

HAMPTON 2 - 1 KNOWLE

 

      MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION TWO

                   The Boggery, Field Lane, Solihull, B93 0NX   

                        15th January 2022,  2pm Kick-Off

So I am keeping my 2nd visit to a match of this new year strictly local today and I will be seeing the MFL 2nd Division local derby at Hampton F.C. who are hosting 2nd placed Knowle.

On paper, it looks to be a fairly easy task for the high riding visitors but I have a feeling it will be a tight, hard fought game.

I make my way to Solihull on the No.4 bus, have a quick wander round the town, have a meal of scampi and chips before going to the bus stop that I need opposite the Solihull Rail Station. I have left it a bit late and have to run some of the way, jump on to the wrong bus (X2 instead of the X12) and when informed by the driver, jump off again and catch a taxi from the town centre.  

I get to the ground 20 minutes before kick off but £7 lighter. This cheap local trip is turning out to be more expensive than planned.

  I have time to get a cup of tea in the club house, buy an impressive club badge (a black griffin (?) on a red background) and settle down to watch the Premier Division early kick off game between Man City and Chelsea, which is scoreless so far.

When I go out to get to the pitch later on, the guy who is taking the gate money informs me that the game is taking place on another pitch as the usual one has not thawed out properly. Also there are no programmes available as the Editor is on holiday. Well at least the game is being played!

The teams come out with Hampton in their home colours of red and white shirts, black shorts and red and white socks. Knowle are in a change strip of all light blue.

Hampton are the team to be making the early running and in the 5th minute, their No.10 makes an impressive run in to the Knowle half, sees his shot rebound to team mate and No.11, Hamza Siddique to slot home in to the left hand corner of the net.

First blood to the underdogs and this promises to be more interesting than I had first thought.

Knowle come back with some attacks of their own and when their No.10 bears down on goal, a Hampton defender makes a great tackle before he can get in a shot from a promising position.

In the 21st minute, the home team increase their lead when Knowle are unable to properly clear the ball after a Hampton free kick and Hampton's No.8, Will Simmons shoots in to the net.

Knowle come back strongly with their No.3 shooting just over the bar and their No.11 shooting in to the side netting after a good attack down the right.

Hampton show they are still dangerous on the break and Will Simmons takes a shot before he can steady himself properly and slices his shot wildly to the right of the goal.

When Knowle are thrown a lifeline, with the award of a penalty in the 41st minute, their No.7 sees his effort easily saved by Matt Allely in the Hampton goal. 

So the first half ends with Knowle facing an uphill task to get any points from this game in their quest to make some ground on runaway leaders, Cadbury Athletic, who are in cup action today.

It's certainly a cold day and my hands are feeling a bit numb, even with gloves on. It reminds me a little when I came here before, nine years ago, when it was cold but it was also windy then too. At least the sun has been showing his face a little today.

I notice that the Knowle programme editor, Ronald Craine, is in attendance today, busy with his match report and I make my re-acquaintance with him after first meeting him at Knowle a few months ago. He has been disappointed with his sides performance so far and reckons they don't fancy the pitch they have had to play on. Hampton's first choice pitch certainly looks in good nick.

I'm sure they will make a greater effort in the next period and so it proves to be when play starts again. They are putting in a lot more effort and they quickly reduce arrears when their forward, Nathan Corry scores with a great shot from just outside the penalty area in the 50 minute.

 After 16 minutes, the Hampton keeper makes a good save and the shot from the rebound goes just wide of the goal.

Hampton are defending well, albeit desperately at times. It's certainly a hard fought and physical game as you would expect from a local derby.

Their cause is not helped when their No.9, Tom Parnaby, is sent off after being booked a second time in the 79th minute.

Knowle are awarded plenty of corners from their attacking efforts in the second period but are not able to make it count and go close again in the 87th minute when their No.3 shoots across the goal but just wide.

Although there is about 9 minutes of injury time played, Knowle are unable to find an equaliser. They have certainly played much better in this half but the luck has not been with them today. They will no doubt be hoping on some slip ups in the coming weeks by Cadbury Athletic to aid their championship bid.

Hampton on the other hand can take credit from their performance today and will be looking to get in to the top half of the Division 2 table.  

Entrance Fee:                   £3

Programme:    none available

Match Attendance:            72

Match Entertainment:    8/10

     

     

KNOWLE 4 - 0 BOLDMERE SPORTS & SOCIAL FALCONS

        MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIV 2, 09/10/2021

    The Robin's Nest, (Draintech Community Stadium), Hampton Road, 

                                  Knowle, Solihull, B93 0NX 

 It's time for me to fly over to the Robins Nest ground of Div 2, Midland Football League team of Knowle F.C., who are currently riding high in the league table. The first four teams, (Fairfield Villa, Coton Green, Knowle and Cadbury Athletic) are all in very close proximity to each other and there is the prospect of a very exciting title race for this season between them.

I take the short rail journey to Dorridge and then catch the A8 bus to the High Street of Knowle village. Again I am lucky with the weather, with it being cloudy but with plenty of sunny intervals.

I make it in to Knowle village centre and it's a very smart shopping area, much better than some town centres that come to mind. I have a panini and coffee at a local coffee shop and make my way to the ground which is just 5 minutes walk away.

It's a venue I have visited twice before and the third time I have watched Knowle, with every time resulting in a Knowle victory!

 The ground is now called the 'Draintech Community Stadium' no doubt due to a sponsorship deal. I walk in and pay my £3 entry fee that comes with a free programme and it looks to be the last one!

Today's visitors from Boldmere, are in a mid table position (sixth) and I think that Knowle will probably win 3-1 but I'm not known for my accurate predictions. 

I'm a bit put out that I won't be able to take any photos from the end nearest the entrance as there is a mesh fence right across there to stop stray balls going over the hedge and in to a neighbouring property. So I decide to go to the far side of the ground, a few yards away from the small stand (seats for 48 spectators), with the portacabin like club house, close by on the other side and then further along the changing rooms and toilets.

The far end of the pitch is accessible to spectators and the other side has the team dugouts and it's where the car park area is located too (handy for the older spectators on a cold winter's day, as you can get a warmer view from your vehicle).

The 2 teams come out and the home team are resplendent in their usual red shirts, black shorts and socks. Boldmere have to change from their usual red and black stripes, to a mainly dark blue kit with yellow trimmings.

It's Boldmere on the attack for the first few minutes but Knowle hit back quickly and see a header just go over the bar. After 6 mins, the home team take the lead with their No.9, Nathan Corry, taking advantage of a mix up in the Boldmere defence to slot home from close in.

It's mainly 'The Robins' on the offensive after this and 'The Falcons' keeper is definitely the busier of the two.

Coming in to the last 15 minutes of this half, the visitors start to mount some attacks of their own, inspired by their captain Matty Tyler. He is an excellent box to box midfielder who I saw play for one of my then local teams from 5 years ago, Worcester Raiders and was one of their key players at that time in an improving team (seen in action below). 

 However this proves to be a false dawn for Boldmere's hopes as some more sloppy defending on their part, sees Knowle's Charlie Morris score from close in.

Just a minute before half-time sees a slick attacking move by Knowle, from right to left across the pitch sees their No.3, Jay Payne, score goal number 3! Then in injury time, Knowle's George Seeley screws his shot just wide when he should have scored.

So Knowle are 3 goals to the good at the interval and have been the sharper team, with a good pressing game, helping to force mistakes from the visitors.

During half-time a man called Ronald Crane comes over to me and introduces himself and asks if I can provide some photos for the club's Facebook page. Of course I'm happy to oblige and he is the guy who writes the match reports for the programme, which turns out to be a good informative read.

The first team's last match turned out to be a closely fought 1-1 draw with 4th placed Cadbury Athletic and also there is a match report on the Ladies team's FA Cup victory over the higher ranked Coundon Court Ladies from Coventry.

It's good to see the club doing well and Knowle go close to scoring again after just 5 minutes of play in the 2nd half when one of their attackers beats the Boldmere keeper to the ball finds the angle too acute to score from.

Another good attempt in the 78th minute sees a Knowle player spotting the visitor's keeper some way off his line and his attempted lob sails just over the bar.

Yet another defensive mix up by Boldmere sees the ball go to a Boldmere substitute, Kaine Williams, who takes it past the keeper and strokes it in to an empty net.

An emphatic victory to The Robins who have certainly clipped the wings of The Falcons, who will have to work on their defensive short comings if they want to improve their season.

Knowle are looking likely title contenders and indeed with today's result and results elsewhere, they leapfrog on goal difference over former leaders Fairfield Villa in to top spot!

It's interesting to read in the programme that Knowle are looking to move to another nearby site that will enable them to have on site training facilities and an all-weather playing surface too.

I have enjoyed my visit today, pleased with keeping my 100% viewing, winning record for Knowle FC.

I make the short walk in to the High Street and while waiting for the bus I take a photo of the church and village sign across the road.

Match attendance          51

Entrance fee                 £3

Programme                Free

Match entertainment  7/10