The perfect October registered by BNJS was rooted in a proper pre-season according to boss Jamel Wilson.
The Hadley Stadium outfit heads into November with a six-point lead at the top of Capelli Sport MFL Division Three on the back of six straight wins in all competitions, five of which were achieved last month.
Four of those victories were in the league, including a key 4-2 triumph at fellow high-fliers Solihull Youth Academy.
Bartley Reds were seen off in the Birmingham Saturday Vase (5-2) before maximum hauls against Walsall Wood (2-1), Coventry Dunlop (3-0) and at Leafield Athletic (1-0) in the league.
“The lads put in a lot of graft in pre-season and have gelled as a team,” said Wilson.
“We have stuck to the style of play that we have tried to implement since I joined last season and things are clicking now.
“We try to get it on the floor and be effective through the middle, getting our best players on the ball as much as we can.”
Those top players include 16-goal striker Jewel Mbachu and centre-half Abdul Masawud, the winner of four opposition man-of-the-match awards.
“Jewel is getting into the right positions and credit to the lads, they are getting him that service,” added Wilson.
“Abdul has been vital. He is commanding, strong and quick. He can recover quite well, too, and has been key for us.”
Solihull Youth Academy bounced back with a couple of wins to remain the nearest challengers, Salieu Jallow bagging a hat-trick in a 6-0 beating of third-placed Silhill who then responded perfectly to trump Mercia Athletic 3-0 before David Akpara’s treble inspired a 7-0 win at Arden Forest.
A very mixed month saw Leamington Hibernian concede seven, five and four but end October with an 8-2 success at Birmingham Tigers where Nathan McGarrity netted five.
Theo Boakye-Yiadom got two in Gornal’s 3-0 win at Continental Star. Their unbeaten league run was stretched to nine matches across the month and they sit fifth.
Coventry Dunlop dished out a Halloween scare with a 4-0 win over Lane Head, while Walsall Wood recorded two wins and two defeats, Kian White and Callum Wedge inspiring a late turnaround to win 2-1 at Arden Forest at the start of the month.
It was an unbeaten October for AFC Birmingham, Ellis Reilly chalking up a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Leamington Hibs, while Lane Head followed 13 goals in two wins, including five for Josh Lewis in a 6-2 victory over Birmingham Tigers, by shipping nine in two defeats – one in the cup.
New manager Dean Newman has continued AFC Balsall’s fine form, reaching 12 matches unbeaten in all competitions by the end of this month with handsome league wins over Birmingham Tigers (10-0) and at Continental Star (4-1).
Luke Hancock nabbed four as Diamonds Academy emphatically ended a run of three October draws with an 8-0 win at Mercia Athletic, Leafield Athletic won and lost league games either side of a pair of cup exits, and it proved a tough month for Merica Athletic despite a decent 1-1 draw at Coventry Dunlop in which David Agboola found the net.
Kymani Hunter got Continental Star’s only goal of the month in the final game against AFC Balsall but they did not pick up any points with Birmingham Tigers suffering the same fate.
Arden Forest had a couple of big losses but led until the 89th minute against Walsall Wood, while Elian Osagie-Osamudiamen’s goal secured a 1-1 draw with Diamonds Academy.
