Wolves Casuals and Uttoxeter Town in a Blood and Thunder encounter.

      ⚽Midland Football League  Premier Div⚽

Wolves Casuals 2  Uttoxeter Town 1

                                                                                                                 Played at Brinsford Stadium

These two teams may well occupy the bottom two league positions but judged on this display, both should hold ambitions of moving in an upward curve. Make no mistake, this was an exhilarating display of  attacking football allied to solid defending with the visitors having the lions share of possession,looking the more threatening but matching their hosts with the paucity of shots at goal, the highlight being a  Casuals move down the right which resulted in an excellent attempt which was matched by goalkeeping heroics.

Things certainly livened up after the break with Casuals reacting to their half-time chat and going for broke from the off and the earlier thoughts of this ending in a 0-0 draw were fast fading. Town were matching their opponents efforts and also the meaty(but fair)tackles.Something had to give and on 78 minutes following a lofted ball which beat the defender, the Town keeper made a superb save from a blistering shot only for Casuals number 7 being Jonny-on-the-spot to tap the ball home⚽. Town responded and were unlucky on a couple of occasions but their efforts paid off on 89 minutes with a well-deserved equaliser⚽. That was seemingly it for the day but following a melee in the Town area, Casuals number 15 picked his spot with a low drive into the far corner in the 93rd minute⚽. So Town and Casuals swop table positions but this observer would be  surprised if they are still there come seasons end.

No doubt about it, this was a real blood and thunder encounter which we thoroughly enjoyed. Credit to both sides and the Midland Football League.

   

Entrance ; £5 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 9/10

Att ; 80 est

Entertainment ; 9/10

Bilston and Coton Green share points in a dour contest.

                       ⚽ Midland Football League Div 1⚽

Bilston Town 1  Coton Green 1

 A dour contest only really came to life very late in the game.

The first half was dominated by defenders, especially those of the visitors, their no-nonsense approach proving difficult for their hosts to breach with their passing game ; added to this, the more direct attacking game from Coton negated most attempts by Town to bring the ball down and play to feet. Having said that, Town will be kicking themselves for not scoring after enjoying the bulk of possession.

Things improved after the break with the visitors upping their game and enjoying plenty of possession. From a throw-in, the ball was  passed infield and followed by a defence-splitting pass which resulted in Coton taking the lead⚽. For a while it looked as the visitors were destined to take the points home but Town were not to be denied and were awarded a penalty late in the game, it being duly despatched⚽. To be fair, Bilston will feel they should have taken all 3 points but the visitors are not joint top because they're a bunch of pussies, its because they are difficult ot beat !

On reflection, a draw was probably a fair result from both perspectives.

Entry ; £5 concession

Drink ; From £1.50

Referee ; 6/10

Crowd ; 160c

Entertainment ; 8/10

Khalsa heading in the right direction.

   ⚽Northern Premier League (Midlands Div)⚽

Sporting Khalsa 2  Rugby Town 0

                                                                                             Played at Guardian Warehousing Arena

With this result, Khalsa leap-frogged their opponents in the table and their proximity to each other was evident in this closeley fought encounter between two well-matched sides. Town were fastest out of the blocks and threatened in the first couple of minutes with a couple of efforts coming to nothing and it was a while before Khalsa could impose themselves. Khalsa upped the ante and you sensed a goal was in the offing and it duly arrived on 30 minutes when Landell was quickest onto a ball over the top; racing across the 18 yard line he beat two defenders before smashing a ball into the far corner⚽. 

Town continued to push but their efforts were ably dealt with by the Khalsa defence. A second goal for Khalsa came on 45 minutes following good work on the right, a superb cross was floated in for McGrady to nod in at the worst possible time for the visitors⚽.

The second half was very much a replay of what had gone before with Khalsa having the lions share of possession while negating most of Towns attacks.

This was a thoroughly entertaining match for fan and neutral alike. 

Entrance ; £5 concession

Drink ; From £1.50

Referee ; 7/10

Att ; 154

Entertainment ; 9/10

Wulfrunians edge an absorbing contest.

                                           ⚽ FA Vase 2nd Round⚽

AFC Wulfrunians 5  Coventry United 4

                                                                                  Played at The Prestige Midlands Arena

The game was delayed for 30 minutes due to a terrific thunderstorm.

The visitors were fastest out of the blocks and were ahead on 3 minutes (I missed the goal as I was talking to a couple of visiting fans)⚽. Their lead only lasted 3 minutes due to Wulfs player Webb showing some nifty footwork to beat the defender and keeper⚽. Clever play by Hall around the twenty minute mark, tempted the defender into a tackle earning a penalty for the hosts, duly despatched by No 9⚽. Wulfrunians were upping the tempo and another goal was  added 5 minutes later when Wulfs number 9 latched onto a terrific through ball to round the keeper and score his second and Wulfs third⚽. United were, at this time, struggling to contain their opponents who added a fourth at 27 minutes and were seemingly destined for a big score⚽ ; this was a false dawn as United rallied and 6 minutes later reduced the arrears with an excellent goal⚽ and were in the ascendency for the remainder of the half, being very unlucky with two more efforts. A scintillating 45 minutes of football.

Following the break, United carried on where they left off and had soon reduced the arrears further, cutting in from the left with only the keeper to beat....and he did⚽. United were now the team looking most likely to score and were desperately unlucky, only being denied by some last-ditch defending. This brilliant game was settled 5 minutes from normal time when a smart move on the right resulted in a straight ball across the area needing only to be tapped in⚽.   

A fantastic game played in an excellent spirit from both sides. For long periods, it was anyones game but Wulfrunians progress to the next round while  United played their part in an absorbing contest.

                                       

Entrance ; £4 concession

Drink ; £1.50

Referee ; 8/10

Att ; 70-80 est

Entertainment ; 9.5/10