PREMIER DIVISION action this week saw unbeaten league leaders WOOD END SPORTS finally lose their unbeaten record at the hands of APPLEBY MAGNA in a game that had everything , Goals , Great Goalkeeping and lots of end to end football with the strange thing of seeing both teams concede equalisers when they were on top . Appleby suffered a setback when after only ten minutes they lost leading scorer Steve Hart with a twisted ankle . This didnt seem to trouble them and they went in front on fifteen minutes when a Wood End attack was cleared and the ball fell to their defender , however he dwelled on the ball and was then dis-possessed by Luke EDWARDS who ran thirty yards and had the coolness to slot past the keeper . Despite having a lot of the play and hitting the woodwork twice Appleby conceded when they were most in control . A ball across the penalty area was chased by Dale Farley and the referee deemed that he had been pushed and awarded the penalty and Dave YONWIN was on hand to convert and the half ended all square at 1-1 . The second half was the complete opposite of the first and Wood End were first out of the blocks and Appleby struggled to break out . All this pressure paid off and after sixty five minutes JJ TAYLOR got the ball out on the left and as he cut inside and went to shoot but an Appleby defender got in a block but all that happened was that the ball spooned up in the air and over a helpless keeper and into the net . Wood End now pressed for the goal that would wrap up the game but as with Appleby in the first half they got caught on the counter . Russell Wagg took the ball off his winger and played a ball down the line and it fell into the stride of Danny TURNER , who held off his defender and drove the ball hard and low into the far corner . The game was now all end to end and Luke Edwards nearly gave Appleby the lead when he played a neat one-two with his brother , but his rasping drive hit the bar and rebounded to safety . The game turned with ten minutes to go after Appleby won a corner on the left and Danny Edwards floated in the kick and Sam CARLINE ghosted in unmarked , rose like a salmon to power his header into the net . Wood End pressed everyone forward in search of the equaliser but a disciplined defence from Appleby held them at bay for a 3-2 win and what a big win this could prove to be for Appleby and what a massive loss of points to a title contender for Wood End to submit , that could cost them dear come the end of the season which is now fast upon us …….. DC UNITED took on WHITE LION LINK and this game was third place against second and third placed DC got off to the worst start possible and were 1-0 down inside five minutes when Joe OBI turned well and finished even better . DC started to try and claw there way back into the game and missed a few chances and forced a good save by the Lion keeper who turned a goalbound shot onto the post denying DC an equaliser , then Lion had a corner and CAVENEY scored a header to put them 2-0 up and give DC a right mountain to climb as the half ended 2-0 . After a good team talking too during the interval DC were soon on the score sheet when a bad clearance fell to Steve SMITH who coolly took the ball round the keeper and put it in the net . DC now seemed more determined and started to win their individual battles and a fine cross into the box saw Simon COLEMAN head downwards and it bounced up over the keeper and into the net and the game was level at 2-2 . DC were on top now and were winning every thing and they kept going at White Lion and were soon in front when a through ball set Clint HOVERD through the Lion defenders who could not catch him and he slotted home . DC knew they had to keep going because they knew White Lion have it in their locker to score at anytime from anywhere with the quality the team possess and DC grabbed a fourth goal through Ian PURVEY to effectively kill the game as a contest but White Lion got one back with less than a minute to go through LICORISH for a final score of 4-3 in favour of DC who with this win exchanged places with White Lion to move into second spot . It was a great DC team display showing real character to come from 2-0 down and a result that opens up the top of the league nicely now when it seemed Wood End and White Lion were about to run away with it … HURLEY UNITED met a stuttering ROYAL OAK KINGSBURY and lost by the odd goal in three going down 2-1 . A big win for Royal Oak considering their recent slump , but a big loss for Hurley who sit at the foot of the table . The game started at a frenetic pace , with neither side playing any decent football . Both sides having half chances but it was Kingsbury who struck first when a quick break caught Hurley out . The Kingsbury midfielder evaded two tackles and crossed the ball to Dean HODGES , who did well to turn his defender and slot the ball in the corner . Kingsbury got their second of the game before the break when an under hit back pass was charged down by Glen SMITH and he had a tap in for the second . Hurley regrouped at half time and after an enforced change started working harder and had Kingsbury on the defensive , creating several chances but not testing the Kingsbury keeper . With fifteen minutes to go some good Hurley work around the box was rewarded when the ball fell to David BRUSH to fire home. Hurley continued to push for an equaliser but it wasnt to be unfortunately ….. In DIVISION 1 , DRAYTON MANOR secured three valuable points in there late bid to climb the table as they toppled WILNECOTE GLOBE winning 2-0 . A win for Globe would of moved them up to top of the league but Drayton Manor were not complaining as they are now back in touch with the teams above them in the league . Once again Globe failed to turn their domination of a game into a winning result . Drayton Manor took their only two chances of the game to win 2-0 . Wilnecote Globe squandered five or six golden goalscoring opportunities that could well of given the end result a different look .….. In DIVISION 2 , after last weeks loss AFC BOLEHALL were looking to pick up maximum points in their mid table game with BONDS who themselves would of fancied their chances . It was Bolehall who grinded out a 1-0 victory courtesy of a tenth minute Aaron THOMPSON goal . The away side were without two of their main goal threats , Ashley and Tim Prescott . It was Thompson who took on the goalscoring responsibility as the centre back scored from a knock down from Larvin from a free kick . The away side had the better of the first half and should have been out of sight by half time , Milford played Thomas Mortimer through and he dragged his shot wide from twenty yards out . Milford then provided Lewis Timms with a chance on his full debut , the Bonds keeper making a good save as the ball went out for a corner . In the second half it was Bolehall who were the stronger side at the start , again making a couple of chances to put the game beyond FC Bonds , Milfords cross came just centimetres away from finding a strikers boot . Mortimer then pulled the ball back first for Timms whose strike was again saved , and then a lay off for Milford who forced a save out of the Bonds keeper . On the half hour mark Bonds began applying pressure as Bolehall tired , the Bolehall defence dropped deeper and deeper as the home side searched for the equalizer . Captain James Barron was a constant thorn in the home sides efforts as his tireless play in midfield helped to stop Bonds from fashioning any chances of note . Bolehall held on for the three points in a 1-0 win as Bonds threw the kitchen sink at them …... In a game where the scoreline didnt reflect the pattern of the game , COTTAGE FARM RANGERS started brightly , hitting the post and were full of energy against WILNECOTE WMC . But around thirty minutes into the game and against the run of play , Wilnecote were clinical by taking the lead with their first real effort on target . It was 2-0 shortly after in bizarre fashion when a back pass from the half way line bobbled past the keeper and into the empty net despite Cottage Farm appealing for a free kick for a late tackle . It was 3-0 shortly after half time when a cross from a corner appeared to be brought down using the arm and fired in but the goal was allowed to stand . Cottage Farm continued to push for a goal but were twice caught out on the counter attack with the game finishing 5-0 . WORRAL scored twice for Wilnecote , ROBINSON and MERC along with an OG completed the scoring ….. DIVISION 3 and all the talk of the title seems to be your Galacticos , Fazeley Town , Snarestone Globe Real Belgrave or One Stop but this week little old BIRCHMOOR UNITED put themselves firmly in the mix and let everybody know they are a serious contender after not really being mentioned and still boast an unbeaten league record too . FAZELEY TOWN fell victim to Birchmoor this week in a good game with plenty of chances that saw Birchmoor take the lead early on with a header from Tom SLOAN and ELLIS quickly doubled the lead with a well taken goal for Birchmoor to lead at halftime 2-0 . Second half saw Birchmoor come out the blocks quickly and TURNER grabbed a quick fire hat trick to kill the game off . Birchmoors WOOD grabbed a late goal to make the score line emphatic at 6-0 to Birchmoor at the death ….. Leaders REAL BELGRAVE had to share the points in a 2-2 draw with SNARESTONE GLOBE . The point Snarestone earned was enough to lift them into second spot thanks to goals from PALLET ……. DIVISION 4 saw MEASHAM maintain their high scoring league run when this week they dished out yet another turn over of goals against ANKERSIDE RANGERS . Ankerside started with a patched up team due to injuries and players letting them down not turning up , but for first ten minutes Ankerside did ok keeping a decent shape without really threatening . Ankerside went a goal down after about fifteen minutes and then Measham were reduced to ten men but although Ankerside did create the odd half chance they still struggled to get their game going leading to them trailing 2-0 at half time . In the second half Ankerside started slowly and fell 3-0 down early on and did respond briefly and pulled a goal back through Josh COOPER bundling it in from close range after good work from Jai Wilson and Joe Lynch . Then Ankerside were sloppy again and started to tire as they had no subs and fell behind 5-1 before pulling another back through Paul HEATH . They then let in two more as the game got stretched and they became sloppy and Measham finished the scoring for the day and won 8-2 …… DIVISIONAL CUP Quarter Finals and after suffering back to back heavy defeats in the league the GATE INN were hoping to find better form in the cup against GLASCOTE SWIFTS but they must have feared the worst when a defensive error early on in the match saw them picking the ball out of the back of their net once again after N. WOOD headed home an unstoppable header . Unlike previous weeks when the Gate Inn were too quick to throw in the towel after falling behind they rallied and took the game to Glascote and they thoroughly earned their equaliser when new boy Jake COY smashed the ball into the back of the net through a crowd of players from the edge of the box . With some new found self-belief the Gate players continued to take the game to Glascote and took a well deserved lead just before half time when the Gate won a corner and stand-in forward Rich PURTON leapt above a number of Glascote defenders to nod the ball home . The second half saw the Gate pile on the pressure trying to get a third goal to put the game out of Glascotes reach but they missed chance after chance and nearly paid the price near to the end when Glascote came close to pinching an equaliser . The game finished 2-1 to Gate who deserved their win but theyll have to raise their game in the semi-final if they want to compete with the in-form Measham FC for as place in the final …... TAMWORTH TUNS met ST JOHNS and the deadlock was broken inside ten minutes as St Johns took the lead and started to dominate but couldn’t add to their score as Tuns come back into the game towards the break and the half ended at 1-0 . St Johns started the second half very quick and scored twice early on that saw the Tuns heads drop and St Johns went on to score at regular intervals to record an emphatic 8-0 win ….. SECRETARIES CUP saw HOCKLEY PRINCE struggle to field a team and started with nine men which saw opponents ROCK BAR licking their lips at the thought of a win . However Hockley had control of the game and but for some poor finishing could have easily took the lead . It was Rock Bar with there first attack that scored and led at half time through Gaz SHORT . Prince continued to push after the break but Rock Bar on the counter looked more likely to score and they went 2-0 up through a bit of luck with Lee CURTIS claiming the goal . Credit to Hockley though they didnt give in and through Lee MORRIS scored two late goals to finish the game 2-2 …… MILE OAK seemed to completely underestimate their Division 4 opponents MIDLAND UNITY , thinking a two division gulf would be enough between them for Oak to easily win . However it was Unity who bossed this game , regardless to how Oak feel , Unity should and would have taken home the win if not for a very dubious call . Unity elected to play uphill first , and you would have thought it was the other way round as it was all one way traffic uphill . Unity were a constant danger and saw two narrow efforts from OReilly go agonisingly wide and the keeper react quickly to several dangerous balls before OREILLY sniffed out a poor punt from the keeper , intercepted it and rolled , or shall we say trickled the ball home to improve his outstanding feat of scoring in every game he has played this season thus far . This did nothing to spur Oak forward and the run of play stayed with Unity . Edwards bursting through on the edge of the area , clean on goal only to be taken out by the last defender , not even a booking awarded and Oak lucky to still have eleven on the pitch . The resulting free kick narrowly went wide . Unity kept on the pressure and McArdle was unlucky with a lovely lob just missing the target . Oaks keeper made a few more catches to see the half out . Oak themselves barely made a threat in the first half , they couldn’t break Unitys defence down , and didn’t register one shot on target , the closest they came was hitting the cars in the car park behind the goal . They did have a very soft penalty appeal but the ref was not interested . In the second half Unitys engine stalled . Going downhill must have gave them the impression the game was won , and this allowed Oak back into the game . Although Oak were more adventurous into Unitys box , they still seemed shy at testing Unitys keeper , in fact it was Unity who had the first real chances of the half , both falling to Sharpe who had only been on the pitch three minutes and he seemingly forgot to lace up his shooting boots ! Oak finally got a shot on target and the resulting attempted clearance changed the game as the ball hit one of the many diverts on the pitch to bounce the opposite way and strike the arm of a Unity player , the ref immediately giving the penalty which Oak scored . Unity were dismayed at what they believed to be a soft call and were further punished when Oaks onrushing forward was bought down for a second penalty which again Oak scored . This awoke Unity and they found their playing boots again , cutting out the long ball and going down the wings again causing Oak nightmares , and it wasn’t long before OREILLY bagged his second of the game to bring the score to 2-2 . Oak were not without their own threat but again failing to hit the target , apart from a disallowed goal , which as the ref pointed out to them , in any level of football , using your elbow to prevent a player from challenging in the air is a foul . You really sensed the next goal was coming from Unity and you was almost right , OReilly playing Edwards through , who again was fouled on the edge , but he managed a great pass to his right , so the ref played advantage , Unity took the advantage and got the ball across the face of goal for OReilly to smash home . The ref blew for the goal only to see the trigger happy Oak linesman with his flag in the air . After what seemed like an eternity , the ref had no choice but to listen to the linesmans claim of offside , and deny the goal . Unity were incensed , and drove forward for their deserved winner . Tom Cox almost got it from a corner with one minute to go , but the goal bound header cruelly hitting a unity player , then an Oak player and bouncing narrowly wide . The resulting corner came to nothing and the ref settled on a 2-2 draw . Oak claimed a draw to be fair , but Unity knew the only result should have been a victory to themselves ……. CASA BAR had a good start to the game with a bare eleven against SWIFTS but ended up losing 4-3 with goals scored by Mark CLUWER and two for Carl TEDDS counting for nothing at the death ….. DRAYTON BASSETT’s woeful form continued losing to WARTON CLUB . Linton SHAW scored the only goal for Drayton in a 2-1 loss ….. An interesting game pitted together two teams that would fancy themselves to top this group and progress to the knockout stages as TAMWORTH CASTLE met ONE STOP SUPPLEMENTS . Castle started with ten men until fifteen minutes in when their re-enforcements arrived . One stop would have seen this as their chance to get ahead . To be fair to One stop they played some decent stuff but apart from Rich Cooper making a good one on one save they couldnt fashion many chances . Castle looked a little under par but for the second week running defended excellently . Even under par with Lapworth , Starkey , Fitzpatrick and Adams , Castle carry a very potent threat as they toiled away but struggled to make a break through before half time and it was 0-0 at the break and then at the start of the second half after re-grouping Castle killed the game with three goals in three minutes . FITZPATRICK threw the ball into the net with a slight deflection . REEVES headed another Fitzpatrick bomb into the net and FITZPATRICK them completed his work by slotting home a penalty for 3-0 and Castle then settled back into second gear , they had chances for more goals and credit to One Stop they pressed and asked questions of the Castle back six but Castle looked comfortable and dealt with what One Stop could muster with limited fuss and 3-0 it finished , two wins from two in the Secretaries Cup and Castle are thankful for the games . Castle see this as a trophy they would love to push for but they will be taking the games as they come one at a time without looking past Ankerside next Sunday ……. EDINGALE SWIFTS and HURLEY UNITED RESERVES played out an entertaining draw at Harlaston Bridge . Both teams were down to the bare bones with neither side having a substitute between them . Hurley were the quicker out the blocks and forced Adam Clamp into a couple of routine saves . Hurley took the lead when a right wing free kick dropped at the back post and the Hurley player had enough time to take a touch and curl an effort into the top corner from eight yards . Edingale gradually woke up and started to create chances . A decent move led to a chance for Ben Richardson but he dragged a shot wide from eighteen yards . Moments later Tom Insley who was a threat all game , cut in from the right and hit a thunderous strike which came out off the underneath of the crossbar . Edingale equalised with the last kick of the half . John Cooke swung in a cross that was half cleared , Scott Greenfield returned it and Adam CAIN bundled the ball in from three yards . The second half started with both sides sensing a win . Hurley were again testing Clamp from range . Edingale were effectively down to ten men in the second half as captain John Cooke was playing on one ankle . Stu Clarke was inches away from a great Dave Cooke free kick cross . The best chance of a winner in the game came on seventy minutes . Ben Richardson blocked a clearance from the keeper and after rounding a defender had the goal at his mercy . He opted for power rather than placement though and blazed over the bar . Edingale did play out the final fifteen minutes with ten men as John Cooke was forced off with the ankle injury . A couple of half chances came and went but a 1-1 draw was a fair result at the end ….. A win for The BELFRY but a very poor performance to go with it as they struggled to get started in their match with TAMWORTH LEGION . The game remained goalless at half time thanks to some wasteful attacks and they could have gone in 1-0 down at half time had it not been for poor finishing from the Legion . The Belfry started the second half more brightly and got a goal soon after the re start after a smart nod down from Steve Roberts was met by Zach LEWIS who netted from eighteen yards with a hard strike past the keeper . The game soon lost its rhythm with no flow and it ended with the solitary goal ……. With both teams missing key players due to suspensions and injuries it was a case of who handled it best in the local derby between BULLS HEAD TWO GATES and TWO GATES UNITED and both matched each other in an evenly contested first half that saw Bull lose their keeper to injury and in the reshuffle Two Gates went in front through a great finish from distance and they would take this lead into the break . The Bulls team was further rocked as another player exited the game at the break but Bull found a way back with a thirty yard screamer from BRINDLEY that deceived the keeper in flight and it was game on . Bull were now being pushed back and a long throw was left by the Bull defence and the ref deemed someone touched it for 2-1 . Bull were chasing the game and Two Gates picked holes to add two more well taken goals to leave final score 4-1 . MOORE scored twice and K. McCALL and PATTISION for Two Gates United …. LADY AGNES DURHAM CUP and AUSTREY RANGERS have reached there first cup final after beating Premier opposition WILNECOTE RED LION . It was Lion who started well and went in front courtesy of Greg ALLEN but then two outrageous decisions by the ref deflated Red Lion as Austrey took the lead . Austrey added a third goal just before the full time whistle to win 3-1 . SHUTT and two from SMITH against his former team were enough to see off Red Lion …..
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 20:00:11 +0000
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