This Sunday, Monk were taking on table-toppers Casuals FC. Manager Shaun Smith described it as a game of two halves. It got me thinking. This is an often used phrase but it's a bit of a strange thing to say when you think about it. Every game is a game of two halves. It's like saying 'it's a game played with a ball' or 'if that had gone in, it would have been a goal', which I believe was actually used by a Match of the Day pundit once. Anyway, I digress.

Sunday's game was, indeed, a game of two halves. Casuals came out fighting and took a 2-0 lead. Goals from Nathan Good and Alfie Presley had The Monks crying in the chapel before half-time.

HT Jovial Monk 0 Casuals FC 2

Luckily for Monk, Shaun had the foresight to bring along his hairdryer which was duly deployed during the half-time interval. That combined with the introduction of Robbi Ali proved to be the game changer. Monk came back at Casuals with Robbi getting both goals in a storming second period. The Monks could easily have turned it around completely but, in the end, were happy to take a point from the game, meaning they have now taken 4 out 6 against the top two. Of course, the turnaround was all down to the managerial skills of Shaun (at least that's what he told me. I guess the fiver is in the post).

FT Jovial Monk 2 Casuals FC 2

DPR's 4-3 home defat to AFC Stratton on Sunday means that there are now no unbeaten teams left in the division. It is still incredibly tight at the top of the table with just two points separating the top six teams. Of the those team only AFC Stratton have a league game next weekend as they travel to bottom side Purton Redhouse.
Jovial Monk have a weekend off to do their Christmas shopping.

Jovial Monk
Monk are back in league action as they host top of the table Casuals at the Lambourn Sports Club. Division 2 is very congested at the top of the table with just 2 points separating the top six clubs. Casuals lead the way with Monk down in sixth, as it stands. As any regular readers will know, this is the reverse fixture to the game that took place  just over a month ago - Miracle Monks - where a depleted Monks squad dug out a superb 2-1 win. Goals from Maher Ali and Robbi hauled them back into the game after an Aaron Presley goal for Casuals had left them all shook up in the first half.
Jovial Monk v Casuals FC. ko 10:30. Lambourn Sports Ground, RG17 8PS

Caversham United
The Goats had a week off last week but are back at it this weekend. Currently in tenth spot, Caversham host second placed Westwood Wanderers who bring a 100% away record to Mapeldurham Rec. The Goats are themselves unbeaten in the league since mid-September but need to convert a recent run of three 1-1 draws into wins if they wish to climb the table. Westwood have hit a rich vein of scoring in recent weeks following their 6-0 win at Rose & Thistle with a crushing 9-0 win over bottom side Reading Kites last weekend. Quite incredibly, this is Caversham's first home league game of the season.
Caversham United v Westwood Wanderers. ko 10:30. Mapeldurham Rec, RG4 7ER

Caversham United Women
This weekend sees something of mid-table battle as The Goats take on Wargrave Women. Both sides have played six league games so far and both have won two. Wargrave have the slight upper-hand by means of a 4-4 draw at Penn & Tylers Green on the opening day which sees them head Caversham by a single point. The Goats come into the game on the back of a superb 7-1 demolition of Holyport in the Berks & Bucks Cup last weekend. Holly Swan's four goals in this game saw her leap up to joint second in the top scorer chart. Wargrave are looking to halt a run of three consecutive league defeats but also won away in the Cup last weekend, 3-1 at Wallingford Town.
Wargrave Women v Caversham United Women. ko 14:00. Wargrave Recreation Ground, RG10 8BG.

After over two weeks without any live football and three without a match blog, it was time to wrap up and head back out onto the road this Wednesday evening. There were a couple of potential games but, eventually, I settled on the JW Hunt Cup local derby between Darlaston Town and  my home town club, Dudley Town.
The JW Hunt Cup has been running since 1926 after being set up by West Midland businessman John William Hunt to raise funds for the local blind. One thing that caught my eye when researching it was the Wiki entry that shows that the committee presented a cheque for £10,000 to the Beacon Centre for the Blind in 2018. Having grown up in the area, I know the centre and, back in youth the centre was the venue for my debut on stage in a band back in 1991 (I think). The only thing I remember abut the gig is that the headline band were call The Road Cones. Good times. Anyway, back to the football.

​The Ground
Darlaston have played their home games at what is now known as The Paycare Stadium since their reformation in 2014. The ground is just off Junction 10 of the M6, wedged between the River Tame and the notorious Black Country Route, a link road that was originally planned in the 60s but not completed until the mid 90s. The ground has a good sized car park and an overflow area, all managed by stewards who are happy to point cars and supporters in the right direction. All of the facilities are on the near side of the ground as you enter, there is a fairly large clubhouse which has a smaller building attached containing the players and officials changing areas.

​Plenty of new looking signage on the side of the pavilion and near the entrance make the ground look tidy and professional.  The dugouts are also on this side of the pitch, directly in front of the pavilion. There are two covered spectator stands, one on either side of the pitch, the Lauren Wilkinson (Lolly) Stand on the pavilion side was renamed in honour a local teenager who sadly died in 2017.The Dave Powers (Fingles) Stand opposite the pavilion, is named after a lifelong Darlaston and Wolves supporter who passed away in 2003. Overall this is a superb stadium for this level of football and would not look out of place several steps higher.
​

​The Background
Neither Darlaston Town nor Dudley Town have ever won the JM Hunt Cup. However, Darlaston did get to the final in 2007 before losing 3-0 to Wryley Rangers. The sides have spent a number of years playing in the same divisions over the years, going back as far as the mid 40s when both were in the Birmingham League structure. Dudley, of course, spent some time in the Southern League during the 80s and 90s, but have since dropped down the leagues and both they and Darlaston now play in the Midland League structure at Step 6. Both have had good starts to the Division One campaign this season. Coming into the game Darlaston were the better placed of the two, sitting fourth with 41 points from their 20 games. Dudley were two positions and two points below their hosts but had played four fewer games. One league meeting had already taken place, a 2-0 home win for Dudley back in September with Rhys Horton getting both goals. However, The Robins would need to be wary of Darlaston's formidable home record in which they have won eight and drawn one from ten matches so far, scoring a colossal 45 goals and conceding only 6. Having said that, Dudley's defence has conceded only 14 to date, a defensive record that only leaders Atherstone Town can match.

​The Game
It was the home side who started the game on the front foot but it was a mistake at the back that led to the opening goal. Ten minutes in and a speculative ball played into the Dudley penalty area caused all sorts of confusion between the goalkeeper and the defenders. The loose ball dropped to Lewis Gill on the left-hand side of the 18 yard area. His goal-bound effort was helped into the net by an attempted clearance from Rhys Boswell. 1-0. It was hard to tell if the ball would have gone in without the defender's intervention but I would be inclined to give it to Gill.
Dudley were struggling to cope with the home side's movement and were being pressed back into their own half consistently. Jake Pearson's combative style in the centre of midfield (which would earn him a yellow later), captain and centre-forward Andrew Nicol's movement and the pace of Maxwell Ngbeken were all causing concerns to the Dudley backline. However, despite their possessional dominance, there was no real end product and the Dudley goal remained intact.
As the half wore on Dudley did start to get a small foothold. A couple of earlier breaks had led to a header narrowly wide and an attempted bicycle kick off target but there were distinct signs, as we approached the halfway mark, that they were beginning to see more of the ball.
Just as we were all preparing to get a half-time cup of tea, Dudley snatched an equaliser and, as with the home goal, it came form a mistake. An innocuous looking cross into the home six yard box looked to be easily caught by goalkeeper Callum Hayward but he fumbled the ball which fell directly to the lurking Alex Perry who managed to bundle the ball across the line 1-1. Maybe, on such a cold evening, with not too much to do, the keeper's hands were not sufficiently warmed up. Who knows? It was just one of those errors that sometimes happen.

HT Darlaston Town 1 Dudley Town 1. Darlaston were on top for much of the half but Dudley did start to get a foothold towards the end and got lucky with the equaliser. A nice touch from home captain Nicol at the break, as he immediately went over to console his goalkeeper after the mistake that led to the Dudley goal.

​Dudley were much improved in the second half. In fact, after the break the game mirrored the first half but with the away side being the team in control of the game in the most part. However, just as the home side in the first half, The Robins could not turn their possession into goals. Connor Archer was a willing runner all night and the introduction of some fresh legs kept the momentum with Dudley for the majority of the half but a combination of solid defending and tame finishes kept the scores level. At the other end Nicol's runs were less frequent, which was not surprising after his first half work rate, and when the runs were made the through balls were not finding him as the did in the first half.

FT Darlaston Town 1 Dudley Town 1. The first half belonged to the home side, the second to the away side, so a draw was probably the right result over 90 minutes. No extra-time in the JW Hunt Cup so we were all set for a penalty shootout.

Penalties - Dudley to take the first kick.
Alex Perry scores for Dudley 0-1
Andrew Nicol scores for Darlaston 1-1
Dudley's Kurt Perry puts his kick over the bar. 1-1
Ryan Winwood scores to put Darlaston ahead 2-1
Dudley's Kaine Butler also puts his spot kick over the bar. Still 2-1
Liam Wilkinson catches the 'rugby conversion' bug and blasts his effort over the bar too. Still 2-1 after 3 each.
Brad Ward scores for Dudley. 2-2
Reece Mason does likewise for Darlaston 3-2
Hinesh Patel has to score this one for Dudley but Callum Hayward gets down well to save it and make up for his earlier error.

Darlaston go through 3-2 on penalties.

Whilst writing this blog I saw the terrible news about Darlaston player Leon Taylor who died at the age of 36. Darlaston's game against Shawbury on Saturday has been postponed in light of the awful news. Thoughts go out to his family and friends. 

Darlaston Town: Hayward, Ballantyne, Mason, Wilkinson, Lal, Turton, Winwood, Pearson, Nicol(c), Ngbeken, Gill. Subs: Evans, Cook, Jones, Dangerfield, Phillip
Dudley Town: Maydew, Mitchell, Boswell, Lawley, Beddall, A.Perry(c), Archer, Ward, Baker, Hanna, K.Perry. Subs: Fuller, Butler, Patel, Perry, Scriven

Ground Number: 291
Att: 199
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A

Our Goat pals over at Caversham United often run a Six Word Summaries #6WS Twitter thread on Monday morning. This week's response from Monk-in-chief Shaun Smith was "#6WS. Don't want to talk about it". It perfectly summed up the Sunday that our favourite Swindon Sunday League side encountered.

It was all set up to be a big day. Monk's win the previous weekend had seen them jump to the summit of the table and were still unbeaten in the league. Sunday's visitors were DPR FC who had played three, won three so far. A tough task for both sides.

As expected, it was a tight game throughout the first half. However, sometimes the timing of goals can change a game and that was the case on Sunday when DPR scored with the last kick of the first half.

HT Jovial Monk 0 DPR 1.

Monk were having one of those days where they could have continued playing well into the evening and still not scored a goal. DPR, however, were suffering no such problem and managed to notch up two more in the second half.

FT Jovial Monk 0 DPR 3.
As Shaun commented "The better team won", but Monk had their chances too and maybe, just maybe, if they hadn't conceded so late in the first half, things could have been different. Still, could've, should've, would've. The fact is DPR retain their 100% record and, showing how tight this division is, Monk drop from top to sixth, albeit just 2 points off the leaders Casuals FC.

It's cup week again next week as Monk make the short journey to The Elms to face Highworth Town's Sunday team. Highworth are a division above Monk but are currently sitting bottom after four games, having lost all four.

Kick off is 10:30am.
The Elms Recreation Ground, Swindon Road, Highworth, SN6 7SJ.

Jovial Monk are back. After two weeks without a game Swindon's finest stormed back into action with a goal-fest to go top of the Swindon & District Sunday Division 2.

There was no let up from a buoyant Monk side who dominated opponents Chiseldon from the first whistle. The pace and trickery of Mitch Sutton and Jono Peachey-Score took Chiseldon apart, giving the Monks a 4-0 lead at half-time.
Unlike previous games where there has been a lull in performance after the break, this week the Monks were on it straight from the restart. Four more goals followed. There was a slight blip when they conceded a penalty but Ben Pres loves his clean sheets, and pulled off a great stop to keep Chiseldon goal-less.

​Jono ran the game, scoring three and getting four assists. Mitch scored his first hat-trick for the club with Kris Redford and Antony Collett also getting on the scoresheet.
A great result for the Monks which, combined with AFC Stratton's 6-3 home defeat to Gorsehill Borough and cup matches for the other contenders, sees them leapfrog everyone to the summit of the table.

This makes next week's game HUGE as the current leaders face the only club with a 100% record in the league, DPR FC. DPR's record this season, although they have only played three league games, is impressive, having won all three, scoring 15 and only conceding 3 in the process. They have already seen off second-placed Casuals 4-1. I'd recommend getting along to this game if at all possible, it's going to be a cracker, no doubt about it.

Note the kick-off time change for Remembrance Sunday.
Jovial Monk v DPR FC
Lambourn Sports Club, RG17 8PS
Kick-off 11:02 to allow for 2 minutes silence before the game.

A last minute change of plan meant that I could no longer make the Enville Athletic v AFC Solihull game as originally planned. Therefore, I needed to find a game closer to home. Luckily there were plenty to choose from in the local area, including the chance to visit a ground that had been on my list for some time, Old Bradwell United.

The Ground
Bradwell village has long since been enveloped by the sprawl of Milton Keynes. However, when you pull off the A5 and wind your way around a couple of side roads on to Abbey Road, you do indeed find something resembling an old English village. Bradwell Sports and Social club sits perched just above the playing fields which serve the village community. It encompasses the cricket club, tennis club, bowls club and, of course the local football club. There are two pitches, a nine-a-side pitch close to Abbey Road and the men's pitch at the far end of the playing field. The Abbey Road side of the ground is open because it also forms part of the cricket ground. The right-hand goal as you look from the clubhouse is backed by the tennis club and courts but the most interesting part of the ground is at the far side from the clubhouse. The West Coast Mainline runs past the ground raised on an embankment at this side of the ground. Below this sit the two dugouts, a brick construction with art work on both sides, a kingfisher design, and the rear, OBUFC written in a graffiti style. However, that's not all. When I first started walking down to the pith level I noticed a young lad heading towards the dugouts carrying a large net on a pole. It was then that I realised there was water running behind that side of the pitch, between the touchline and the railway line. The lad was clearly employed by the club to fish errant passes out of the water. Not quite the coracle man of the old Gay Meadow but a cut down equivalent for non-league. These are the little quirks that make non-league grounds such interesting places to visit in my opinion.

​The Background
This was a Spartan South Midland Challenge Cup game between the home side, Old Bradwell United, who play in Division Two (Step 7) and currently lead the division by two points, up against Milton Keynes Irish, mid-table in the Premier League (Step 5).
United have been around since the 1920s and spent much of that time in local football, paying in the North Bucks League. They gained promotion into the South Midlands set-up in 1995. The club, it is fair to say, have not set the league alight but have steadily progressed over the years. Unfortunately, I also understand that they cannot get promoted to Step 6 even if they win the league, unless they leave the village, because permission to get their ground up to Step 6 standards has been apparently refused by the local council.
Milton Keynes Irish are a relatively new team in their current format, having been created in 2020 by a merger between MK Robins and Unite MK. Neither of these teams was very old either, MK Robins were Buckingham Town until 2019 and Unite were Wolverton Town until 2016. They are based at the Irish Centre in Bletchley making this a bit of a local derby with just over 7 miles separating the sides. The team has come a long way since featuring in the highest scoring game I have seen during the lifetime of my blog, a 3-16 home defeat to Olney Town in the Buckingham Charity Cup on the 5th January 2017 (Sixteen Goals For Three Quid).

​The Game
Within 10 seconds of the game kicking off the lad with the net on a pole was already in action, fishing a clearance out of the stream. It was going to be a fairly busy day for him, not just fishing but retrieving wayward balls from all around the ground. He certainly earns his keep.

There really isn't too much to speak about in the game. In the first half it was fair to say that it was very difficult to notice two division's difference between the teams, a testament to the effort being put in by the home side. In Josh Douglas-Smith United have a striker who leads the line very well and is the sort of player that most defenders don't really like to face. He is happy to mix it with them and seems to revel in the ugly side of the game. I don't mean that in a bad way, he just seems to enjoy a battle. However, he was always going to have his work cut out against a very well drilled Irish back line.
Clear cut attempts at goal were at a premium as the ides effectively cancelled each other out.
The best chance of the half came in the 29th minute when Muzaffar Amoako tried his luck from the edge of the box only to see the ball come back off the bar and then for Liam Jahn to smother the follow up.

HT Old Bradwell United 0 Milton Keynes Irish 0. A half of very few chances but the Division Two side had acquitted themselves very well.

​It was clear to see quite early on in the second half that Irish had been asked to step it upo at half-time. They were immediately on the front foot and looked to have a little more urgency in their game than during the first 45 minutes. However, despite having more of the ball and producing some good football they still could not find a way to break down their opponents. OBU were being pushed back more but still posed some threat when they did mange to get forward. Just past the hour mark Irish did et the ball in the net, Oliver Coleman getting his head to a cross and beating Jahn. However, the assistant's flag was up well before the ball crossed the line. A minute later MK's keeper Jack Taylor had to be at his very best, going full stretch to tip a goal bound Douglas-Smith diving header around the post. That could well have been the decisive moment of the game because 10 minutes later Irish scored what proved to be the only goal. George Boland tried his luck from outside the box with a great effort. Jahn got a fingertip to it, diverting it against the underside of the bar but the ball came down and may have hit the goalkeeper again before crossing the line. A very good strike but you had to have some sympathy for the keeper who almost kept it out. 0-1.
After the goal Bradwell tried to get themselves back on level terms but their case was not helped when Sam O'Neill got himself sin-binned for something he said to the referee in the 88th minute.

FT Old Bradwell United 0 Milton Keynes Irish 1. Not the most spectacular of games but interesting in its own way. Old Bradwell certainly showed why they are top of Division Two and did not look like a team two divisions below their opponents. In the second half, however, Irish showed their pedigree, controlling the game without ever looking as if they were going to run away with it.
Irish entertain third-placed Harpenden Town at the Irish Centre next Saturday whilst Old Bradwell are at home to Hale Leys in a Bucks/Berks Trophy game.

Old Bradwell United: Jahn, Deria, Bhasin, Butler, Ennis(c), Hack, Dewsall, Valentine, Pursey, Douglas-Smith, Bird. Subs: O'Neill, Cox, Keene, Bryce

Milton Keynes Irish: Taylor, Coyle, Amoako, Dummett, Ansah, Smyth, Filip, Lyon, Boland, Coleman, Lawless. Subs: Brooks, McDonald, Masumbuko

Ground Number: 289
Att: 97
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​Having been kept awake most of Monday night with the joys of chronic back pain, I felt the need to change my planned trip to Stapenhill (round trip of 170 miles) with a slightly shorter and quicker venture down the M40 to Harefield United, a ground that had long been on my radar, for their league game with Aylesbury Vale Dynamos.

The Ground
The Hares play at Preston Park, just to the South-East of the village of Harefield. The ground has a good sized car park but, beware, it does get filled up on match days and parking around the ground is quite limited. There is a road opposite, Gilbert Road, which has some parking spots but parking on Breakspear Road, on which the ground stands, is almost impossible. There is a fairly large clubhouse adjacent to the car park. Access to the clubhouse from the ground is via the car park. A friendly local on the turnstile took my money and explained that the programme was online. However, he also helpfully pointed out that the teams were already displayed on a whiteboard just inside the ground. He also offered to let me photograph the actual team sheets because there was a bit of glare on the whiteboard from the floodlights. A nice touch. Those little things give good impressions of a club.
The ground itself is surrounded on three sides by trees. The main stand, with covered seating, is on the car park side of the ground just to your left as you enter. On the opposite side, along with the dugouts, is a covered standing area which also has a media tower built in for recording the games. There is a toilet block inside the ground but refreshments are only available back in the clubhouse. The pitch looked to be pretty flat and in good condition. All in all, a tidy and very pleasant example of a non-league ground.

​The Background
Both clubs were coming into the game on the back of weekend defeats, Aylesbury going down 1-0 at Arlesey and Harefield losing 2-1 at home to Harpenden. The Hares started the eving in sixth spot with 17 points from their 11 games. Seven places and four points below them, in a congested middle of the tabel, sat Aylesbury.
Aylesbury have yet to complete a Spartan Premier season having come into the league on the back of Aylesbury FC's merger with Bedgrove Dynamos in 2019. Harefield, who were promoted back into the Premier League that season have also yet to complete a full season since their return. The sides did not meet at all last season, however there was a 2-2 draw played out in the truncated 2019-20 season. Jake Baldwin scored twice in the first half for Dynamos but goals from Leonard Farhall and Steven Green evened it up for the visitors in front of 201 spectators.

​The Game
After an initial period of jousting and testing each other out, the teams settled into the game. A couple of early efforts from each side didn't really cause any great issues to either goalkeeper although both had to get their knees dirty.
With 15 minutes on the clock, Harefield loaded one into the home penalty area with home centre-half Romario Warburton-Rowe attacking the ball a little too strongly, sending George Zammit slamming into one of the posts. The home defender was yellow-carded for the challenge. Thankfully Zammit was soon back on his feet with no physio intervention required. Five minutes later Aylesbury were reduced, temporarily, to 10 men when Davis Haule complained too vociferously against a free-kick decision, earning himself a 10-minute sin bin. I didn't catch the entire comment but the swearing part was loud and clear. The referee played it by the book producing the yellow and the 10 minute penalty, showing he was certainly one for the rules. The players needed to take heed of this quickly.
Whilst Aylesbury were still down to 10 players Harefield almost took advantage when Louis Bircham forced Zammit into a superb one-handed save at full stretch.
The home side were starting to take control of the game, even after Haule was reintroduced. On 34 minutes they were again a little unlucky as Aylesbury managed to scramble one off their own goal line. Then, just as it looked like going into the break goal-less, the home side conjured up an opener. A great diagonal pass found Louis Bircham free on the right, he drove in towards the box before absolutely drilling a cross-shot past Zammit into the far corner. 1-0. A great strike. A minute later, in added time, Harefield almost repeated the trick with a carbon copy ball but this time Zammit was off his line quickly to just about beat Bircham to the pass.

HT Harefield United 1 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 0. A fairly even contest for most of the half but Harefield managed to get on top towards the end of the half and reaped the benefits with their late goal. All to play for in the second period. It was good to meet the AVD (stand-in?) Twitter admin at half-time. Kudos to his running commentary of the game, interspersed with jokes and electrical equipment advice, throughout the game. That's some output, I counted 53 tweets. Chapeau!

​Aylesbury seemed to be fired up for the second half. They were immediately on the front foot, looking to get back into the game. Within a couple of minutes Davis Haule went close with a free-kick and then, with 54 on the clock, Stapleton went down in the box, drawing a big penalty shout. Nothing doing from the referee. Two minutes later, however, Aylesbury were well and truly back in it. There was a bit of pinball in the Harefield penalty area before the ball fell to Jake Baldwin just to the left of the goal some 10 yards out. He slid the ball back across goal and in off the far post to make it 1-1.
Just past the hour mark Aylesbury, once again, made life difficult for themselves by getting a player sin-binned, Daniel murphy this time falling foul of the referee. It was a strange call. As far as I could make out there were no raised voices involved, Murphy claimed he just asked a question, but the referee once again sent a Vale player to cool off. Harsh this time?
From the resulting free-kick Harefield applied some pressure but Aylesbury were able to scramble it away and re-group, goal scorer Baldwin dropping into left-back to cover for Murphy. The expected onslaught from the home side failed to transpire and, whilst still a player light, it was the away team who went ahead. They earned themselves a corner which was delivered perfectly for debutant Chris Stapleton to direct a glancing header into the far corner of the net. 1-2.

​The goal sparked a response from Harefield and, even with Aylesbury back to a full complement, the Hares got themselves back on level terms. Once more it was a corner delivered from the left but this time it was powered home by the unmarked Richard Pacquette. 2-2
With 15 minutes to go both sides thought they could win it but, in actuality, they effectively cancelled each other out for the remainder of the game and before we knew it the referee was blowing for full-time.

FT Harefield United 2 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 2. Over the 90 minutes this was probably a fair result. There certainly wasn't too much between the sides throughout the game. Harefield had the upper hand in the first half but Aylesbury raised their game in the second. The game was, unfortunately, punctuated by some over-officious refereeing. Was there an assessor in the crowd perhaps?
Next up, Aylesbury are back at Haywood Way on Saturday for the visit of second-bottom Baldock Town. The Hares are also at home as they welcome London Colney, a point and two places below them

Harefield United: Mallett, Bunce, Green, McCorkell, Warburton-Rowe, Mangan(c), White, Pacquette, Ogunsola, Bircham, Underwood. Subs: Watt, Austin, Porcher, Schofield, Krasniqi

Aylesbury Vale Dynamos: Zammit, Mullarkey, Murphy, Byron, Griffiths, Babatti, Pobbe, Haule, Stapleton, Brown(c), Baldwin. Subs: Shortt, Chott, Rivers, Nugent, Munday


Ground Number: 288
Att: 55
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: Online Only

I​t's been something of a quiet week for Jovial Monk. No stag do to disrupt the team, no players wandering around Swindon until the early hours before a game and a match against the bottom team who a yet to register a point this season. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, this Sunday league remember so, of course, Monk had to start slowly and go a goal done in the first half. In fact, it was still Jovial Monk 0 Purton Redhouse 1 at half-time. Not exactly going to Shaun's plan.
However, the gaffer is not the gaffer for no reason. A half-time change of formation and personnel soon put things right for the Monks. Jono Peachey-Score, fresh from last week's Geordie jaunt and Maher Ali, who also got on the score sheet last weekend, put the monks 2-1 ahead.

Of course, it's never that straight-forward with The Monks and, true to form, they made life difficult in the last 10 minutes when Luke Richards and Kristopher Redford got themselves sin-binned to leave their team-mates having to fight a strong rear-guard action. Luckily for the two sinning Monks, the remaining nine held on.

FT Jovial Monk 2 Purton Redhouse 1

Monk remain in fifth spot but are now only a point off the top spot and remain unbeaten in the league this season. 
Next Sunday, 31 October, sixth placed Gorsehill Borough make the trip to Lambourn.
Jovial Monk v Gorsehill Borough
10:30ko
Lambourn Sports Club, Lambourn, RG17 8PS

No game for my girl's team on Saturday after a last minute postponement from out opponents put paid to us going for a sixth win on the bounce. Not to worry though, Saturday may have been football free, but I still had the big Women's FA Cup game between Queen's Park Rangers and Caversham United to look forward to on Sunday. For anyone who hasn't read any of my blogs before, I have to take a little time here to confess a connection to the away side. I have had a connection to Caversham United for some years now and am proud to be a player sponsor both the men's and women's teams. I was also very honoured to have been selected as match sponsor for both teams this Sunday. Unfortunately I couldn't make both games but I will be back in Caversham for one of the men's team games at some point later this season.

​The Ground
QPR Women currently play their home games at Hanwell Town's Powerday Stadium (Reynolds Fields) in Perivale, West London. This was not my first visit to the ground, I was there in February 2017 to watch Hanwell's then tenants, Southall, take on Broadfields United (All Square). The ground has not changed all that much over the intervening years although there are a lot more PowerDay signs around the ground than there were when I last visited. The coach from Caversham was already parked up in the good-sized car park when I arrived, along with plenty of other cars which pointed to a decent crowd for the game. Eventually I opted to park out on Perivale Lane, just outside the main gates to the ground.
​The Background
Queens Park Rangers were promoted from the London & South East Regional Premier League in the National League Division One South East at the end of last season's truncated campaign. They started the season well, winning their first two games, but have since lost three and drawn one in the league. However, they put six past Maidenhead in the League Cup last week, which may have signalled a return to form for the Hoops. By means of their league status, this would be their first FA Cup game of this season.
​Caversham United currently ply their trade in the Thames Valley Counties League, three steps below QPR. They too have not been in the best league form having lost their last two games, both at home. However, cup games have been a totally different kettle of fish for the Goats. In the FA Cup they have disposed of Warminster Town 3-1 and then saw off Eversley & California 4-2 on their own patch in the 2nd Qualifying Round, earning this tie at QPR. They also put 13 unanswered past Wraysbury Village in the Berks & Bucks Women's Trophy last time out.

​The Game
Caversham, unsurprisingly, set up very cautiously with a game plan to let QPR have the ball in their own half and to only press them when they crossed the halfway line. After a few minutes it was clear that Rangers had adapted their play to counteract Caversham's approach and had targeted both flanks as possible ways in behind the massed ranks of Goats. Some clever movement from Rangers was drawing the Caversham full-backs into a narrower position which allowed ball to be played into the gaps created for the wing-backs, Searle and Petit, to run onto.
The first real chance from QPR came in the 11th minute when Eshe Davies got in a good effort that Nina Merritt was equal to. Caversham's first major venture into the last third came on the quarter hour when good work from Charlotte Clarke gave Tiff Newland an opportunity, but Pope had the measure of the effort and it remained 0-0.
Two minutes later Davies was again close for the home side, heading just over as they tried to turn the screw. The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute when Rangers switched the focus of their attack with a great ball into the centre putting, Melanie Hall in the clear. She slotted the ball under Merritt despite the keeper getting a hand to it. 1-0
​

​The Goats responded immediately. On 25 minutes Steph Nelson received the ball some 25 yards out, took a couple of steps and, seeing the keeper slightly off her line, had a dip. The effort beat Pope but came back off the underside of the bar and bounced to safety. Did it cross the line? Certainly some of the Caversham players thought it had. From where I was, I couldn't honestly say, and the speed of the Goats break had probably prevented the assistant from being completely up with play too. We'll never know. Maybe the QPR videographer caught it? A minute later Caitlin Levy tried her luck but fired just over but it showed that Caversham had the fire power to trouble QPR.
Just past the half-hour mark, however, another cleaver ball found the overlapping Searle surging through the left-hand channel. This time the covering defender couldn't stop her and, despite Merritt blocking the first attempt, the QPR wing-back fired the second one high into the net. 2-0

HT Queens Park Rangers 2 Caversham United 0. QPR had the majority of the ball and deservedly lead at the break. However, The Goats performed brilliantly, defended stoutly and have, on occasions, showed that they can trouble Rangers. They are certainly far from out of the game and who knows what the situation would have been if Steph Nelson's effort had dipped an inch lower?

An interesting change from Rangers during the break. The scorer of their first goal, Melanie Hall, took over in goal whilst Erin Pope switches into Hall's vacated position in midfield.
The second half began much as most of the first had gone. QPR with the lionesses' share of possession and Caversham defending from the halfway line, with the odd foray into Hoop's territory. Rangers still had the threat of their wing-backs though. With only three gone in the second period Searle found Petit with a lovely pass but the right-sided player could only shoot straight at Merritt. Caversham were starting to get a little more adventurous as the half progressed with Tiff Newland and Steph Nelson a constant worry to the home defence who, it has to be said, were marshalled brilliantly by captain Vicky Grieve.
We then had a slight delay in play for a query that I don't think I have ever seen at a game before. One of the Caversham bench was convinced QPR had more than one player wearing the Number 2 shirt, in fact at one point they seemed to think there were three of them. This was raised with the assistant who called the referee over. However, after a check of shirts, it was revealed that only one Number 2 was on the pitch at that time. Something of a mystery.
What was not mysterious was the third goal from QPR, which arrived on 68 minutes. No mystery at all, just two touches of class. First off the the left-wing corner delivery from Searle was inch perfect. Secondly, the deft, flicked finish from Brogan Moore was magical. 3-0. 
Caversham had to push more now. They had nothing to lose. Sumayah Zayadi replaced the tiring Tiff Newland, who had run herself into the ground and, within a few minutes, Zayadi almost made an impact, firing narrowly over. That effort was matched at the other end by another substitute, Emilia Nygaard-Parsons, who drew a good save from Merritt.
A further change from The Goats as Emma Hopkins replaced Steph Nelson who had taken a knock, and was also running on empty after chasing everything for 75 minutes. Freya Jenkins then treated us to a demonstration of her nifty footwork, almost breaking through the QPR defence, but it was to be one of her last contributions as her work rate had also taken it's toll. She was replaced by Sam Thoreau who, when I last watched the Goats, had performed brilliantly as a stand-in goalkeeper. Still there was no way through for Caversham, despite myself and Caversham Chairman Paul Gutteridge, who I had met up with at half-time, urging them on from the sidelines.
With time almost up, QPR applied one last piece of icing on the cake, Demi Edwards finishing well to make it 4-0.

FT Queens Park Ranger 4 Caversham United 0. No disgrace for The Goats in this result. QPR are a very good side, well drilled and packed full of clever players. I make no apology for my blog being weighted towards Caversham. as I stated at the beginning, I do have an interest in the team and, after a performance like this, I am even more proud to have a small association with the team. They were, to a player, magnificent on the day. Every one of them gave every last drop of effort they could muster and still managed to raise a few smiles after the final whistle. As a coach of a girl's team myself, this is the sort of attitude and commitment I want my team to show. In fact, I am definitely thinking of arranging a trip for my team to watch The Goats. Maybe it will inspire them to greater things?
Bets wishes to QPR in the next round where they will again be at home against Bromley from the Greater London Women's premier, one level above Caversham. They are a good team and played the game in exactly the right spirit. Great to see.

Queens Park Rangers: Pope, Petit, Searle, Carolan, Grieve(c), Jordinson, Blodgett, Akerman, Davies, Moore, Hall. Subs: Edwards, Nygaard-Parsons, Redhead-Ling
Caversham United: Merritt(c), C. Clarke, Hobson, Wicks, Dearling, Levy, Butler, Jenkins, Swan, Nelson, Newland. Subs: Thoreau, Hayden, D. Clarke, Hopkins, Zayadi

Ground Number: Re-visit
Att:
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: Included

Tuesday evening football this week meant a relatively short trip up the M40 and A46 to the Warwickshire market town of Kenilworth. The game I was heading for was Kenilworth Sporting v Alcester Town in the Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup. Smedley Crooke, or Sir John Smedley Crooke to give him his full name, was twice Conservative MP for Birmingham Deritrend (1922-29 & 1931-45), who donated the trophy for the competition when it started in 1919. It was originally dedicated to the memory of local sportsmen who lost their lives in The Great War but over the years has raised money for a lot of local charities. The competition is predominantly for clubs in the Birmingham and Worcestershire area, mostly, although not exclusively, from the Midland Football League and the West Midlands (Regional) Football League.
I'm sure someone will correct me on this but, from what I can see, two teams have won the cup four times, Stoke Works (1958, 1962, 1967, 1968) an Studley BKL (1991, 1992, 1995, 2000), although I am not convinced that my list of winners is complete. Possibly the most interesting name I could find as a previous winner was Roma, three times winners (1976,77 & 78). Presumably this is not the same Roma for whom Francesco Totti was later to star for.

​The Ground
Kenilworth Sporting play their home games at Gypsy Lane. The ground, which had apparently fallen into disrepair, was given a complete overhaul starting in 2018 and, although I didn't see what it looked like before first-hand (but I have seen some photos), it appears that a fantastic job has been done. Gypsy Lane is a narrow, bumpy track that leads to some allotments. It's easy to miss the turn-off from Rouncil Lane but the club does have a sign up, so look out for that. There is a small car park and some off road parking next to the ground. There are no turnstiles, instead access to the ground is through the large and new clubhouse where you pay your entrance before exiting onto the patio area which sits between the club and the back of one of the goals. The main covered seating stand is on the left as you enter. There is a smaller stand on the opposite side of the ground, but this has been commandeered by the teams as their dugouts which quite an innovative idea and, as it happened, much needed cover later in the game when the rain became quite heavy.

​The Background
Kenilworth Sporting's history is quite interesting and complicated. The club began in 1936 as Kenilworth Town playing local football in the Coventry & District League. This name lasted for around 20 years before they became Kenilworth Rangers, before reverting back to Town in 1992. They added KH to their name in 2006, being known as Kenilworth Town KH and eventually gaining promotion to The Midlands Combination Division 1 before folding in 2011. Anyone care to tell me what the KH stood for? There was a brief resurrection in 2013, but it didn't last long before the club folded once more. When the renovation of Gypsy Lane was undertaken in 2018 the side played under the name Coventry Plumbing from 2018 through to 2020, when the name was changed to Kenilworth Sporting. The club was moved from Division 3 into Division 2 at the end of the truncated season last year, despite only playing 8 games (of which they won 7).
Alcester Town played in the Midland Combination from 1965 - 1993 and then came back into the same structure from the Stratford Alliance League in 2012. Won Midland League Division 3 in 2019 despite having 3 points deducted.
This season the sides met once already, in a late September league game at Alcester's Stratford Road Ground. Owen Ward scored for Alcester but was then sent off. Goals from David Gbehe and Jack Low secured the points for Sporting with a 2-1 win. The sides are currently just one place apart in the league, Sporting in fifth spot and Alcester in sixth, although Kenilworth do have a five point advantage over tonight's visitors.

​The Game
We were barely 5 minutes into the game when Umit Eminoglu tried to weave his way into the home penalty area and was caught by a stray Sporting foot, sending the Town player sprawling and the referee pointing to the spot. Eminoglu got up and took the kick himself, blasting the ball high to the keeper's right. 0-1
Sporting tried to get themselves back into the game, David Gbehe putting a shot narrowly wide, before Alcester began to take control of the game. Just past the 20 minute mark, after Kenilworth lost the ball in midfield, Dan Elwell was given the ball on the edge of the area. After adjusting his footing and body shape he proceeded to curl a superb effort past the keeper's outstretched left hand. 0-2.
Six minutes later Terrance Morton took up the baton for the goal of the game competition, turning sharply on the edge of the box and then placing a magnificent shot into the far corner via the underside of the bar. 0-3
The away side were now rampant and Sporting were really struggling to cope with the trickery, pace and passing of the Alcester forwards and midfielders. After 34 minutes three became four. Eminoglu the provider this time, showing incredible vision to pick out the perfect ball to Reece Hewitt inside the home penalty area. The striker made no mistake, stroking the ball past the keeper. 0-4. I was still in the process of tweeting the fourth goal when Alcester made it five. Streaming forward again they forced a good save from the home keeper but he was powerless to prevent Dan Elwell from burying the rebound. 0-5.

HT Kenilworth Sporting 0 Alcester Town 5. Sporting had no answer to the Alcester forward line who were superb in their movement and finishing. 

​Kenilworth's coaching staff must have had a few words at half-time because their side came back out with a renewed purpose about them. Three minutes in and they had a goal back. David Gbehe with the left foot finish after a cross from the right had not been cleared at the near post. 1-5. Elwell then forced the home keeper into a good save with his feet as the visitors tried to respond to the goal, but they were not finding it as easy to create chances as they did in the first half.
With 70 minutes on the clock the home crowd starting to ask "Could the fightback be on?" Another home raid forced a good save from The Romans' keeper but Connor Mack was on hand to follow up. The keeper once again repelled the effort but the ball fell straight back to Mack who made no mistake this time. 2-5. Four minutes later Alcester nerves were really showing when a cross-field pass was misplaced but fell kindly to Gbehe. He used his pace to outstrip the defenders before slotting home his second and Sporting's third. 3-5.
It was all Sporting now, in much the same way that the visitors had dominated the first period at times, Sporting were now well on top, as the rain started to come down heavier. The question was, had they left it too late? In the end, that question was irrelevant as a long clearance from Alcester was latched onto by Eminoglu. He held off the challenge of a defender and just about managed to flick the ball over the onrushing keeper before they collided, sending the ball into the empty net. 3-6 and no more than 10 minutes left. The end of the road for the home side.

FT Kenilworth Sporting 3 Alcester Town 6. A great effort from the home side in the second half after being absolutely swamped in the first 45 minutes. Not sure how much Alcester took their foot but credit to Sporting for their second half efforts. If Alcester had not got the sixth goal with about 10 minutes left, it could have got even more interesting. Both sides are back in league action on Saturday and both face tricky tests.  Sporting are back at The Lane to take on table-toppers and league top scorers, Fairfield Villa, whilst Alcester travel to New Mill Lane to take on Coton Green who are currently in third place and unbeaten at home.

Ground Number: 287
Att: 
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: N/A