Smethwick Rangers were looking to continue their recent good run of form against Chelmsley Town at Castle Vale Stadium last night. The hosts have gradually grown into the season following the 7-0 opening day loss to Sutton United at Coleshill Road. They have had a string of notable results over the past week and beat Stapenhill at home and Coton Green away. Chelmsley Town were going into the match in a brilliant run of form, beating Stapenhill and Heather St John’s at home last week. The visitors had won three out of their five league games going into last night’s match. The club have made Pack Meadow something of a fortress so far this season with three wins from four matches. Steve Soloman is doing an excellent job in charge of the club this season and key players from last season such as Aidan Doherty have stayed. The conditions prior to kick off were mostly clear with a bit of overcast. The atmosphere was mostly relaxed and optimistic with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. The set-up was humble and welcoming around the club and both teams finished their warmups early. There was a notable contingent of Chelmsley supporters who made the effort to travel and get behind the team which was commendable for a Monday night. Starting Line-ups The starting line-up for Smethwick involved Callum Lee leading the team as the skipper and playing in central defence alongside Helio Santos. Noah Young started in goal with the full backs being Jake Wilkes at right-back and Brad Pugh at left-back. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Jahmaal McIntosh-McMahon leading the line as the number nine and being supported on the wings by Callum Nevey and Bassit Mandey. There were two changes to the team from the starting line up that played against Stapenhill at the weekend with Moussa Koita coming in and starting in midfield. Chelmsley Town’s starting line up featured Tom Allsopp starting in goal for the visitors. Aidan Doherty was the skipper for the team and played at left-back with Tom Hackett and Corey Soloman playing in central defence. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with a front two of Luke Garner and Adam Woods being supported by Kaine Williams as the number ten. There were two changes to the team from the starting line up that played against Heather St John’s at the weekend with Danny Brain coming into the staring line-up and playing at right-back. First Half The match had a frantic start with both teams having chances to open the scoring within the first ten minutes. Bassit Mandey made a great run for Smethwick down the left and got off a shot that was well saved by Thomas Allsopp in the 4th minute. Adams Woods had a good chance for Chelmsley moments later that was well blocked by Brad Pugh. The match settled down for the next 15 minutes before Chelmsley managed to take the lead. Kaine Williams played an excellent through ball that was missed by Noah Young and fell to Luke Garner. He calmly finished into an open net to make it 1-0 to Chelmsley Town in the 23rd minute. Chelmsley had a chance to extend their lead in the 32nd minute with Joe Summers linking up well with Adam Woods who had a shot go wide of the near post. Smethwick responded through Moussa Koita playing an excellent ball in the box to Jahmaal McIntosh-McMahon who shot wide a few minutes later. Moussa Koita stood out for Smethwick from midfield and tried to make things happen for the hosts. He had a brilliant shot that was well saved by Tom Allsopp in the 36th minute. The first half was quite evenly matched with both teams having chances and was a fairly open match with no team dominating. Second Half The second half started with Chelmsley looking to extend their lead and take control of the match. Kaine Williams had a great chance early in the half which went wide. Smethwick had a few notable chances as well. Jahmaal McIntosh-McMahon played off the shoulder of the last Chelmsley defender and made a brilliant run towards goal before having a shot well saved by Tom Allsopp in the 53rd minute. Leon Toupou also had a good chance for Smethwick from the edge of the box that went wide in the 57th minute. Chelmsley created a good chance on the hour mark with Aidan Doherty linking up well with Luke Garner before the latter had a header that went over the bar. As the half went on the chances dried up and it set up a nervy finish with Chelmsley looking to hold on and get the three points away from home. The visitors did an excellent job off the ball to limit the chances for Smethwick for a 20-minute spell and it was not until the last ten minutes that the hosts had notable chances to equalise. The best chance fell to substitute Jamie Biddle who got into a good position from a corner and had a shot that went narrowly over the bar in the 85th minute. Chelmsley were excellent defensively and battled well throughout the second half to withstand a lot of Smethwick pressure and get the win. There was a lot of effort from Smethwick, and they will feel hard done by to not get anything out of the match, but the result was testament to how well organised Chelmsley were off the ball. The full-time score finished Smethwick Rangers 0-1 Chelmsley Town. Full Time Smethwick played well throughout and gradually grew into the match. Daniel Lee has done an underrated job as their new manager and the link-up with Boldmere St Michaels Under 21s will serve the club well in the long run. The team showed a lot of energy and and worked the ball well into the box. Helio Santos played well at the back and made crucial blocks and tackles in key moments. He also distributed the ball effectively from the back to start attacks. Jake Wilkes stood out at right-back and looked solid defensively. He constantly made interceptions and stopped promising Chelmsley attacks throughout the match. Chelmsley played well and it was a real team effort to get the win from the visitors. Tom Allsopp was excellent in goal and made a string of key saves throughout the match. He’s also a good leader and gave useful instructions to the team throughout the second half to see them through the match. Tom Hackett had an underrated game and managed to make some crucial blocks and clearances for the visitors. Adam Woods also had a positive game on the left and was trying to make things happen for the visitors and ran at defenders. The team has a lot of character and battles for results which will serve them well throughout the season. Both teams look set for exciting seasons and are worth following from August to the end of April. FT score: Smethwick Rangers 0-1 Chelmsley Town Man of the Match: Tom Allsopp Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Alcester Town 4-0 Bolehall Swifts
Alcester continued their brilliant start to the season by beating Bolehall Swifts at Stratford Road on Saturday afternoon. Christopher Dyson scored a brace for Alcester and Luke Wyatt also got on the scoresheet for the hosts. Substitute Odane Barnes completed the scoring for Alcester to make it 4-0 and give the hosts the three points. Alcester have won three out of four in the league and are doing well going into the break for the Les James Challenge cup next weekend. The Romans should be heading into the bank holiday period with a lot of confidence having impressed in the league so far. Bolehall have had a tough start to the season and have played teams in form away from home. It’s a new look team and it might take a bit of time before things start to click. The Swifts have got two home games coming up which will hopefully give the team some confidence for the season ahead. Central Ajax 3-1 Lane Head Central Ajax have had an excellent start to life in MFL Division Two and continued their impressive run of form against Lane Head on Saturday with a 3-1 win at Ajax Park in Warwickshire. The win was capped off by the division’s top scorer Shaye Eden scoring a hat-trick for Central Ajax. Joshua Lewis opened the scoring for the visitors to make it 1-0 in the fourth minute. Shaye Eden managed to score an equaliser in the 28th minute to make it 1-1 going into HT. The prolific striker scored a second half brace for the hosts in the second half to give them a huge three points. It’s been a really good start for Central Ajax with three wins out of four home matches in the league so far. If they keep this run of form going throughout the autumn, they could become one of the stories in division two this season. Coventry Alvis 5-2 Inkberrow Coventry Alvis continued their excellent start to the season with a 5-2 win over Inkberrow at Alvis Sports and Social Club. Jagit Aujla got on the scoresheet for Coventry Alvis and Jack Low scored a brace for the hosts. Joe Wright and substitute Jacob Dodds also scored for Coventry Alvis to continue their excellent home record for the season. Overall, the club have won three out of their four matches in the league and are in a good position going into the break for the Les James Challenge cup. George Thomas scored for Inkberrow, and substitute Max Watkins also got on the scoresheet for the visitors late on. This should give them some hope going into the bank holiday period where they have a crucial match away to Gornal in the Les James Challenge cup. Fairfield Villa 1-1 Hampton Fairfield Villa drew with an in-form Hampton in front of an impressive crowd of 72 supporters. Alex Knight opened the scoring for Fairfield early in the second half before Hampton found an equaliser from an excellent free kick to make it 1-1. The match was an intriguing one within the division as both teams can compete near the top of the table and challenge the more fancied teams. Fairfield Villa are growing into the season and will get better with each match played. Hampton are playing well throughout August and should be looking forward to the Les James Challenge cup next Saturday where they finished as runners-up last season. Knowle 2-2 Birmingham United Knowle drew 2-2 at the Robins Nest against Birmingham United in front of an excellent crowd of 85 supporters. Both teams are expected to be challenging near the top of the table this season and both have made ambitious signings throughout the summer. Knowle signed Tom Crane who had an excellent season with Cadbury Athletic while Birmingham United signed Jay Higgins Pugsley who was prolific in front of goal for Inkberrow last season. The visitors took the lead in the 9th minute through an own goal to make it 1-0. Knowle gradually grew into the match and found an equaliser in the 30th minute with Owain Taylor playing a good pass to Jay Rendell who finished well to make it 1-1. Knowle took the lead in the second half. Substitute Jack Mullen come off the bench and scored in the 65th minute to make it 2-1 to the Robins. Birmingham United found an equaliser late on through Dennis Sesay in the 75th minute to make it 2-2 and give the visitors a good point away from home. This was one of the eye-catching matches from the division this weekend and it did not disappoint in terms of goals and entertainment. Littleton 1-4 Earlswood Town The Earls continued their brilliant run of form at Five Acres on Saturday under new manager Joel Hughes. The visitors have had an unbeaten start to the season so far and this match underlined why, with the team showing a lot of quality going forward. Joel Hughes opened the scoring for Earlswood in the 15th minute. Zach Taylor scored the second for the Earls in the 40th minute with Archie Spittle having a good game for the visitors on the right wing. Tom Kinsey finished from close range to make it 3-0 to Earlswood Town on the hour mark before Littleton pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute through Alfie Leeson. Substitute Jensen Gaye finished past the goalkeeper at the near post to give the Earls the three points in the 85th minute and continue the club’s excellent start to the season. The division is really competitive this season so a mid-table finish would be a huge positive for Littleton at the end of the season with the goal being to avoid relegation. Redditch Borough 5-1 Coventrians Redditch Borough continued their positive start to the season and recorded an impressive win over Coventrians on Saturday afternoon. The hosts played well with players such as James Ward getting on the scoresheet for the blue army. Danny Murphy also scored for Redditch late on and the result will give the hosts a lot of confidence going into the break for the Les James Challenge cup with seven points from three matches. Coventrians did manage to score in the first half which is a bit of a positive to build on. Hopefully they can get better throughout the season and find someone to lead the line and score goals to give them a chance of finishing mid table. Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
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