Dudley Town leave it late.

     22/03/2025         

⚽Midland Football League Premier Div⚽

Dudley Town 2  Uttoxeter Town 1

                                                                                                                Played at Sporting Khalsa

For the greater part of this game,it was difficult to tell which side were the high-flyers as Dudley huffed,puffed and generally struggled against a seemingly well organised side. Indeed, as the half progressed,it was the visitors, belying their lowly league position, who looked the more likeley to score,whereas Dudley were glad to hear the whistle for half-time.

Uttoxeter continued where they left off and opened their account 10 minutes after the break(I missed the goal as I was talking )⚽. It was no more than they deserved after looking the better side and looking increasingly comfortable with anything Dudley could throw at them including a fantastic save from a point-blank shot.

Whether the visitors tired or the hosts made some inspired substitutions,the game changed dramatically in the last 10 - 15 minutes with Dudley upping the ante and getting their reward with 2 late goals, the first one being a right thunderbastard⚽⚽.

This was a good game ; Uttoxeter will be disappointed at losing after looking so comfortable but fair play to Dudley who kept going to the very end.

Entrance ; £5 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 9/10

Att ; 75-80 est

Entertainment ; 9/10

Telford Town homing in on the title.

15/03/2025 

 ⚽West Midland Regional League Premier Div⚽

Tipton Town 0 Telford Town 3

                                                                                                          Played at Tipton Sports Academy

Two of the divisions heavy hitters met at the Academy but to be honest the game didn't quite live up to expectations. The visitors brought their physical game which Tipton failed to cope with earl on and around 20  minutes they  took the lead following a minor goalmouth mix-up and the ball was headed in from about two metres. The hosts spent pretty much the rest of the half defending, with Telford running and dominating the midfield. Minutes before half-time Tipton had the first direct goal attempt from either side which looked like a leveller until the keeper just managed to tip it round for a corner.

Whatever the Tipton manager said during the break, it had a dramatic effect on his team as they took no prisoners and tore into their visitors with the exact same physicality they had endured during the first session. The visitors,it has to be said, managed the onslaught well, using all means available and although the hosts had a much better second half,they were unable to break down a solid defence ; as a result the visitors added two more goals to give the scoreline a scewed look.

Credit to the visitors who  know all the tricks and are obviously headed to a higher level and credit to the hosts who were far better than the scoreline suggests.

    

Entrance ; £3 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 8/10

Att ; 80 est

Entertainment ; 7/10

Posession ; 40/60

Birstall grab a last-gasp equaliser.

 1/03/2025                       

          ⚽Midland Football League Div 1⚽

Bilston Town 2  Birstall United Social 2

                                                                                  Played at Bilston Town FC, Queen Street,Bilston

Birstall left it late to salvage a fully deserved share of the spoils from a game they had dominated for long periods.

Bilston started this game at breakneck speed and stormed into the lead on 5 minutes with a brilliantly worked goal ; the ball was swept across the full width of the pitch from the left where it was volleyed into the middle and Number 7(Naz ?) was there to pass it into the net⚽. By this time everyone had seen how dangerous the visitors could be ; they were outshooting the hosts but their shots lacked any sort of threat. Bilston increased their lead on the haf-hour ; a free kick from 25 yards was floated to the far post and number 9 was their to apply the finishing touch⚽.

Birstalls shooting was letting them down consistensly, that is until 38 minutes when a floated ball over the top had the defence incorrectly calling for offside and the ball was smashed into the far corner(scorer unknown)⚽. It was no more than they deserved for some enterprising play.

On 80 minutes, I recorded " the visitors look dangerous and I'll be surprised if they dont equalise". I was right , 2 minutes from time their relentless pressure paid off(again, missed the scorer)⚽.

An excellent game which could(and probably should) have gone the other way had the visitors brought their shooting boots along. 

 

 

Entry ; £5 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 7/10

Att ; 140

Entertainment ; 9/10

Lichfield take the points in a tight game.

 22/02/2025

   ⚽Midland Football League Premier Division⚽

AFC Wulfrunians 0  Lichfield City 1

                                                                                                    Played at The Prestige Midland Arena

The final result is just about right but Wulfrunians ran the league leaders mighty close indeed.

The early exchanges involved a long-ball game from the visitors and the hosts being harried into panick defending.As the game settled,City had more possession but scoring opportunities were at a premium...from both sides. When a chance did arrive,it was City who took it, in the 20th minute with a cleverly headed goal from a corner⚽. 

As the half progressed,Wulfrunians were looking much better without actually threatening a goal but their chance came on 40 minutes when they were awarded a penalty which was brilliantly saved by the keeper.

The second half saw a definite improvement in Wulfrunians and a  response from the visitors of 'what we have,we hold'. City did have a couple of chances but they didn't really test the keeper.

All in all,not a bad game. City take the points but they will have been glad to hear the final whistle while Wulfs put in a tremendous second-half effort without testing the keeper too much.

Entrance ; £4 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 7/10

Att ; 100est

Entertainment ; 7/10