LANE HEAD 1 - 2 CADBURY ATHLETIC

 

      MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION TWO

      Red Lion Ground, Somerfield Road, Bloxwich, Walsall,  WS3 2EJ 

                  3rd January, 2022      2:00 pm Kick-Off

So here we all are in the spanking new year of 2022 and let's hope it will truly be a better experience than 2021 and worse still 2020!

For my first game of the year I have settled on seeing a new team, Lane Head FC, who play at a ground that I have visited 4 or 5 times in the past.

Later after I had watched the game I did a bit of research and found that 'Lane Head' is a district of the nearby town of Willenhall. In the Industrial Revolution era, it was where a colliery and a iron works were situated. The colliery supplied the iron works with the coal and the Wyrley & Essington canal was also close at hand to transport the finished goods. Willenhall is mainly known as a centre for lock making and to underline how important the Industrial Revolution was to this area, the population increased from 3,143 in 1801 to 18,515 one hundred years later!

I believe that Lane Head are a new club to this level of football and it will be interesting to see how they fare against the Div 2 leaders of Cadbury Athletic.

The weather today is a great improvement to when I last ventured out to watch Sutton United, as there is plenty of sunshine and it's not too cold either.

I travel to Walsall by train with no problems and after having a snack in the Saddlers Shopping Centre, I catch the No.32 bus for a 15 minute journey that takes me close to the ground.

I go in to the club house and there is a friendly lady waiting to take the entrance fee off me. There are no programmes available (not that unexpected) and no badges for sale. It's good to see though that the tea bar outside is still in use and I have a nice warming cuppa.

When the 2 sides come out on to the pitch, the home side are in an all blue strip while Cadbury are more like the 'White Chocolate Men' today in their all white change strip.

For the first 10 minutes, the visitors are on top and after 6 minutes their lively No.11, Emile Beckford goes on a good run down the left and crosses the ball just in front of the goal line and the Lane Head keeper, manages to claw the ball away from the waiting Cadbury striker, Tom Craine, (as shown below).

After 26 minutes, the Cadbury No.3 passes through the middle for their No.9 to hit a shot past the right hand post.

Lane Head have been getting in to the game more as this half progresses and their No.6 scores following a free kick awarded on the left hand side. So the home side have rocked their opponents and what will happen now?

They come back strongly in the last few minutes and Beckford sees his fierce shot turned over for a corner. In the 41st minute, their dangerman, Tom Craine manages to bundle the ball home for the equaliser following a free kick on the left.

So it's even-stevens at the end of this half and it looks as if Cadbury will have to dig deep to get the victory they so desire.

Before I arrived I at this ground today, I had been worried in what shape it might be in, as on my last visit here nearly 5 years ago (when Bloxwich United were the hosts), the ground had been experiencing a steady decline and looked quite shoddy. Although there is still work to be done, the general appearance of the ground has definitely improved. The end where the seating is situated appears to be out of bounds for now but hopefully will be repaired in the future. 

When play resumes, Cadbury are the first to go close to scoring when Craine shoots across the goal from the left.

Lane Head though go close themselves when the ball is chipped neatly in from the right and their No.7 shoots just over the bar.

Cadbury Athletic though are stepping up the pressure on their hosts and it comes as no surprise when their No.14 slots home in to the right hand side of the net after 64 minutes.

  Although Cadbury do look the more dangerous side, Lane Head are definitely not out of it and they are handed a lifeline when they are awarded a penalty, when I think the Chocolate Men's No.3 is adjudged to have handled the ball in the area. 

The Lane End No.5 eventually steps up to take the kick, after some heated discussions between some of the Cadbury players and the ref. He decides to go for power down the middle of the goal and the keeper, Sam Smith is able to block this attempt.

There is further disappointment for 'The Lane' when their No.12 is shown a second yellow card for his rash and robust challenge on the Cadbury No.6, Stuart Cooke.

Right in front of the Ref too! So as he trudges of the pitch, so too do Lane End's hopes of salvaging a point as there is only 1 minute of normal time to go and so the match ends in a valuable 3 points gained by the league leaders. To their credit, Lane Head have pushed them all the way today and will be looking to improve on their current 9th place.

Cadbury Athletic will host promotion rivals Fairfield Villa (4th) next Saturday while 2nd placed Knowle (4 points behind) will be at home to 3rd placed Coton Green.

Entrance Fee:                 £4

Match Attendance:          Approx 50 (guesstimate)

Match Programme:          None Available

Entertainment Value:       7/10

 

 

  

  

SUTTON UNITED 4 - 1 AFC SOLIHULL

 

       MIDLANDS FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION 3

                  Rectory Park, Hollyfield Road, Sutton Coldfield, 

                              18/12/2021,  2 pm  Kick Off 

Today I had been planning to visit Gornal Athletic for their Birmingham FA Vase clash v AFC Birmingham. I had been erroneously informed on the MFL website that the game would start at 2pm but found out late on Friday that it would be 3pm. So I started to make plans instead to see another cup game at the Coventry Alliance club called Jet Blades, just on the outskirts of Bedworth. Their Secretary kindly got back to me and said that this match had been put back to the 8th January. So instead I am going to Sutton United's top of the table, MFL Div 3 clash v AFC Solihull and hope that the weather will not be too bad. 

I make it to Sutton Coldfield by train without any mishaps, find a good and cheap cafe for a meal of omelette, chips and peas and walk to the ground in Rectory Park. The weather is cloudy and not likely to brighten up later, so I'm figuring I will have to take as many photos as I can during the first half and hope for the best later on.

It takes me about 25 minutes to get to the ground and I enter by an open gate through the St. Chad's church car park. Not the official entrance probably but I don't think there is an entrance fee for this game. I have been here before, 8 years ago on a pleasant sunny April afternoon. Sutton's opponents that day were the long defunct team of Rugeley Rangers who they beat 5-0.

The ground is basically a park pitch with a railing round it with hard standing at the eastern end and the south side of the ground. The pitch has a noticeable slope on the far side facing the rest of the park. There is a nice club house with the changing rooms, close to the gate I came through and there is a small shelter (room for about 50 spectators),  by the side of the goal nearest the club house. Along side this pitch, there is another one immediately in front of the club house where I find out later on that the Sutton United 4th team are playing today.  

I left it late getting to the ground and the teams soon are trooping on to the pitch, with Sutton in green shirts, black shorts and socks, while their opponents are decked out in their usual colours of all blue.

For the first 10 minutes AFC Solihull are virtually camped in the Sutton United half and the home side's defence is working very hard to keep them from scoring.

  Keep them out they most certainly do and then they break out down the slope on the right in the 12th minute and their No.8, Leighton Hines, shoots past the advancing Solihull keeper.

3 minutes later and United double their lead, when their No.7 is released down the left hand side by their No.6 to pass the ball across to Jonathan Grigg to slot home from close in (as shown below).

The play is quite even for the rest of this half and there is no further score.

So Sutton United managed to catch out Solihull on the break and score twice to have a nice cushion going in to half-time. AFC Solihull have shown they can play some good football going forward but I fancy that they will have to score early on in the second period to have a chance of winning this game.

While looking at my phone, I am very surprised to see that there will only be one Premier League game being played today as the rest have been cancelled, due no doubt to the ever present covid crisis.

When play resumes, my camera is struggling in the deepening gloom and after 10 minutes I give it up for today, as I know I will get mainly blurry photos. To my surprise, the other photographer who is here today is still snapping away. He happens to be the father of the Sutton United No.7 and his wife also writes up the match reports for the club.

We chat away for much of the rest of this half and he helps me with my report by telling me the names of the Sutton scorers.

AFC Solihull do get their early goal, when in the 49th minute they attack down the right and when the ball is crossed in to the Sutton box, the home keeper shapes up to punch the ball but unfortunately he slips and this allows the visitor's No.11, Leonardo Torres, to collect the ball and shoot in to the unguarded net.

It turns out to be a very competitive match now and at one point the ref has to calm things down when some of the players keep jostling each other before Solihull take a corner.

In the last 10 minutes though, Sutton United take control of the game when one of their subs, the No.14 called Tom Massey scores with a great shot from near the penalty spot.

5 minutes later and the ball eludes the Solihull keeper from the left and another Sutton substitute, called Nathan Cox slides in to poke the ball in to the net.

Sutton United see out the last few minutes very comfortably for a well deserved victory against their close rivals. This victory leaves them still in 2nd place, six points behind runaway leaders, AFC Coventry Rangers and one point ahead of Coventrians and AFC Solihull are now in 4th place, 4 points behind Sutton.

It's been good to get to a game despite the poor visibility and it's also my first 3rd Division game of this League. So 2001 is rapidly coming to a close and hopefully I will be able to get in another game before the start of 2022.

Entrance fee:                          Free

Match attendance:                     76 

Match programme:    none available 

Entertainment value:               7/10    

 

    

 

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 5 - 1 LONG EATON UNITED

 

               WOMEN'S F.A. CUP, 3RD ROUND

         The Central Ground, Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1NL 

                          12/12/2021,   1:00 pm Kick Off

As the weather forecast for Saturday is pretty grim I decide to go to a Sunday game instead and I notice that the WBA Ladies team are at home in the Women's FA Cup 3rd Round. They are playing at Sutton Coldfield , which is a surprise as I saw Sutton Coldfield's womens team play there too earlier on in the competition.

I manage to get to Sutton Coldfield by train without any hassle and the weather is not too bad, milder than of late and with sunny intervals too.

I have time to do some Christmas shopping, have a snack in the town centre and walk to Coles Lane.

There is a friendly guy taking the gate money and he turns out to be the Club Secretary as well. I pay my entrance fee and he tells me that the programmes have sold out but I am able to take a printed team sheet instead (thoughtful touch). 

I have time to have a cup of tea before the kick-off. WBA are playing Long Eaton United, who play in the level below them but they are either top or second in their league, so although I am expecting a home win, it's a cup match and a chance of an upset.

The teams come out at 1 pm and WBA are in their usual home colours of blue and white stripes, while Long Eaton are in their change strip of red and black.

The home team take the lead after just 2 minutes and I had not been concentrating so I only have time to see the ball nestling in the back of the net following a corner from the left. I find out that the scorer is their No.10 Evie Gallop and 2 days later watch a video clip of the goal on the WBA Twitter account. It was a great goal, where Evie flicks the ball up in the air after beating a defender and volleys it straight over the keeper's head with a lot of power. A good enough goal to grace any game and I missed it!

Long Eaton come back strongly during the following 10 minutes but without creating any clear cut chances.

              (Trina Greaves clearing this attack from Long Eaton)

Then the Albion ladies are back on the attack down the left and the visitor's keeper has to make a good save from Gallop.

They double their lead after 30 minutes when the on fire, Evie Gallop slots the ball in to the right corner of the net.

5 minutes later and the Albion No.5, Kerry Walklett puts in a great shot from the left and Leagh Kellogg manages to tip it over the bar. 

Long Eaton go very close to scoring when Tiana Hicks is put through and shoots past the oncoming Albion keeper, Poppy Bastock, only to see the ball go just wide of the right hand post.

      (Evie Gallop being closely watched by this Long Eaton defender)

The Albion immediately respond by scoring a third goal through their No.14, Leigh Dugmore, after she receives the ball from Trina Greaves on the right and her shot hits a Long Eaton defender and deflects through the keeper's legs.

Half time arrives none too soon for Long Eaton and it's hard to see them getting back in to this game today. I must admit I have been very impressed with West Bromwich so far, especially Evie Gallop of course and the diminutive, Kerry Walklett in midfield, who is a bundle of energy. 

The second period commences and it's more of the same with the Albion doing most of the attacking and they add to their tally in the 62nd minute when Shannon Stamps cleverly comes through on the right, manages to get in a shot which the keeper can't hold and it's the irrepressible Walklett who's the first to react and stab the ball in to the goal.

               (Kerry Walklett attacking the Long Eaton goal)

Long Eaton manage to score a goal of their own following an attack on the left and it's their No.8, Moriah McIntosh who does so.

Apart from this it's the Albion who are dominating this game and it's no surprise when Walklett scores again.

              (Kerry Walklett being congratulated on her 2nd goal)

But for the Long Eaton United keeper the winning margin could have been greater for the home team. West Bromwich go in to the hat for the 4th Round draw and Long Eaton have to lick their wounds and keep going for promotion from their division.

I really enjoyed this game today and I am tempted to watch WBA Ladies again in the next round if they have a home tie.

Match attendance:      72

Entrance fee:             £5 / £1 concession

Programme:              Sold out

Match entertainment: 7.5/10
 

  

REDDITCH BOROUGH 1 - 2 DROITWICH SPA

 

             W.F.A. SATURDAY CUP, 3RD ROUND 

    Redditch Borough Sports & Social Club, Cherry Tree Walk, Batchley,

          Redditch, B97 6PB.     04/12/2021    2:00 PM KICK-OFF

I have decided to go back to my original plan for last Saturday's excursion and attend the Worcestershire F.A. Saturday Cup clash at Redditch Borough of the Midland Football League, Div 2. As like many games in the area last week, this one was cancelled due to the snowy weather conditions and I was pleasantly surprised it was re-arranged for this Saturday.

This is a ground I haven't been to before and the club were a bit of a mystery to me, so I did a bit of research on Wikipedia and watched some of the Borough match highlights on You Tube too, with some good recent performances. A club definitely worth investigating. 

I made the trip by rail to Redditch with no problems (but the return journey was certainly not straightforward with the covid induced rail staff shortages and subsequent cancellations).

I have some lunch at a cafe just outside the Kingfisher Shopping Centre and after a quick bit of window shopping I head off up the nearby Bromsgrove Road and arrive at the club entrance 20 minutes later.

There is the car park in front of the club house and behind this are one full sized football pitch and 3 mini pitches. To the side of the club house can be found some tennis courts and a bowling green too. Finally on the far side to the left of the club house is situated the Borough 1st team's ground. So it's a great facility for the local community and Borough moved in here in 2017.

I have time to go in to the club house and it's quite a place, with 4 different spaces for the public to enjoy and I go in to the bar area immediately in front of the entrance. There are 2 big screens showing the Coventry v WBA game and I order a shot of whisky to keep out the cold when I go back out again.

Suitably refreshed I go over to the main pitch and notice that the Droitwich team are in a gold and black kit, not their usual red and black and Borough are in their home kit of all blue.

It's a nice sunny but cold afternoon when the game starts and there is a cold wind too. Droitwich, who currently lie second in the West Midland 1st Division, are the more threatening side in the early exchanges and after they attack down the left in the 5th minute, Redditch have to clear the ball off their line. A minute later and a Spa shot from the right goes just over the bar.

In a Borough attack, their No.19 goes down in the visitors penalty area but the referee immediately waves play on, much to the displeasure of this player. Indeed he seems so displeased with this that he continually pushes Droitwich players who happen to be in front of him, when they have the ball, maybe trying make a point of some kind? Later in the half the ref has a word with him and he's fine after this.

Just 3 minutes after this incident and 'The Spa' take the lead when 
their No.7 get's crowded out by the Borough defence when attempting a shot from close in on the right of the goal but the ball bobbles out for another Spa player, No.10 James Lemon I think to poke it in to the net.

3 minutes later and Droitwich double their lead when the ball is crossed from the left and is headed in at the far post.

It's by no means a one sided contest and the Borough do mount attacks of their own but without troubling Oliver too much in the visitor's goal.

Due to the recent rain the pitch has cut up a bit and looks to be a heavy energy sapping surface.

So half-time arrives with Droitwich still in the driving seat and Redditch have their work cut out to get back in to this match. Borough have got this far by having a bye in the 1st Round and then winning against AFC Bromsgove 6-1 in the last round. Droitwich also had a bye in the 1st Round and then were awarded a walk-over against their 2nd Round opponents, Tenbury United, for whatever reason.

I venture back to the club house and join the big queue for the refreshments and the ladies working there are having to work very hard to keep up with the orders but they do so with good humour. I eventually get my cup of coffee and I am able to buy a club badge too for the cheap price of £2, which makes the wait very worth while.

By the time I get back to the pitch, 5 minutes has already been played but with no further score. When I am walking past the goal at the far end I see some Droitwich Spa supporters who I used to travel with a few times in the club's minibus to some away games 5 years ago.

We have a chat during the second half and catch up on some news. It's good to see that their club is still well supported at away games as I also saw a number of other Droitwich supporters in the club house and especially too as their 'home' games are at Stourport while their ground improvements are going ahead.

The game itself this half is a more even contest and the Droitwich defence are having to work harder now. On the hour mark, Borough do reduce the deficit when Paul Bonar scores after an attack on the left of the Droitwich goal.

The Droitwich defence do well in dealing with the Borough attacks and still manage to trouble the home defence.

Max Court the Borough keeper does make a noteworthy save from James Lemon later on as can be seen below.

The game ends without any more goals and Droitwich go through to the quarter-finals next year.

Redditch Borough battled well until the end and I think they can improve on their league position of 9th before the end of the season. It's a good set up at this club and I see that there is a big emphasis to get the young players involved from an early age. Indeed that's how it all started when the present Head Coach and Secretary, Julian Workman, set up an under 10 boys team in the past and it mushroomed from there. His wife Kim is heavily involved too as she is the Chairman.

Yes, a good trip in the end, a new ground and team watched, plus I have met up again with some of the Droitwich Spa faithful. 

Match Attendance:        Approximately 60

Entrance fee:                Free

Match Programme:       None available

Entertainment Value:    7/10

 

 
     

CADBURY ATHLETIC 4 - 0 F.C. DARLASTON

 

      BIRMINGHAM SATURDAY VASE, 3RD ROUND 

Hayes Playing Fields, Birmingham Rd, Hopwood, Worcestershire, B38 8LP

                              20/11/2021   2pm Kick Off

I had at first thought of going to a FA Vase 2nd Rd match and Atherstone Town had been top of my list but in the end I wimped out and decided to go to a more local competition, namely the Birmingham Saturday Vase.

As Cadbury Athletic at present cannot use their own excellent recreation ground pitch, due to covid restrictions, they are currently hiring out an artificial pitch on some playing fields that Alvechurch FC now own. This is the site that's primarily going to be developed for their new ground in the future and the articial pitch is hired out to different clubs in the meantime.

The Cadbury match secretary, Russell Cooke, informed me by email that this ground is a caged affair but one side has room for spectators. At first, I was not that keen but as the weather forecast is quite good I decide to go for it, plus Russell also mentioned there are refreshments available and match programmes too! 

I travel by train to Longbridge and go browsing around the local shopping centre, even buying some Christmas Cards, have a meal at Sainsbury's cafe and walk to the ground, which takes me about 50 minutes. I definitely need the exercise!

I don't realise until later that this facility lies just over the border in Worcestershire, my home county.

I make my way up the new looking road and come to a table where 2 guys from Cadbury are taking the gate money and selling the match programmes and club badges.

The road takes a left turn and the pitch is on the left as I walk up and beyond are some toilets (much needed by now), with the changing rooms behind them plus a club house that's still not fully completed inside.

I go to the entrance of the cage and walk along the spectator area till I am just over half way along and get ready for the match.

 Soon the 2 teams, come out on to the pitch, with Cadbury in their usual home strip of purple and FC Darlaston from the West Midlands League are in their away kit of all red.

The 'Chocolate Men' are in control at the start and are pressing for an early goal. Darlaston have a set back after just 6 minutes when their No.8 has to hobble off the pitch and take no further part in the proceedings!

Cadbury Athletic press well and are playing with a confidence that underlines their current good form which sees them top of the 2nd Division of the Midland Football League.

Their best first chance falls to their No.10 who I think is Tom Craine, their joint top scorer but his shot is blocked by the visitors keeper. Then their No.2 lets fly with a shot that fly's just over the bar.

Eventually the Cadbury No.9 does score and later on Tom Craine wrong foots the goalkeeper and slots home in to the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, when his team are awarded a penalty.

Darlaston do mount attacks of their own but these are usually snuffed out before they reach the penalty area and the home keeper has competently dealt with anything coming his way.

So Cadbury Athletic are 2 up at the break and are looking comfortable to move forward in to the 3rd Round draw.

At half time I go in to the club house and have a cup of tea and a ham roll. When I walk out a club official points to some steps that lead to a raised area, where the Alvechurch ground will be built. He tells me that I'm welcome to go and have a look but of course there is not much to see yet. 

The fortunes of Alvechurch have been taking an upturn in recent years and that's very good considering they are basically a village team but with a very proud history of course.

FC Darlaston are a club that was only formed in 2017 by 2 former officials of Darlaston Town, Paul Foster and Mark McIntyre. They started off by recruiting mainly local players and then signed up some former 'Town' players the next season and achieved promotion to Division One but this will (hopefully) be their first full season in the top flight, following the covid restrictions of the previous 2 league campaigns. 

The second period commences and it's Cadbury Athletic mainly on top but Darlaston do manage to implement more attacks this time round.

Tom Craine is foiled twice by the visitor's keeper in quick succession and then hits the rebound over the bar in the 59th minute.

   The Chocolate Men miss a great chance to go 3 goals up when their No.12 substitute hardly makes contact with the ball when it's passed invitingly in front of him in front of goal.

One of FC Darlaston's best players, their No.7, hits a shot over the bar after 75 minutes as a reminder that his side still intend to fight all the way.

Cadbury have other ideas and do score the all important 3rd goal soon after when the ball is glanced in at the far post when a cross comes over from the left.  

        (The Cadbury Athletic No.3 almost bends it in like Beckham)

The home side complete their scoring with 8 minutes remaining when their No.9 goes on a good run down the right and scores from close in.

Cadbury Athletic have been well worth their victory today and next week sees them hosting their close rivals and second placed team, Knowle FC. Should be quite a contest. They will be playing here at 'The Hayes' until the end of this season and then hopefully will be able to go back to their ground in Bournville.

FC Darlaston will be trying to resurrect their season as they currently occupy bottom place in their division.

Before I leave the site, I get chatting to a guy called Dougie Griffiths, who turns out to be a director of Alvechurch FC. He's an ex-player and informs me when I tell him I come from Worcester, that he was the deputy manager for 2 seasons when George Rooney was in charge at Worcester City in the 1980's. It turns out he has been involved with several Midland clubs in the past and has plenty of stories to tell.

All in all a good trip and it will be interesting to see the new Alvechurch stadium in the future.

Match Attendance:        60

Entrance Fee:               £4

Programme:                 £1

Entertainment value:  7/10  

 

 

 

WALSALL WOOD 0 - 1 WORCESTER CITY

 

   MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RESERVE DIVISION,

        at the BBG Stadium, Lichfield Road, Walsall Wood, WS9 9NP

                                  13/11/2021   2pm K.O.

My choice of game today, reflects my roots as I have decided to see Worcester City, the place of my birth and see their reserve team playing at Walsall Wood's ground. I had wanted to see their first team play at Romulus 2 weeks ago but my plans came unstuck when I got confused as to where the second bus taking me close to the ground in Castle Vale, was going from. The Traveline West Midlands website had not been clear on that matter and I wasted 20-30 minutes looking for the correct bus stop, so I ended up not going as I would have been late arriving.

This time around I had no such trouble as I have been to Walsall Wood's ground on 2-3 occasions before. The only problem I had was trying to eat all the meal I had ordered at the cafe I used in Walsall town centre. So I had to reluctantly leave half of the chips uneaten and hurry out for my bus at the nearby bus station.

I catch the No.10 bus which 20 minutes later drops me off just in front of the ground. 

It's just a £3 entrance fee today and I forget to ask for a programme but I think there will not be one today.

I just have time to go to the loo and when I get back outside there is a minute's silence for Remembrance Day, with both teams lined up and music provided by some Army cadets I think?

The Walsall Wood team are in their usual strip of all red while Worcester City are in an alternative strip of all green. It's nice to see that the club have a few stewards in attendance and some ball boys are provided from the club's boys teams.

When play starts, defences are mainly on top for the first 10 minutes but 'The Wood' do have 2 corners awarded for their efforts.

The home team are looking the more likely to break the deadlock and the Worcester keeper has to make a save from the Walsall No.10 on the right side of the goal, after 19 minutes. 4 minutes later and the same player makes a good run in to the visitor's box only to be thwarted again by the the keeper.

As the first-half progresses, Worcester get in to the game more and their first real chance comes in the 34th minute with their No.7 having his effort well blocked by The Wood's keeper (as shown below).

  After 36 minutes, City's No.10 hobbles off the pitch after he's made a good showing with his forward play, especially in laying off the ball for his team mates.

Worcester's No.9 then breaks through on goal after 39 minutes but his shot is acrobatically turned over the bar by the Walsall keeper. Their first choice goalkeeper certainly has some competition on that showing!

The end of the first 45 minutes sees the scoreline still goalless with the defences generally on top but it certainly hasn't been dull.

During the interval I have a warming cup of tea and I speak to a guy at the entrance end of the ground who tells me that their first team are playing up the road at Hednesford in a friendly, as they didn't have a fixture today. He also says that he manages the Twitter content for the club.

I ask him if an old guy called Bill Shaw is still connected to the club and he informs me that no, he passed away a few years ago. I tell him that I'd met Bill 2-3 times in the past and he had once kindly got the club to print some of my photos in their programme from The Wood's FA Vase victory at Malvern Town, that we had both attended the week before. He's been remembered by the club as they have named the opposite end of the ground the 'Shaw End'. A nice touch.

In the second half, the play is quite even between both teams and The Wood have a few corners at the end where I'm stood but the City defence stand up to the pressure well.

  Not to be outdone, Worcester's No.11 sees his shot from the left go past the right hand post.

After 92 minutes, Worcester take the lead and I miss the goal except that I just have time to see the ball going in to the right hand corner. I think the ball had not been able to be cleared by the Wood's defence following a corner and I find out later that the goal scorer was Armani Bennett. I think he may have been playing at No.8?

This spurs on the home team to press for an equaliser and in the last minute, a hard cross from the right is tipped over by the Worcester keeper.

The visitor's manage to keep their lead intact and I must admit, a draw may have been a fairer result but I will take the win gladly for sure.

It's been good to visit this ground again as Walsall Wood seem to be a well run and friendly club. Also it's been good to re-acquaint myself with 'The City' as I have to confess it's been a very long time since I saw them in action. It must be 7 years, when I saw their famous FA Cup victory at Coventry City, along with 3,000 other City supporters! A great day which no City fan will ever forget. Let's hope that those days will come again in the not too distant future. I have certainly been impressed with the progress the club have been making both on and off the pitch in recent times and feel that they are going in the right direction, as the fan base is certainly there.

Match Attendance:         Approx, 35-40.

Entrance Fee:                                 £3.

Match Programme:         none available 

Entertainment value:                 7.5/10                      

 

 

EDGBASTON SPARTANS 1 - 1 WELLINGTON AMATEURS DEVELOPMENT

 

   WEST MIDLANDS REGIONAL LEAGUE, DIVISION 2

  TSA Sports Ground, Eckersall Rd, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B38 8SR

                                  06/11/2021      2pm K.O.

I had planned to go to Derby again for a match but a look on my weather app put me off as it indicates rain there this afternoon. Instead I am staying in Birmingham and ticking off my first West Midlands League game for this Blog.

In the four years since I was last here in the West Midlands, there have been many clubs moving over from this league to be incorporated in to the Midlands Football League and I have been wondering what the future holds for this historic competition?

Anyhow I want to go to a game with an earlier kick-off time and so I have plumped for the 2nd Division home game of the splendidly named 'Edgbaston Spartans', who I find play at an old haunt of mine, the TSA Sports Ground, formerly the home of the now defunct Pilkington XXX and then Cadbury Athletic. I used to occasionally take photos for Pilkington for their programme but it looks as if they may have disbanded in 2017.

My journey by train to Kings Norton goes as planned and I give myself enough time to get a snack at a local cafe in nearby Cotteridge before setting off for the 20 minute walk to the ground. I am feeling a bit more optimistic about the weather as the sun has come out now and again this morning.

When I get to the ground, some of the home side players have been limbering up but there don't seem to be many spectators about and there is no-one to take money for the entrance fee. I stand by the goal at the changing room end of the ground and I ask a guy (whose face I saw on the website) if it's OK to take photos? He turns out to be the young Chairman of the club, Giani Ntente and he tells me yes that's fine. He informs me that The Spartans are a very new club (formed in 2020) and so this will be their first full proper season in action.

A bit later, another guy comes over and tells me that the entrance fee is £3 and when I pay up I get a match ticket! I later find out that he is the friend of Giani and co-founder of the club, Dimitros Ampatzidis.

The match starts a bit later than planned, with Edgbaston taking to the field in a red and white strip while Wellington are in blue and white. It looks as if Wellington have mainly young players with a few older hands thrown in.

In the early minutes it's the hosts who start off on the front foot and have several attacks on the Wellington goal but then the visitors start to launch attacks of their own and are the more dominant team in this half.

Their generally younger's players speed is causing The Spartans defence some problems and they take the lead after 18 minutes with a scrappy goal. They have a corner from the right and the Edgaston keeper and one of his fellow defenders get in each others way and the ball drops for Lewington to stab home from close in.

15 minutes later and Wellington break away when they get the ball from a Spartans corner and their No.20 shoots across goal while under pressure from a defender and sees his shot drift just wide of the right hand post.

Half-time arrives with the visitors still a goal to the good and Edgbaston will have to up their game to win this match. Both teams find themselves both near the foot of this division and have plenty to play for in the next 45 minutes.

During the first-half a spectator asks me if I can send him some photos that feature his son, Elliott Hadley and I agree to this. It turns out that he needs some photos for his portfolio as he is looking to take up a sports scholarship at a College in the U.S.A. and he is funding it himself.

When the teams come out for the second period I notice that the weather is not improving and because of the dwindling light levels I give up on taking any more photos for today. Indeed for the last 25 minutes I take shelter in the stand when it starts to rain.

An unfortunate incident takes place after just 6 minutes when the young No.11, Souleiman Adamu I think, for Spartans bursts through the middle on goal to be met by the on-rushing Wellington keeper and comes out 2nd best from the collision and eventually has to hobble off the field. A shame as he looks to be a useful player and I hope he recovers quickly.

This half sees an improvement from The Spartans and it's much more of a contest now.

The home side equalise in the 58th minute when a great through ball sends Eddie Foweather through to slot home. 

It's a very competitive game now with the play switching from end to end.

Both sides go close to scoring again and at one point I think Wellington have got the winner when one of their defenders has a header that seems destined for the right side of the Spartans goal only for it to be cleared. 

In the last few minutes Wellington finish the stronger but cannot get that 2nd goal. It ends 1-1 and I think that's a right result. Edgbaston showed great character to come back strongly and will hope to build on that.

I am glad I came to this game and it's good to see this ground still being used. I find out later that the 'Spartans' part of the club's name is due to the Greek connection as the co-founders Messers, Ntente and Ampatzidis both hail from that country and only started the club in January last year. I would have realised quicker maybe if they had been named something like 'Edgbaston Olympiakos' or AEK Edgbaston !

They are promoting the Greek and Cypriot sporting community and are also busy developing players from different cultural backgrounds. That's good to see and I wish them well in this venture.

Wellington played well and seem to have to some good young talent coming through.

 

Match Attendance:         Approx 30

Entrance Fee:                           £3

Entertainment Level:              7/10 

Match Programme:  None Available