Cradley Town take their chances.

      ⚽West Midlands Regional League Premier Div⚽

Shifnal Town 1  Cradley Town 3

Played at The Acoustafoam Stadium, Shifnal

The visitors were at Shifnals' throats straight from the off and it took the hosts at least 10 minutes to gradually work themselves into the game albeit without any direct threat on goal but at the same time not being under any pressure themselves.

At the 20 minute mark there had been plenty of effort but little sign of any serious goalmouth action from either side;for the hosts,No7 was a big influence in midfield while the visitors' No 5 was letting little past. Shifnal were by now playing a prominent part in proceedings and by the half-hour mark they'd had the only real goal threat with a header going wide.

Within 5 minutes of the restart Cradley took the lead with a ball over the top which fooled everyone,the forward basically needing to prod it over the line. Less than 5 minutes later they increased their lead when the seemingly had the ball covered only to be beaten by the bounce; tough luck on him. 

On 75 minutes Shifnal got a deserved break and reduced the deficit; it looked to all intents and purposes we were in for a tight finish as they were enjoying the lions share of possession but the visitors were to have the final say in proceedings by snatching a late 3rd goal. Game over.

The result was tough on Shifnal who,if truth be told,didn't deserve to on the receiving end of a 3-1 defeat but you have to say fair play to Cradley for taking the chances when they arose.

MOTM Shifnal ; No 7
MOTM Cradley ; No 5

Entrance ; £4 concession
Programme ; N/a
Drink ; £1
Referee ; 7/10
Non League dogs ; Just 1 this week
Entertainment value ; 8.5/10

Old Wulfrunians battle to a win

            ⚽West Midlands Regional League  Div 1⚽

Old Wulfrunians 4 Tipton Town 2      
 Played at Brinsford Lane Stadium

After watching the  midday Crystal Palace/Brighton dross on Sky ,this was a refreshing change; bags of energy,running,hard tackling and nothing nasty.
The game got off to a cracking start with both teams threatening but it was Wulfs who struck first  after 10 minutes following a goalmouth scramble. Town weren't to be outdone though and 2 minutes later, from the resulting kick-off they put together an excellent flowing move which got the goal it deserved; game on ! These two were really putting on a show and on 19 minutes Wulfs again went ahead after another passage of excellent football and on 30 minutes they increased their lead, which,on the balance of play was probably deserved as they had begun to dominate. Everything seemed to be going for Wulfs but they were reduced to 10 men in the 37th minute(second yellow card).

The second period started with Tipton using their extra man(especially the speed-merchant No 10) to advantage and it paid off on 54 minutes with a headed goal from a corner. The feeling was Town would get themselves on level terms but credit to Wulfs; they dug in,resisted all that Town could throw at them,played themselves back into the game and increased their lead on 77 minutes. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Town and try as they might they were unable to reduce the deficit.

Another outstanding WMRL game played in good spirit and a credit to non-league football. 


MOTM Old Wulfrunians ; No 10
MOTM Tipton Town ; No 10

He knows how to pose,doesn't he ?

Entrance ; £2 concession
Programme ; Free with entrance
Drink ; £1
Crowd ; 30 est
Referee ; 6.5/10
Non-League dogs ; 1(bit of a belter, see above)
Entertainment value ; 9/10

Wednesfield too hot for Wem Town

     ⚽West Midlands Regional League (Premier Division)⚽

Wednesfield  FC 2  Wem Town 1 Played at The Cottage Ground

Another decent WMRL match, although,if truth be told,a trifle one-sided. The hosts were at it from the off and it was a wonder it took them until the 33rd minute to take the lead through their Number 10 who thoroughly deserved his goal for his efforts. He was a right pain in the neck for the Town defence. Try as they might,the visitors could't really maintain any kind of sustained attack ; this mainly being down to the well-marshalled Wednesfield defence.

The second half was basically just a rerun of the first with the home side persistent in their attacks and the visitors restricted to the occasional foray which more often than not failed to amount to much. The hosts increased their lead on 63 minutes following a goalmouth scramble and we waited for the deluge of goals which,amazingly,never materialized.

The visitors were thrown a lifeline on 84 minutes via a penalty which was duly converted and here they were, in with a chance after being under the cosh for the greater part of the game; unfortunately for them,an equalizer never appeared and Wednesfield bagged three well deserved points.

Wem did their best but they were up against a very good side so credit to them for keeping the score at 2-1.

MOTM  Wednesfield  ; No 10
MOTM Wem Twn  ; No 3(special mention to the keeper who kept the score to two.)


Special mention for Wednesfield FC ; No-one was available to serve hot drinks so we were treated to free coffee/tea and refreshments. Nice touch. 👏👏👏

Wem Town convert their penalty

No it's not a goal,just a fantastic save!

Entrance ; £3
Programme ; £1
Drinks ; See above
Crowd ; 30 est
Referee ; 8/10
Non-league dogs ; Never saw one !
Entertainment value ; 9/10

Tividale and Malvern Twn lay on a treat.

     ⚽West Midlands Regional League Premier Division⚽

Tividale 1 Malvern Town 1

Played at The Beeches

On paper this game looked to be the pick of the day with 1st entertaining 5th and so it proved. What an absolute treat for both partisan fan and neutral alike. Malvern came with a game-plan to press high and it worked a treat for them in the first half where,it has to be said,they looked slightly the more dangerous side even allowing for Tivi seeing a lot of the ball.The visitors enterprising play paid dividends after 30 minutes when Harry Clark finished off a delightful move.Both sides were playing excellent stuff,giving the sizeable crowd a treat. Wouldn't you know it ,despite the fayre on offer it was a simple ball down the middle and a lob over the keeper  from Tivis' No 9 to bring the hosts level. No matter,it was no less than they deserved after being thwarted on several occasions by some first-class goalkeeping.

The second half saw a different Tividale; a much more attack-minded team, raining plenty of shots on the home goal but still being denied by plenty of last-ditch defending. The feeling that a home goal was on the cards never came to fruition and a draw that neither side really wanted,was the final result.

All in all an excellent advert for WMRL football from two very good sides.

Proper Football MOTM Tividale ; No 4
Proper Football MOTM Malvern Tn ; No 6

I have no objection to anyone using any of the photos on this blog ;  all I would ask is please accredit me if  you do choose to use them.

Entrance ; £3 concession
Programme ; £1.50 Excellent
Drink ; £1
Referee ; 7/10
Crowd ; 100+ est
Non league dogs ; 3
Entertainment value ; 9.9/10 Nobodys' perfect !

Wolverhampton Sporting Community battle for a point.

                Total Motion Midland Football League

AFC Wulfrunians 1  Wolverhampton Sporting Community 1

Played at the CKW Stadium

This wasn't the best game I've seen this season ; all in all, a rather scrappy sort of match. It certainly started well for Wulfs who, following some enterprising play went ahead in the 9th minute with Evans heading home a cross from Webb(who was later substituted due to injury). Far from the expected onslaught from the hosts, it was the visitors who grew in stature,refusing to buckle under sustained pressure and eventually gaining parity from a simple ball through the middle slotted home by Dell. 

That really was it, with the game gradually descending into stoppages and multiple free-kicks. Sporting will see this as a point gained whereas Wulfs would probably have been expecting maximum points haul against a team from the foot of the table.

MOTM Wulfs ; No 7
MOTM Sporting ; No 2

Entrance ; £4 concession
Programme ; £1.50
Drink ; £1.20 to £1.50
Crowd ; 75est
Referee ; 5/10
Non-league dogs ; didn't see one.
Entertainment value ; 6/10