MANAGER Reece Smith reckons the pain of Solihull Youth Academy missing out on last season’s top two is the catalyst for a flying start in Capelli Sport MFL Division Three.
Having emerged from the MFL’s development pathway in the summer of 2025, Smith’s band of predominantly under-18 players ran Kenilworth Sporting all the way in the battle for second spot last term, winning seven and drawing one of their final eight league matches.
They won 5-3 at Kenilworth earlier in the season but a 3-3 draw in the strong finish helped Sporting with the Warwickshire side knowing six points from three matches would be enough after the Academy had finished their fixtures.
Undeterred, many of the players are now in their second years and have notched 37 goals in eight unbeaten league matches in August – seven wins in a row followed by Bank Holiday Monday’s 1-1 draw with AFC Balsall.
Dan Brennan has bagged 11 goals already with Callum Lea (6) and Salieu Jallow (5) also prolific in seeing off Leafield Athletic 8-1, Coventry Dunlop 4-1, Birmingham Tigers 8-2, Leamington Hibernian 5-1, Lane Head 5-0, AFC Birmingham 4-2 and Diamonds Academy 2-1.
Smith, who is also the club’s head of coaching, said: “The upset of getting so close last season, with it being such a young group, really drove the lads on in the summer.
“It gave us a real advantage right from the start of pre-season. It is never nice when you don’t achieve what you set out to but it has given us that extra bit of energy and an extra 10 per cent on the commitment we had last season.
“Having the experience of a year in the league too, that has helped. We have got used to what it is like and the lads have really taken to it.”
BNJS sit three points behind with a game in hand and also begin September with an unbeaten league record, Jewel Mbachu’s brace securing a tidy 2-0 at Leamington Hibernian along the way.
Coventry Dunlop have scored freely in securing six wins out of eight, Olyaanaa Ahmed with six goals to his name already.
Rashwan Bennett-Dyer scored in both Bank Holiday wins as Silhill strengthened their position with a 5-0 success over Birmingham Tigers and 2-0 triumph against Leafield Athletic.
Walsall Wood have won four out of seven, while Leamington Hibernian have won four out of eight, including a 2-1 success at high-flying Dunlop under the Friday night lights thanks to Bradley Coleman and Joshua Jones.
Bank Holiday wins and clean sheets at Leafield and Walsall Wood saw AFC Birmingham climb the table, while Gornal ended the month with three wins in a row in which they netted no fewer than 16 goals, including an 8-0 win over Continental Star with Sameer Arshad and Ellias Ibrahim scoring doubles.
Lane Head and Leafield Athletic will hope early win doubles can inspire strong form as the season progresses, while Birmingham Tigers got off the mark later in the month with a pair of five-goal hauls in wins over Arden Forest and Mercia Athletic.
Continental Star beat Mercia early on and have secured competitive draws since, while AFC Balsall and Diamonds Academy will hope wins over Silhill are positive signs for the future.
Mercia Athletic registered a first win at the back end of the month, Reece Middleton’s double key to a 3-2 success at home to Lane Head, while Arden Forest picked up a first point by drawing 2-2 with Continental Star, Harrison Davies at the double.
