​This midweek was another one of those days where my final choice of match was not made until the last minute. I had originally earmarked Foley Meir v Cheadle Town. However, after a tough couple of days and a lack of sleep, the prospect of over 2 hours in each direction didn't fill me with delight. It was time to finally visit Lichfield City, which I have had in my plans for quite some time. A much more straight-forward journey than Meir and the prospect of a good match against a Studley side who started the day just above their hosts in the upper half of the Midland Premier League table. I've never seen Lichfield play before either home or away. However, I have seen Studley play both away at Southam United, way back when the blog first started, and at home to Walsall Wood in 2018. I'm not sure the Bees will want reminding of this one though. They went down 6-0 to a rampant Wood side well on their way to the Division One title (Wood On Top)

​The Ground
Brownsfield Road or The Trade Tyre Community Stadium as it is now known, has been on my list to visit for some time now. In fact, twice in the past I have been on my way and then had to postpone, first time when the game got called off (back in the grass pitch days) and secondly when I set out and then discovered that the M40 was closed and I had no way of getting there in time. The ground is situated on the North-Eastern perimeter of Lichfield. The car park is not huge but there is parking available along Brownsfield Road. Entrance is through a turnstile located in the corner of the ground which brings you in alongside the newly refurbished club house. There are three stands around the ground. Two are on the Brownsfield Road side, one at each end of the ground, with the third at the clubhouse end on the opposite side of the goal. On the far side there is a media tower and the two dugouts. There is also a grass bank behind the walkway on this side of the pitch which gives good view of the playing area. There is also a raised walkway on the Brownsfield Road side giving a two tiered view.

​The Background
Studley are back in the Midland League structure after a very successful season in the Hellenic Division 1 in which they took the title by five points from Worcester Raiders, earning themselves a shot at Step 5 and a return to the Midland League. This season is the second in succession at Step 5 for City. Last season they finished in a very creditable third spot and were joint top scorers along with champions Hanley Town.
The season has started fairly well for both clubs. At the start of play Studley just held sway, sitting one place (6th) and one point above City. However, recent form was a completely different matter. Studley had taken 13 points from the last 18 available only losing to leaders Walsall Wood in this period. In the same period, Lichfield had only managed to take 2 points, losing four of their last six since beating RC Warwick on October 1st. The last full season that the sides played in the same division was 2018-19, when both were in Division One of the Midland League. Lichfield finished in fourth spot whilst Studley were in ninth, some 23 points behind. Honours were even on the pitch with both games ending in 2-1 victories for the home side.

​The Game
Right from kick-off Lichfield looked far from a team looking for a first win in six. They knocked the ball around with the confidence of a side who were used to winning and, after a couple of minutes where the teams sounded each other out, began to push Studley back and keep them penned in the own half. It's fair to say that they were being aided by Studley looking a good yard or two of the pace all across the pitch. With the amount of possession they had, it was only a matter of time before Lichfield broke the deadlock and this they did on 17 minutes. Jack Edwards cut in from the left and tried his luck with a low shot from the edge of the box. Luke Keen's movement across the box allowed him to get a tow to the ball, completely wrong-footing Bunn. 1-0
Six minutes later the roles were reversed when Keen did well to win and control a long ball up the middle. The Studley bench were not happy that he won the ball when outnumbered, but that was the way the game was going. Keen poked the ball out wide to Jack Edwards on the left. This time, instead of cutting inside he was able to jink past his defender on his left and fire in a low shot which beat Bunn. 2-0.
There was no stopping the Lichfield juggernaut at this point and it only took them five more minutes to increase their lead, and what a superb goal it was in all respects. Edwards was involved again, getting the ball out on the left before delivering an inch-perfect cross-field ball to the feet of Luke Childs on the right-flank. Childs turned his defender one way then the other, progressing to the edge of the box. He exchanged a deft one-two with Keen before making just enough room to curl a superb effort around Bunn and in off the far post. 3-0. Top class football from start to finish. I was checking the programme at this point. Surely this team had not lost four of the last six? How?
Just past the half hour mark Studley captain and goalkeeper Brendon Bunn was again called into action. First he was down well to stop a Dan Lomas effort and then quick enough back into position to thwart Luke Keen. With ten minutes to go before half-time it felt as if there could be more goals before the break. Credit to Studley, however, as they managed to rally after making some positional changes aimed at holding back the blue tide. Studley also had long throws in the arsenal which they used whenever possible. Launching the ball into the Lichfield area a few times did cause some mild concern but aside from a header that went just over and a shot that flew wide, James Beeson was having a quiet night between the Lichfield sticks.

HT Lichfield City 3 Studley 0. A dominant first half from City who played some superb football, running their opponents ragged at times. The Bees would have to come up with something very special if they wanted to get back into this one.

​Somewhat unsurprisingly, the home aide had less urgency about their play in the second half. they were still managing the game well but Studley were getting a little more possession and the ball was not stuck in one half of the pitch, unlike the majority of the first half.
Two minutes past the hour mark, however, Studley struck out of the blue. The ball was worked down the left before being fed to Ben Walsh out wide of the penalty area. He cut inside before absolutely leathering a shot past Beeson that I don't think the keeper even saw. Great strike. 3-1 Could it be game on? Lichfield had definitely dropped the intensity in the second period and, at this point, if Studley had managed to get a second we could have been in for a grandstand finish. However, in all honesty, the visitors never really looked like they could stage a comeback.
On 82 minutes Lichfield hammered the final nail into the Studley coffin. Fitzgerald found Childs with another superb cross-field ball. Childs beat his man on the outside, getting to the touchline before cutting the ball back into the perfectly timed run of Edwards who had the simple task of tapping it in. 4-1.

FT Lichfield City 4 Studley 1. City couldn't retain the intensity of their first half performance which was probably just as well for Studley. The visitors, to their credit, did hold their own more in the second half but the damage had already been done. A superb way for Lichfield to end their barren run. They played some superb football at times, as one of the city's most famous sons once wrote "It is reasonable to have perfection in our eye that we may always advance toward it, though we know it can never be reached."
Lichfield are at home again on Saturday as 16th placed Stone Old Alleynians pay a visit. Studley will want to get back to winning ways but face what is always a stern test as they travel to mid-table Atherstone Town.

Lichfield City: Beeson, Hurdman, Haines(c), Elkes, Burnside, Lomas, Edwards, James, Keen, Fitzgerald, Childs. Subs: Muckley, Dixon, Walton, Dunn, Patterson
Studley: Bunn(c), Loveridge, Donnelly, Bojang, Hawkins, Welsh, Withington, Woolley, Carter, Jackson, Beeson. Subs: Dale Edwards, Dave Edwards, Fitter, Smith

Ground Number: 333
Att: 109
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: £1.00

It was another weekend of tough cup games for some of the D1N teams but we do have a wide selection of photos and videos to share from these games. We also have previews of next Sunday's full league calendar and with only five points separating second from second-from-bottom, there's plenty to play for. Two teams remain unbeaten in the league, whilst one team is still waiting for their first point.

FA Cup
AFC Stoneham 1-1 Eversley & California (AFC Stoneham won 3-2 on penalties)
The Boars took the lead in this game through Rae Roberts but were pegged back 20 minutes later by a strike from Faith Small. The game went to a penalty shootout which swung backwards and forwards before Stoneham eventually came out on top by 3-2. Andrew Batt (@andrewbatt5) was again on hand to capture some great photos from the game. You can also see the moment that Stoneham won the game in this video clip from their Twitter feed.

Chesham United 5-0 Penn & Tylers Green
Another tough day out for Penn as their cup run ended at higher-ranked Chesham. However, they put up a good fight in what sounded like an entertaining game in front of 138 spectators. Goals from Gemma Fraser(3), Becky Bloor and Emma Delves saw Chesham into the hat. The Chesham Twitter feed has video clips from the game, click on the goal scorers names for clips of some of the goals.

Millwall Lionesses 7-0 Long Crendon
Goals from Maisie Joyce(4), Jade Keogh, Otesha Charles(2) put paid to Long Crendon's FA Cup campaign.
Wings Media were once again on hand to capture some superb shots of the game. You can also re-live the game and he build-up in a fantastic video from Carl Catling Media. Fantastic coverage from both.

League
Milton United 2-2 Caversham United
Twice Milton went in front through Charlotte Comley and April England but twice Caversham pegged them back with both goals coming from Freya Jenkins. Milton retain their unbeaten start to the league season and open a two point gap at the top with a game in hand over second placed Kidlington.

Woodley United P-P Kidlington
Waterlogged pitch

Fixtures
Caversham United v Kidlington
Fourth takes on second this Sunday. The Goats made it two consecutive away draws thanks to Freya Jenkins' two strikes at Milton on Sunday. Kidlington's game at Woodley was postponed due to the weather at the weekend. They will be keen to get back on the pitch and bolstered from their 4-1 defeat of Caversham on the opening day of the season. Despite a little dip in form since their opening few games, the Greens remain in second spot just two points shy of leaders Milton.
Mapeldurham Recreation Ground, Upper Woodcote Road, Mapledurham, Reading RG4 7LD

Long Crendon v Woodley United
Woodley will be fresh after seeing their game postponed at the weekend. They currently sit second from bottom but have only played two league games so far this season. Their last win in all competitions came at home to Long Crendon in September. Goals from May Hamblin and Ellen Surtees seeing them home. Crendon make a welcome return to league action after their cup exploits at Millwall last weekend. They'll be looking to make it four league games without defeat.
Long Crendon Recreation Ground, 9 Chearsley Road, Long Crendon HP18 9BS

Milton United v Carterton
A classic top versus bottom clash at the Heights. Milton's draw with Caversham at the weekend was the first time they had dropped league points all season. They do, however, go into this one still defending their unbeaten record and as the league's leading scorers thanks to three players in the top five scorer's list, Charlottle Comley, Sarah Saunders and Mollie Dyer. Carterton are looking for their first points of the season and have so far found goals quite hard to come by.
Milton Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

Penn & Tylers Green v Eversley & California
Penn & Tylers Green return to league action after two extremely tough cup games against higher opposition. However, they are unbeaten in the league and, with games in hand over those above them, could be level on points with the leaders should they take advantage of the extra games. The Boars also went out of the County Cup to higher paced opposition and then lost out on penalties in the FA Cup last Sunday. However, before those two games they had shown some real firepower in defeating Carterton 4-0 and Caversham 3-1 and still have not lost in a game where Rebekah Pantony scores.
French School Meadow, Elm Road, Penn HP10 8LG

​I wasn't expecting to go to a match this weekend, so when the opportunity presented itself around Saturday lunchtime, I quickly set about finding a fairly local game. Tis is where The Football Traveller (@footballtrav) really comes into its own. A quick scan of the local leagues revealed a number of good options but the one that really caught my eye was a North Bucks Premier League game between Great Horwood and Great Linford, step 8 of the pyramid. Perfect. A chance to get back to watching some grassroots football that I can't watch in midweek (no floodlights at this level). Great Horwood is also only 30 minutes drive for me, so no need to leave the house until after 2pm. Great Linford were a completely new team for me but I had seen Great Horwood play once before in last season's fantastic North Bucks League premier Challenge Trophy Final against Hanslope, played at Buckingham Athletic's ground (Slippery Slope For Horwood). If this game was half as good as that, I was in for a treat.

​The Ground
Great Horwood's ground is easy to find once you realise that Nash Road could run both sides of the A421 (it actually doesn't, becoming Winslow Road), the main road between Buckingham and Milton Keynes. If you follow the signs to great Horwood off the roundabout, you are going the wrong way. Instead, turn toward Nash and you will immediately see the ground on your right, it's very well signed and advertised. It's also marked on Google maps, if only I had had noticed this beforehand. Still, Great Horwood is a very pleasant place to drive through twice.
The ground has a good sized car park to the rear of which are the player's and official's changing facilities together with the toilets. There are several pitches at the complex, 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9. The main pitch is closest to the car park and changing facilities and runs lengthways adjacent to Winslow Road. It's step 8 of the pyramid, so there's not too much in the way of features to describe. However, there are two wooden dugouts on the Winslow Road side, now repaired after storm damage earlier in the year. The pitch has a few undulations but was pretty flat and in good shape overall.

​The Background
One of the reasons I chose this match, apart from the proximity, was the fact that it matched up the third and second placed clubs respectively. Two pints separated them as they both strove to keep pace with unbeaten league leaders Stony Stratford Town. That being said, both of these teams were also defending unbeaten records and were only being kept off top spot because they had played fewer games. Great Horwood had won every league game since the opening day 3-3 draw at home to Bletchley Scot. They had, however, exited the Challenge Cup at the first stage, going down 4-3 at Willen. Great Linford were coming into the game boasting a 100% record across all competitions having won all four league games and progressed in the Challenge Cup with a 3-2 defeat of Stewkley. Five of the current top ten goal scorers in the league play for one of the two teams, so I was expecting to see a few goals.
Great Horwood are, of course, defending the title they won last season when they finished eight points clear of AFC Towcester in a season that saw them go unbeaten at home and only concede 23 goals in 20 games. I'll confess to not having known anything about Great Linford, so after a little research I saw that they were promoted from the Intermediate Division last season after a third place finish. The last time they were in the Premier Division was in the 2018-19 season when they finished in eighth spot. Both games against Great Horwood ended in defeat with Linford losing 6-1 at home and 3-0 in the return fixture. There was also a 3-1 win for Horwood in the Cup, a game that saw this afternoon's Horwood keeper, Ryan Lightfoot, on the score sheet. For some reason I can't see any evidence of Great Linford in the North Bucks league the following season but they reappeared in the truncated 2019-20 season, playing in the Intermediate Division.

​The Game
An end to end first few minutes saw the visitors mount the first attack but then when Great Horwood responded with a cross that only narrowly evaded strikers, they kept their foot on the gas, penning Great Linford back for a while. With 5 minutes on the clock, big striker Glenn Hawkins forced Ralph Foreman into a good save, the Linford stopper getting down sharply to block a snapshot.
Linford soaked up the early onslaught and then, on 13 minutes, showed what they could do on the break. Four slick passes moved them from defence to attack before the final shot went just wide of the post. It was a warning to Great Horwood and one that they did not heed thoroughly. Just two minutes later they were caught in possession in midfield. Toby Herdman-Smith did well to win the ball back before driving at the Horwood back-line. He produced a delightful threaded ball which completely split the central defenders allowing Mason Luya to run on and slide the ball past Lightfoot. 0-1
Just after the 20 minute mark it was almost two. A long throw from the right reached the Horwood six yard box. A number of players challenged for the ball which, after a slight deflection, beat Lightfoot but came back off the near post. Despite the goal and the near miss, it was Great Horwood who were playing the better football at this point. They were stroking the ball around well in midfield but could not find the same fluency inside the final third. They were also well aware of the threat that Linford posed on the break. One such ball forced Lightfoot into quick action, diving on the ball under a challenge and seemingly falling awkwardly. The keeper looked to be struggling with his movement from that point onwards and also had to call a defender back to take goal kicks.
As the half drew towards a close, Great Horwood pushed for an equaliser. A ball into the box that should have been easily collected by Foreman was spilled into the path of Horwood captain Sam Archer. However, the Linford keeper made amends by throwing himself in front of Archer's shot, blocking it at point blank range. Great save.

HT Great Horwood 0 Great Linford 1. A strange half of football in some ways. The home side had far more possession, played some nice football, but were let down in the final third, although some of this was down to a well organised Linford defence. Great Linford had far less of the ball but, when they had got it, looked dangerous and took their chance well when it came. They could easily have been two up when they struck the post midway through the half.

​The second half began in the same mould as the first. Horwood attacked, Linford defended solidly. The difference came ten minutes into the second period. Oli Moyles beat the offside trap, ran onto a through ball from Frankie Tarrant and slipped the ball past Foreman. 1-1. Horwood tails were up now. Moyles, who had caused a few problems with his pace and dribbling ability in the first half, was now starting to terrorise a tiring Linford defence. Five minutes after equalising the nippy number 7 was in again, but this time he shot straight at the keeper. 
The game wasn't all one way traffic though. Linford were still a threat and two minutes after the hour they had a big shout for a penalty when not one, but two tackles flew in during a bit of a scramble in the box. I have to say, I was a good 60 yards away but had a decent view of the the first incident and, as they say, I've seen them given. Horwood might count themselves a little lucky to get away with it. 
As if to rub salt in that wound, two minutes later the home side took the lead. It came from a mini siege of the Linford goal. three consecutive corners, right, left and right again. On the third attempt Glen Hawkins managed to find some room in a crowded penalty area to lunge at the ball and stab it over the line. 2-1. 
Great Linford tried to rally, urged on by their coaching staff. However, before they could build up a head of steam they found themselves two goals down as Brandon Bowes cut in from the right before unleashing a stunning left foot strike past Foreman. 3-1.
With a little under 20 minutes remaining, there was still time to get back in the game but, try as they might, Great Linford could not break down the Horwood defence. The roles somewhat reversed for the final few minutes. Linford poured forward in search of a goal and Horwood sat back a little. Their midfield, which had been very much an attacking line-up, played a little deeper, holding on to what they had, although as with Linford in the first half, they still posed a threat on the break.

FT Great Horwood 3 Great Linford 1. With Stony Stratford suffering their first defeat of the season at Hale Leys, Great Horwood are now the only unbeaten team in the division. They climb up to second place, level on points with the leaders and with a game in hand. Great Linford drop a place to fourth on goal difference after Willen hammered Mursley United 11-0. The table is extremely tight at the top with just one point separating the top five.
Next weekend it's second against third again at Castle Fields as Great Horwood take on Willen in what could be an absolute stonker of a game. Great Linford make the short journey North to take on 9th placed Hanslope at the Recreation Ground. Both games could be well worth a visit.

Great Horwood: Lightfoot, Thickbroom, Ridgway, Armitage, Riddell, Tarrant, Moyles, Archer(c), Bowes, Hawkins, Armitage. Subs: 
Great Linford: Foreman, Mackerill, Eva, Smith, Field, Brewer, Bradnam, Combes, Luya, Cunningham, Herdman-Smith. Subs: Siegieda, Currie, Latarche, Craig

Ground Number: 332
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​I originally had planned to take a trip to Heath Hayes to see if they could keep up their good recent run against league-leaders Dudley Town. However, after that got postponed during the afternoon (thanks to Dudley Town Twitter for the notification) I had to look for a different fixture. Of course, I always have a backup ready, so I quickly diverted slightly West for an opportunity to take in a new competition (Shropshire County Cup), a new ground (Crown Meadow) and two new teams (AFC Bridgnorth and Market Drayton Town).

The Ground
Crown Meadow is situated just to the North-West of Bridgnorth town centre just off Innage Lane. This appears to be the area of the town designated for sports. Aside from the football ground, there is Bridgnorth Cricket & Hockey Club, Bridgnorth Tennis Club and Bridgnorth Bowling Club, all within a few hundred yards of each other. There is a small car park but I am guessing this gets filled by players and officials before any spectators can get there. However, there is plenty o parking in the surrounding streets. The ground is accessed through a single turnstile just off the top left of the car park as you enter. This brings you in opposite the clubhouse. The playing area is just off to the left accessed via a few steps and the pitch itself slopes quite a bit, up from the clubhouse end towards the Victoria Road end goal which is backed by houses and gardens. The fact that the playing surface has a slope and is a few feet above the level of the clubhouse will surprise no-one who has any knowledge of this part of Shropshire. There is not too much flat land around. 

First impression of the ground is that, at some point, there has been quite a bit of money spent. Behind the car park end goal there is a covered standing area that runs half the width of the pitch. Incorporated into the far end of this stand there is also a tea and snack bar. The left had side of the pitch, as you look from the entrance, is completed dominated by a covered seating area straddling the halfway line and, again, about half the length of the pitch. It's quite an impressive sight for a club at Step 6, although, of course, the club has not always played at this level (see background below). Hard standing runs around the ground and, raised above the dugouts opposite the main stand, there are also a few scattered benches which afford a pretty good view of the pitch. All in all, despite the quite steep slope, I love this ground. It's got character, it's slightly quirky and it has a feel of history about it. Well worth a visit.
​

​The Background
AFC Bridgnorth have only been around in their current form since 2013. However, there is a long history of football in the town and record of Bridgnorth Town FC going back to the late 19th century. World War 2 put paid to the original team which folded shortly after the outbreak but the next incarnation in 1968 went on to climb up through the Midland Combination into the Southern League. In the early part of this century the club again began to struggle in the league and after a couple of relegations, once again folded due to financial problems in 2013. When that club went under a new club, AFC Bridgnorth, was born starting at Step 7 in the West Midlands (Regional) setup, winning the league at the first attempt.
Market Drayton Town changed their name from Little Drayton Rangers in 2003 and were also playing in the West Midlands (Regional) League and the Midland Alliance until their promotion to the Northern Premier League Division 1 (Step 4) in 2009. They remained in various guises of this league (One South, One West, One South East) but never managed higher than mid-table. They were relegated back to Step 5 (Midland League Premier) after finishing bottom last season.
Despite having played in the same league structure over the years, the teams have not been in the same division together. They did, however, meet in the 2015-16 FA Cup Preliminary Round at Greenfields Sports Ground, with The Gingerbread men coming out on top, 2-0 winners.
Over the years this competition, The Shropshire Senior Cup, has been dominated by Shrewsbury Town who have won it 67 times in total. Only two other teams have managed double figures. Telford United (Wellington Town as they were known) have 34 titles and Oswestry Town/United have 10. Of the two teams in action this evening only Bridgnorth Town have been successful, with a 1986 victory. Market Drayton have never taken the trophy but have been beaten finalists on more than one occasion, the most recent being a 3-1 defeat to AFC Telford United in 2014.
This season it's fair to say that neither AFC Bridgnorth or Market Drayton Town have set their respective leagues alight. Market Drayton are bottom of the premier League having won just once in twelve games, a 1-0 victory at Worcester City in their opening league outing. Bridgnorth sit 16th of 21 in Division 1 but having played more games than most teams below them could easily be sucked back into the relegation zone. However, two league wins in their last three have made life a little better, especially the 3-0 defeat of Ingles early in October which was effectively a six-pointer.
A County Cup game was just what both sides needed to provide welcome relief from the stresses of the league season.

​The Game
Market Drayton, kicking up the slope in the first half, started like a steam train. The game was only four minutes old when they broke up their right hand side. Overlapping right-back Sam Paddock drove to the by-line before cutting the ball back across the box for Jack Leask to drill past Ben Lees. 0-1. the visitors won the ball back almost immediately from the restart and, less than three minutes later the ball was again nestling in the home net. This time the visitors went long with a great ball out of defence turning the home defence. Joel Jones was onto it, shrugging off a challenge before slotting the ball through the keeper's legs for 0-2.
Conceding twice well within the first 10 minutes didn't bode well for The Meadow Men. However, credit where it is due, Bridgnorth did not crumble. Instead, they managed to stem the flow of Town attacks and began to get a foothold in the game. 
Just past the halfway stage of the first half Market Drayton once more found their way behind the home defence on the right flank. Josh Brown managed to get past his market before delivering a beautiful cross that flashed across the six yard box just evading the lunge of Jones before falling to Harvey Lewis running in on the back post. He guided the ball back across the goal but saw it go just wide of the post.
After 34 minutes Bridgnorth came within a few inches of getting a goal back when Will Reid's free-kick from just outside the box beat the visiting keeper Dominic Smith all ends up before clattering off the bar. Then just before the break, at the other end, Lees had to be at his best, going full length to push away a stinging drive from Brown.

HT AFC Bridgnorth 0 Market Drayton Town 2. A very fast start from Town but Bridgnorth responded well, steadied the ship and began to get back into the game without really worrying the visiting keeper too much apart from the strike that hit the bar.

​Early in the second half Market Drayton looked to be on the front foot and keen to get the goal that would end the game as a contest. However, a re-shuffled Bridgnorth side with Sadat pushed up front and George Marsh tucked in at right-back, was resolute at the back and, as the half wore on, began to push the visitors back more and more. The introduction of top scorer Tyrone Anthony had a lot to do with this. Small, quick and skilful, he created a new dimension to the Bridgnorth attack, one that the Market Drayton defence struggled to deal with. After 64 minutes Anthony's snap shot whistled just over the bar and was probably the closest they had come since the first half free-kick. Anthony's pace and trickery was also earning him a few free-kicks along with a with scrapes and knocks.
Despite turning the screw as much as possible, Bridgnorth just couldn't find a way past the Town defence and keeper. If they could have found one goal it may well have swung the whole game in their favour.
With less than a minute left on the clock their last hopes of getting back into the game disappeared along with Anthony, shown a straight red for reacting to hard but fair tackle. In the melee he appeared to raise his hands. Despite the locals next to me being incensed by the red card, I thought from the moment it happened that the player was in trouble. To be fair to Anthony, he had been on the receiving end of a few robust challenges but you just can't lift your hands up in today's game. There was still a few minutes of added time to play, most of which was spent in the home half as Market Drayton tried to take advantage of the extra player.

FT AFC Bridgnorth 0 Market Drayton Town 2. A battling performance by the home side in the second half. The introduction of Anthony gave Market Drayton all sorts of problems but the final ball seemed to be lacking for Bridgnorth.
No game for either team this weekend, but Market Drayton will be hoping that this win sparks a league revival as they welcome seventh placed Shifnal Town, who also made the Cup Semi-Final on Tuesday evening, to Greenfields next on Friday 28th. Bridgnorth are at home again on Saturday 29th as they await the visit of eighth placed Paget Rangers.

AFC Bridgnorth: Lees, Hill, Reid, Whitney, Sadat, Walker(c), Parker, Hadley, Knowles, Ologitere, Marsh. Subs: Forbes, Searle, Luckett, Becker, Anthony
Market Drayton Town: Smith, Shaw, Paddock, Maxwell, Hughes, Williams(c), Lewis, Leask, Joel Jones, Howse, Brown. Subs: Josh Jones, Nadeem, Hough, Coranaldi

Ground Number: 331
Att: 
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A

It was a difficult weekend for the D1N teams involved in County Cup action. All were up against teams from higher divisions and all of them, sadly, came unstuck to varying degrees. However, I am sure a lot of lessons were learned and progress would have been made. You don't improve unless you test yourself out against bigger, better and stronger teams. It's part of growing as a team.
A round-up of last week's games starts this edition with a preview of this weekend's FA Cup and League action below.

League Games
Carterton 1-3 Long Crendon
Goals from Samantha Bignall, Megan Baillet and Nicole Jacobs made it three without defeat in all competitions for Long Crendon and sent them up to third in the table. Carterton suffered their fourth league defeat of the season and are anchored to the foot of the table still searching for their first point despite Zoe Pugh's goal.

Kidlington 2-7 Milton United
Milton issued a statement to everyone in the league by not just inflicting Kidlington's first league defeat but doing so in such an emphatic manner. Sarah Saunders bagged a hat-trick with Charlotte Comley, Millie Dyer, Natalie Evans and Jessica Simons netting one each. Abigail Haynes and Katie Thorp were amongst the goals for the Greens but it was not enough as the visitors ran out big winners.

County Cup
Caversham United 1-6 Abingdon United
A blistering first half performance saw Abingdon lead the Goats by five goals at the break. Caversham showed their spirit in the second half, getting a goal back and only conceding one more themselves. However, the damage was done. Ashton Downey became the first Goat apart from Sumayah Zayadi to get a goal this season. Beth Hawtin hit a hat-trick for the Yellows ably assisted by Molly Lygo-Jackson, Jessica Austin and Lindsay Pinker

Eversley & California 1-3 Portsmouth Dev
Three second half goals from Macey-Nikiah Walters, Maisie Aldridge and Nancy Sanderson were enough for Portsmouth to put an end to the Boars Cup hopes. Francesca Boekbinder notched for Eversley who can hold their heads up high for putting up a brave fight against a higher ranked team.

MK Dons SET 17-0 Penn & Tylers Green
There's not much to be said about this score line. MK Dons not only contained Penn's potent strike force but also put them to the sword at the other end. MK's scorers were Laura Mitchell(3), Nicole Pepper(4), Lucy Wood(2), Angelina Nixon(2), Gemma Biggadike(2), Tricia Gould, Nicola Piddick, Kerry Newman, Mollie Coupar.
For those who who wants to see the goals, Harry Mears (@HarryMears23) captured them all in their glory.

Woodley United 0-7 Maidenhead United 
Maidenhead showed their higher league class by putting seven past Woodley. Hat-tricks for Simone O'Brien and Megan Halfacree with Anja Harper also getting in on the act. However, by all accounts, Woodley acquitted themseleves well, battles hard and held their heads high. Maidenhead are a seasoned National League side with many years experience at the higher level, so no disgrace in this result at all.
Andrew Batt (@andrewbatt5) and Oakmist Photography (@oakmistphotos) were both present at the game to capture some great shots.

Coming up this week....
FA Cup
AFC Stoneham v Eversley & California Ladies
The Boars have the opportunity to put their County Cup defeat behind them as they make the journey down to Eastleigh to take on Division 1 South side AFC Stoneham in the FA Cup. The Purples are currently sixth in their division having only played two league games so far, one won, one lost. They have already played two FA Cup games, defeating Shanklin 3-1 on the Isle of Wight and Rushmoor 3-2 at home in the previous round. Eversley have an identical league record and are also placed sixth. They came through the last round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win at Caversham United.
Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh SO16 2PA

Chesham United v Penn & Tylers Green
Another tough away tie for Penn. This time against the team that last week's opponents MK Dons beat in the previous round of the cup, winning 11-2 at The Meadow. Chesham currently sit in the National League Division 1 South East drop zone but did pick up their first win of the season last weekend, beating second placed Norwich City 3-2. They also take on bottom side Hounslow on Wednesday evening before this game. Penn will no doubt be smarting from their County Cup exit but have a great opportunity to put the score straight this weekend.
The Meadow, Amersham Road, Chesham, HP5 1NE

Millwall Lionesses v Long Crendon
The Lionesses lead the London & South East Premier League by 2 points as we speak. They've lost just once in all competitions, an opening day 3-2 reversal at Saltdean United. However, Long Crendon are on something of a roll, unbeaten in the last three games, winning two of them including their previous round defeat of Tilehurst Panthers. Top scorer Nicole Jacobs has notched in two of their last three.
St Pauls Sports Ground, Rotherhithe Street, SE16 5DS

League
Milton United v Caversham United
New league leaders Milton United welcome the Goats to The Heights looking to strengthen their position at the top of the table. Caversham will be looking to replicate their second half form against Abingdon at the weekend, where they steadied the ship and, by all accounts, put in a good performance. In their last league game they struck the Long Crendon woodwork 4 times, showing they have fire power. However, it's their defence that will be under scrutiny as they match up to the division's highest scorers with 15 in 3 games, as well as the division's top scorer, Charlotte Comley, who has five herself this season. In fact 4 of the top 8 scorers play for Milton, with Sarah Saunders (4) Mollie Dyer(3) and Georgia Winger(3), all in there.
The Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

Woodley United v Kidlington
The Greens suffered their first league defeat of the season last weekend and will be looking to bounce straight back against a Woodley side who have lost their last two games albeit that the last was against higher league opposition. United have only played two league games so far but leading scorer May Hamblin has managed to get on the score sheet in both. Kidlington also know where the goal is and striker Courtney Sumner has five goals so far this season making her joint top scorer with Charlotte Comley of Milton United.
UofR Bulmershe Pavilion, Woodlands Avenue, Woodley, Reading, Berks RG5 3HE

​I was back on the road this Tuesday, heading North again for another Midland League game in Staffordshire. High-flying Coton green were taking on Heath Hayes team struggling towards the bottom of the league. I'd seen both of these teams play before but had never visited Coton Green's New Mill Road ground. In fact, I saw Coton Green play just last February in an action and incident packed game at Knowle (Robins On A Roll As Green Army Sees Red). My one and only time watching Heath Hayes was way, way back in 2015 when they visited Alvechurch on a Thursday evening towards the end of a season in which they were relegated. Another game in which a player was sent off (Church on a Thursday Night) and a time when match blogs were a lot shorter and less detailed.

The Ground
Coton Green have played at New Mill Lane since 1993. The ground, not more than half a mile away from Drayton Manor Park, features two full size pitches and a small sided pitch and the club provides football for kids from U7 upwards through to the senior team.
Access to the stadium is via New Mill Lane which turns into a single track road. It opens up into a large car park situated behind one of the goals. Entrance to the ground is directly off the car park where two cheerful attendants take your entrance money and, on this occasion, sell the printed programme. it was only afterwards that I discovered this was the first time they had provided a printed version, having been digital only beforehand. This was in response to requests, largely from groundhoppers. Hats off to the club for making that effort. It's also a pretty good programme, well presented with a couple of articles as well as stats.

The ground layout is quite unusual. The entrance, in one corner, is diagonally opposite the clubhouse and facilities meaning that you have to walk around the ground to get to the club. Not a problem but not the standard layout which, to me, is a plus point for this ground. It's a little different and I took an instant liking to the place.
There are two covered spectator areas, a standing area on the entrance side of the ground, The Eddie Eccles Stand, and on the opposite side, towards the car park end The Neil Cartwright Stand which provides seating. The clubhouse building, the Scott and Henderson Suite, also houses the players and officials area behind the bar area. The bar area is very comfortable and has a large screen TV at one end. The club also posts the team line-ups on a noticeboard just outside the club entrance, something I am always grateful for because it saves me trying to hunt down an official with the team sheets.

​The Background
The sides came into the game at opposite ends of the league table but also having had contrasting fortunes at the weekend. Whilst Heath Hayes were picking up their first win of the season with a 2-0 success at Wednesfield, Coton Green went down 1-0 at home to Ashby Ivanhoe. All of that meant that Heath Hayes had lifted themselves off the foot of table, a point above Cradley Town. Coton Green sat in sixth spot outside the play-off places on goal difference.
This is the first season that the teams have been in the same division. Coton Green have worked their way up through the Midland Combination before it merged with the Alliance to form the Midland League in 2014, at which pointed they were founder members of Division 2. Last season's second place finish was enough to earn them a shot at Step 6 for the first time. Heath Hayes, meanwhile, came through the Staffordshire Senior League and the various Midland Leagues before being placed in the Premier League when the new league was formed in 2014. They immediately got relegated and have stayed in Division One ever since.  So, although this is the first league meeting between the teams, they have met in the FA Vase back in the 2017-18 competition. Heath Hayes won the day that afternoon, returning home with a 5-2 win courtesy of goals from Jake Humphries(2), Regan Smith(2) and James McGrady. Josh Sherrington scored both for Coton Green.

​The Game
Coton Green, in all red, were kicking up the slight slope towards the car park end in the first half. They started well, passing the ball around nicely and quickly getting into their stride. After only 7 minutes they took the lead. A good move involving a number of passes eventually led to Danico Johnson getting free on the left. His deep cross was met on the volley by Kyle Hayden who directed his effort back the way it had come and into the corner of the net. A lovely move to make it 1-0 and the winger's first goal for the club.
At this stage in the game the home side looked well on top and more goals were expected. Heath Hayes were struggling to make inroads against the home defence and, when they did manage to get into the last third, were not troubling Conal Dowling in the home goal. The biggest surprise was that the opening goal did not lead to more. in fact there was not another major threat to the visitor's goal until just past the half hour mark. Goal-scorer Hayden turned potential provider, whipping in a a lovely cross that evaded a few people before the stooping Lewis Hayden got his head to it, sending the ball flashing just wide of the post.
Coton continued to have the lion's share of possession but could not find a way to add to their early goal.

HT Coton Green 1 Heath Hayes 0. Not quite one-way traffic but the home side were well on top. They started really well and were knocking the ball around with a lot of confidence, playing some really attractive football. The early goal looked like it may open the floodgates but a combination of stubbornness from the visitor's defence and an the inability of the home side to find that killer final pass meant that there was only one goal in it at the break. Heath Hayes would be relatively happy with that and no doubt feel they are still in the game. A second Coton Green goal could have killed the game off.

​What a difference a half-time break makes. Heath Hayes came out for the second half looking like a different team. They immediately pressed Coton Green, something they had not been able to do in the first half, forcing the home side into playing longer balls. These were being mopped up by the visitor's defence and, suddenly, the whole dynamic of the game had changed.
Six minutes into the second half Hayes created their best opportunity so far from a left-wing corner. A scramble ensued in the home penalty area with two or three Hayes players attempting strikes at goal, all of which were blocked before the home side managed to hack the ball clear of danger. Heath Hayes were stepping their efforts up and, just before the hour mark, newly introduced James May forced Dowling into a full-length save to push his drive away for a corner.
This was a very different game now. The visitor's were the ones playing good attacking football and Coton were being forced to defend and rely on the longer ball to try to get out of their own half. On 64 minutes Matthew Hardiman came even closer for the visitors when his slightly deflected effort beat Dowling but struck the bar before going to safety.
With just under twenty minutes to go Coton finally gave Heath Hayes a warning that they too could make chances in this half when, from a right-wing corner, captain Joe Smith saw his header blocked on the line. Five minutes later the ball was up the other end and the visitors were vociferously claiming a penalty after one of their players appeared to be clattered by the home keeper. The referee immediately waved play on but then whistled for an offside flag which, I think, went up after the play resumed from the potential penalty. From my vantage point, which I admit was further away than that of the official, it did look as if the Heath Hayes player had been caught but what do I know?
The visitors kept pushing and probing though and on 83 minutes were unlucky to hit the woodwork again, this time a Hugh Burrows effort coming back off the bar. However, Burrows' disappointment didn't last too long because two minutes later Nick Wellecomme persevered to win an aerial battle and his header dropped to Burrows who stabbed it past Dowling for a deserved equaliser. 1-1
You could see in the urgency in the Heath Hayes players at this point. Yes, they celebrated the goal but they were quickly back in their own half ready for the restart. The pendulum had completely swung and you could feel the late winner coming.
Sure enough, two minutes into added time Wellecomme latched onto a through ball and slid the ball past Dowling. 1-2
What a turnaround from the visitors and there was no way back for Coton at this point. Heath Hayes manged to win the ball back and play it into the corner to run the clock down.

FT Coton Green 1 Heath Hayes 2. Fully deserved from the visitors for their second half performance. Credit to the Coton Green Twitter feed for their tweet "The visitors good for their win after an impressive second half performance". It's good to see a team accept defeat in such a manner, especially given they were still 1-0 up after 85 minutes. Two wins on the bounce for Heath Hayes which doesn't lift them out of the drop zone but has put them within two points of 18th placed Haughmond. Coton Green drop to seventh after Paget Rangers 3-1 defeat of Chelmsley Town leapfrogged them into the play-off zone. At the weekend Heath Hayes travel to Ingles who are only now three points above them. Next up for Coton Green is a home Floodlit Cup tie against Rugby Borough next Tuesday.

Coton Green: Dowling, Ballantine, Smith(c), Noakes, Fox, Higginson, K.Hayden, Prince, Gardener, L.Hayden, Johnson. Subs: Payne, Henry, Wright, Shiels, Lloyd
Heath Hayes: Bills, Marshall, Hallam, Phillips(c), Brown, O'Docherty, Ryan, Burrows, Wellecomme, Williams, Hardiman. Subs: Burns, Pryor, Sheppard, May, Robinson

Ground Number: 330
Att: 40
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

It was a full weekend of league action for the first time since the opening day this Sunday. Once again, there were some very close encounters and great football on show. Only two league fixtures next weekend with the remaining four clubs all in County Cup action and all four have tough tasks awaiting them. A preview of the ties is below the round-up of this weekend's results.


Eversley & California 4-0 Carterton
Carterton slumped to their third straight league defeat as two first half goals from Lauren Broadhurst and two second half strikes from Rebekah Pantony sealed 4-0 win for The Boars, securing their first league win of the campaign.
​Reading Today covered all of the local games including this one.

Long Crendon 0-0 Caversham United
Goalless it may have been but this game did not lack effort or entertainment. The Goats hit the frame of the Long Crendon goal four times which sounds as if they should have romped away with it. However, Long Crendon gave as good as they got and could easily have scored a few goals themselves. All in all, a draw was probably the right result.
I had the pleasure of seeing this game. You can read the match blog here Greens And Goats Goalless
​Reading Today covered all of the local games including this one.

Penn & Tylers Green 1-1 Kidlington
Sasha Smith was back amongst the goals, putting Penn a goal up before half-time. However, Kidlington are made of stern stuff these days and got themselves back on level terms late on through Courtney Sumner. Both teams retain their unbeaten records this season.

Woodley United 3-4 Milton United
In what sounds to have been an absolutely stonking game of football, Milton just about came out on top of a seven goal thriller in which there were seven different goal scorers.
Charley Evans, Amie Benton and May Hamblin notched for Woodley with Jessie Simons, Mollie Dyer, Sarah Saunders and Georgia Winger securing the points for the visitors.
Once again, Andrew Batt (@andrewbatt5) was at the game to capture more great photos. 
​Reading Today covered all of the local games including this one.


Sunday 16/10/2022
League Fixtures - Both 14:00 ko

Carterton v Long Crendon
Two sides who are yet to experience a league win this season. Long Crendon have drawn two of their three games, including the 0-0 draw with Caversham at the weekend. Carterton are still to gain a point after their 4-0 defeat to Eversley & California. Last season when both were in the Thames valley League, Carterton won this fixture 2-0 with both goals coming from Holly Springate. 
Sports Pavilion, Monahan Way, Carterton OX18 3AN

Kidlington v Milton United
The top two go head to head at Exeter Park. Both are unbeaten, Kidlington with two wins and two draws. Milton have a 100% record after their two games and have scored four in both league games this season. Extraordinarily, those eight league goals have been scored by eight different players. Clearly a threat posed from all over the park. Kidlington have also scored four goals in two of their league outings. Sunday's 1-1 draw with Penn saw top scorer Courtney Sumner get back amongst the goals after her four on the opening day.
Exeter Park, Crown Road, Kidlington OX5 1AB

Berks & Bucks FA County Cup - All 14:00 ko

Caversham United v Abingdon United
A tough draw for the Goats as they welcome Premier League outfit Abingdon United to Mapeldurham. Abingdon currently sit second in the league and come into this game fresh on the back of a 3-0 defeat of local rivals Abingdon Town last Sunday. They are also the Premier Division's top scorers with 13 goals in 3 matches. The Goats, who hit the frame of the goal four times at Long Crendon last Sunday, will need to convert at least a couple into goals this weekend.
Mapeldurham Recreation Ground, Upper Woodcote Road, Mapledurham, Reading RG4 7LD

Eversley & California v Portsmouth Dev
The Boars first league win of the season on Sunday came on the back of progress in the FA Cup courtesy of a superb away win at Caversham. They'll need to take this confidence into this tie against the team in the National League Reserve Division South West. Portsmouth have won both of their league games so far this season without conceding a goal, including a 2-0 opening day win at local rivals Southampton. Eversley will be hoping that Rebekah Pantony can notch another goal in this game. So far this season, if she scores, they win.
Eversley Sports Association, Fox Lane, Eversley RG27 0NS

MK Dons SET v Penn & Tylers Green
Penn & Tylers Geen are unbeaten in all competitions this season and will need to be at their very best as they face a really tough looking tie at National League Southern Premier side MK Dons SET (Sport & Education Trust). Looking at the squads in Full-Time it appears that the SET squad and the MK Dons Women's squad are the same players. This is not the Development squad. Penn's Chairman has confirmed that this game will take place at Fairfield's.
Fairfield’s Sports Hub, MK11 4BA


Woodley United v Maidenhead United
Another tough test for a Southern Region club. Woodley welcome Maidenhead United from the National League Division One South West Division. The Magpies have not yet won in the league. In fact, they are yet to score a league goal in three games. However, they did breeze past Southern Region Premier side Ascot United in the previous round with a good 3-0 away victory. Woodley put out fellow Div. 1 North side Long Crendon with a 2-0 win in the previous round.
Bulmershe Pavillion, Woodlands Avenue, RG5 3HE

It's not that often that I get a free Sunday these days, so I was keen to make the most of this one. As luck would have it, there was a great looking fixture no more than 30 minutes drive from hone. The Southern Region Division One North fixture between Long Crendon Ladies and Caversham United Women. Not only was it a chance to witness a game in the division first hand, it also gave me the opportunity to visit an new ground.

The Ground
Long Crendon Ladies play at Long Crendon Recreation Ground on Chearsley Road, situated in the heart of the village. The football pitch is part of a complex that also includes tennis and the local bowls club. The changing rooms are part of the Long Crendon Parish Council building that sits on the same site. There is a decent sized car park on site and on-road parking available very nearby. The pitch itself has a small slope from the Chearsley Road end down towards the Village Centre and Churchill Arms. There are a few benches scattered around and a children's play area on the Bicester Road side. The playing surface seemed to be a bit bumpy in places but it is a communal facility and, all in all, seemed to be in pretty good shape.

​The Background
It's been a mixed start to the season for both clubs. Long Crendon kicked off with 4-1 defeat at Milton United, got a creditable draw at Kidlington but were then dumped out of the County Cup by Woodley United. Success followed in the FA Cup last week, with a hard fought 2-1 win at Tilehurst. Caversham also lost 4-1 on the opening day, at Kidlington. They then won 1-0 at Carterton in the league before consecutive defeats, 3-0 at home to Penn & Tylers Green, in the league and 3-1, also at home, to Eversley & California in the FA Cup.
Last season both of the sides played in the Thames Valley League Division One and, although Long Crendon finished the season six points above Caversham and in third spot, it was the Goats who held sway in the head to head, winning both games. In October two goals from Rosie Page-Smith and another from Caitlin Levy were enough to seal a 3-1 win for Caversham at Mapeldurham despite Michelle Bailey getting one back from Crendon. Then in January a close game at Chearsley Road saw goals from Eleanor Dorey and Holly Swan trump Nicole Jacobs' strike in a 2-1 away win. It is only fair to point out that last season was Long Crendon's first in Division One after their stunning 2020-21 season in which they romped to the Division Two title, dropping just two points all season and only conceding three goals in sixteen games. This also included a 100% away record with the only blip coming in a 1-1 home draw with Denham United Reserves.

​The Game
Caversham started the game very brightly. Within the first minute the returning Rosie Page-Smith clipped the outside of Whale's left-hand post with a low shot. Sumayah Zayadi's trickery on the ball was causing problems for the home defence and Crendon were struggling to get a foot hold on the game early on. Ten minutes in it was Holly Swan's turn to go close, running on to a long ball but firing just over the bar.
After 13 minutes Long Crendon showed that they too could be a threat. A free-kick out on their right was drifted into the Goats penalty area. Joanne Lewis looked to have the situation under control but juggled the ball before just about grabbing it again before it crossed the line. It was enough to give the home side a little more confidence and they started to play their way into the game. On 17 minutes their number 8 (sorry, I don't have team sheets) turned sharply in the box before firing low and hard only to see her effort met by a good stop from Lewis.
Just before the halfway mark another Long Crendon free-kick caused problems in the Caversham back line. A Crendon head won the ball but saw it just loop over the bar. Tow minutes later, after a bit of a mix-up in the Caversham defence gifted Crendon the ball on the edge of the area, the home side had the ball in the net but the assistant's flag was already up for offside. It remained 0-0.
The effort drew an immediate response from Caversham. Holly Swan drove up the right flank before delivering a low cross which Zayadi met on the run, seeing her effort drop just over the bar.
The game was now pretty even. Both sides looked dangerous when attacking but credit to both defences, who stood firm.
As we approached the half-time whistle Caversham launched one final attack. Page-Smith's long range shot forced Whale into a full length save to push the ball out for a corner. Sophie Wicks took the kick and saw her cross clip the top of the home bar before running to safety.

HT Long Crendon 0 Caversham United 0. Two quite evenly matched sides in an entertaining game. Caversham looked better from open play but appeared vulnerable to the threat of Long Crendon's set pieces.

​As in the first half, Caversham started the second period strongly. Within two minutes of the restart, Swan spotted the run of Zayadi and slipped the ball inside the full-back into the winger's path. Once again Whale was up to the task, saving well.

There was a bit of a scare for Caversham shortly afterwards. Following a right-wing corner for Long Crendon, which Joanne Lewis came for and cleared, the keeper went down with an injury. Sam Thoreau was ready to come on but the Goats keeper managed to continue, although she did seem to be limping for the remainder of the game.
Just before the hour mark both sides came close in quick succession. First a Caversham free-kick from the right beat everyone but clipped the top of the Crendon bar on the way out, then a few minutes later Long Crendon's number 10 tried her luck put saw her shot go narrowly wide of the target.
Caversham were not finished with their punishment of the Long Crendon woodwork (why do we still refer to it as woodwork? No-one has had wooden posts for 20 years or more) though. With just under twenty minutes to go Rosie Page-Smith was again unlucky as she saw her shot smash against the Crendon post before once again going to safety.

FT Long Crendon 0 Caversham United 0. A thoroughly absorbing match. No goals but no shortage of entertainment. Caversham struck the frame of the goal four times in total and will consider themselves unfortunate not to have won the game. However, Long Crendon also made chances and, with my neutral hat on, I would say a draw was probably a fair result.

Long Crendon Ladies: Whale, Regan, E.Brockwell, Lennard, Helmer, Cattell, Leith(c), M.Brockwell, Bamford, Knight, lovelock. Subs: Bailey, Cairns, Baillet
Caversham United Women: Lewis, Hemming, Griffin, Clarke, Dearling, Levy(c), Hope, Thoreau, Zayadi, Swan, Page-Smith. Subs: Baxter, Wicks, Scott, Graham

Ground Number: 329
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​This midweek I was back to a Tuesday evening game. As I was already going to be in the Midlands during the day, I had pencilled in a couple of possible games to go to, depending on what time I was able to leave. If I was late I would head to the closer game, AFC Bridgnorth v Cradley Town. If I was earlier I could go a bit further and take in Stapenhill v Nuneaton Griff. As it happened I was ready to leave in plenty of time to head up to Burton-on-Trent and Stapenhill's Edge Hill Ground. This was a new ground for me and the first time I had seem Stapenhill play either home or away. However, I did find out that the club has a link to Shrivenham, who I watched at Penn & Tylers Green last week. Shrivenham's Twitter admin informed me that their Vice-Chairman's late Father played for the Swans back in the day. It's almost as if I plan these trips in advance. 
Nuneaton Griff are another matter entirely. I knew that I had visited their Pingles Stadium ground back in 2016 (A Bostin Cup Tie) but a quick look through my archives revealed another three games in which they had featured, a 2014 early season trip to Warwick (A Night at the Races (almost)), a 2017 visit to Littleton (The Professionals) and 2016 Midweek Floodlit Cup Final defeat to Copsewood (Copse Cup Coup).

The Background
Coming into the game the sides were separated by five places but only two points. Griff sat in sixth spot with 21 points from their 12 matches whilst Stapenhill, in eleventh spot, had 19 points from 13 games. Last season saw Stapenhill do the double over Griff as The Swans went on to finish in third spot, only missing out on the runners-up spot on goal difference. Stapenhill won 2-0 at The Pingle courtesy of strikes from two substitutes, Oliver Roome and Santigie Seasay. That score line was repeated at Maple Grove with Roome again hitting a goal, this time backed up by another from George Teeney.
Stapenhill were also defending an unbeaten home league record this season having won three and drawn three so far. Last weekend, however, the sides had contrasting results. Whilst Griff were winning 2-1 at Ingles 

The Ground
Stapenhill's Edge Hill stadium is situated on the Southern edge of the village of Stapenhill, just to the South-East of Burton-on-Trent. It's known locally as Maple Grove, the name of the access road that leads to the club's reasonably large car park. This is situated behind one of the goals and the covered standing area that runs from the corner flag towards the car park end goal. The entrance to the ground is a gate and hut sandwiched between this stand and the clubhouse. Just pas the clubhouse, on your left as you enter, there are two more buildings which house the players and officials changing areas. Further past those, straddling the halfway line, is the main seating area, the Freddie Sleigh Stand named after Stapenhill's founder who formed the club back in 1947. Opposite the main stand are the dugouts. That side of the ground has signs up saying that spectators are not allowed over there, although there did seem to be one or two who ventured across during the game. I was also told that the ground had a reputation for being one of the best playing surfaces around a few years back. To be fair, it still looked to be in pretty good condition. There are certainly many worse at this level and above.

The Game
Before kick-off I got talking to referee Joshua Sudbury as he and one of his assistants, Julia Kings, went through their warm-up routine. He joked that his name in the programme was only correct if he had a good game. If he didn't, could I refer to him by a different name. More to come of that later in the match report but the conversation did, at least, give me the blog title.

It was obvious from the very first minute that the wind was going to play a big part in the game. Stapenhill had it in their favour for the first half and you could see that Nuneaton were finding it quite difficult to play long balls out of defence as the ball held up in the wind. Having said that, the game was quite evenly balanced although, if anything, Stapenhill looked the more dangerous when they got the ball down and played. All in all it was both defences who were dominating the play. Of course, after saying that, it was a defensive mistake that led to the first goal. The home side swung a ball in towards the visitors penalty area where Ethan Looker seemed to have the situation under control. Unfortunately for the defender he mis-judged his header back towards Joe Salisbury, sending the ball past the keeper and towards the empty net. It looked as if it was going to be an own goal but Swans striker Jude Ayetine won the race to the ball and gave it a helping stab over the line. 1-0
The goal seemed to take the wind out of the visitor's sails as they struggled to try to get back into the game. Stapenhill looked the more likely to add to the scoring for most of the remainder of the first half although neither keeper was unduly worried. As we approached the break Nuneaton started to get the ball back on the floor again and managed a couple of decent looking move without creating too much of a threat to the home defence.

HT Stapenhill 1 Nuneaton Griff 0. The visitors probably just about edged the first 15-20 minutes but then, after conceding a sloppy goal, they seemed to lose their way.

​With the wind in their favour Griff started the second half on the front foot. However, they struggled to master the conditions. Time and again their final ball into the home penalty area was overhit and drifted out for a goal kick.
The game was getting more and more scrappy as the second half drew on. The game was becoming very stop/start as the referee was forced to blow for a number of niggles happening across the pitch. The Griff bench, especially, was becoming more animated although from my viewpoint on the opposite side of the ground, I couldn't hear the comments.
After the hour mark the visitors really started stepping up their attempts to get back into the game. On 66 minutes Nick Clark and Luke Garner exchanged passes superbly to leave the latter through on goal. His shot beat Paul Hollis in the home goal but clipped the outside of the post before going for a goal kick. With fifteen minutes to go Ross Thacker was next to try his luck, hitting a drive from the edge of the box that narrowly cleared Hollis's bar. However, a minute after this close call the game swung further in favour of the home side. Griff captain Ryan Aston was shown a straight red for a challenge on Stapenhill substitute Alex Weir. I have to say that from where I was standing the red looked to be harsh and I know that the Griff supporters standing close by were of the same impression. However, Stapenhill players and bench clearly thought the challenge warranted the card and, you have to bear in mind that the referee saw the incident from a totally different angle to me and the Griff supporters. What did the challenge look like from the opposite side of the pitch? As the blog title says, referees are only humans. At this level they don't have the 'benefit' (and I use that term very lightly) of VAR. They have to make a decision based upon seeing an incident in real-time. In a case such as this, whatever decision had been made by the referee, one side would be incensed by the decision. One thing is for sure though, no referee, no game.
Despite being a player light, Griff continued to push for an equaliser. Nick Clark came very close in the 83rd minute, seeing his left-foot effort strike the Stapenhill bar and rebound to safety. try as they might, Griff could not find an equaliser and, as the game wore towards a close, they were increasingly at risk of being hit at the other end as they pushed forward. Stapenhill had a couple of chances to completely seal the game but they too could not find another goal. 

FT Stapenhill 1 Nuneaton Griff 0. A scrappy affair punctuated by way too many stoppages, especially in the second half as the temperature rose between the teams. Overall, defences were in charge of this game. Both sides look strong at the back and neither seemed to have the tools to unlock the opposition's back-line. One mistake at the back was the decisive factor.
Griff have an opportunity to get back to winning ways as they welcome second from bottom side Cradley Town to The Pingles Stadium on Saturday. Stapenhill are also at home as they prepare for the visit of mid-table Hinckley.

Stapenhill: Hollis, Hudson, Dawkins, Landsdowne, Roome(c), Evans, Steele, Hill, Teeney, Ayetine, Hill. Subs: Palmer, Weir, Briscoe, Campbell
Nuneaton Griff: Salisbury, Aston(c), Looker, Loveitt, Alcock, Cross, Williams, Floyd, Garner, Thacker, Clark. Subs: Sherwood, Corbett, Bartram, Stokes, Belcher

Ground Number: 328
Att: 39
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: £1.50

After the excitement of last weekend's FA Cup games, it's back to league action for all of our Division One North sides. A preview of each game is at the bottom of this blog, but first, a round-up of the cup games.

FA Cup
Caversham United 1 Eversley & California 3
Eversley & California took revenge for last season's FA Cup exit to Caversham at exactly the same stage of the competition. They could not have got off to a better start with Joanne Hartfield opening the scoring after only one minute. Sumayah Zayadi, still the only Goat to score this season, equalised but the goal was almost immediately cancelled out by Rebekah Pantony. Lilly-May Varney made the game safe with five minutes to go and Eversley go into the hat for the next round.
Once again, many thanks to Wanderin Tractor who made the trip over to Berkshire to cover the game. 
Eversley now travel to Eastleigh where they will face Division 1 South side AFC Stoneham in the next round.

Milton United 1 Ascot United 3
Premier Division leaders Ascot United hit Milton with an absolute barrage in the opening 20 minutes of this game. Sarah Leonard, Hannah Bennett and Dominque Carrington put the Yellas three up and effectively out of sight, before Mollie Dyer scored a second half consolation for Milton.
Ascot have been drawn at home to AFC Acorns who beat Saltdean United 1-0

Tilehurst Panthers 1 Long Crendon 2
Goals from Nicole Jacobs and Emma Leith secure Crendon a place in the hat after a hard-fought 2-1 win at Scours Lane. Long Crendon will now face a trip to London and South East Premier League leaders Millwall in the next round. The Lionesses were 9-0 winners at Bromley in the last round.

Watford 0 Penn & Tylers Green 1
Watford managed to contain the dual threat of Ellie Ludgate-Williams and Sasha Smith but could do nothing to prevent Henna Hussain smashing in a winner from outside the box. A great result for Penn & Tylers Green which sets up a local derby at National League Division One South East side Chesham United in the next round.

This week's league fixtures:
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Eversley & California v Carterton
Currently these two sit in the bottom two places of the table with both sides still looking for their first points of the season. Carterton will be refreshed after having a week off and Eversley will be bolstered by their FA Cup win at Caversham on Sunday afternoon. The last time they met in the league was also at Eversley, back in the 20/21 season. On that day goals from Tess Brown, Sarah Coles, Kerry O'Connor and Leah Dolloway secured a 4-0 win for Carterton.
Eversley Sports Association, Fox Lane, Eversley RG27 0NS

Long Crendon v Caversham United
After a weekend of differing FA Cup results, Long Crendon winning and Caversham going out, these two come face to face in the league. Last season, in the Thames Valley League, The Goats did the double over Crendon. A 3-1 win at Mapeldurham in October was the precursor to 2-1 win for Caversham at Chearsley Road. Holly Swan and Eleanor Dorey notched for The Goats whilst Long Crendon's scorer was Nicoe Jacobs. 
Long Crendon Recreation Ground, 9 Chearsley Road, Long Crendon HP18 9BS

Penn & Tylers Green v Kidlington
What a game this promises to be! Kidlington top and Penn third in the league, both sides defending unbeaten records in all competitions. Both sides know where the goal is and are more than capable of causing problems for the opposing defences, who will need to be on top form.
French Meadow School, Elm Road, Penn HP10 8LG

Woodley United v Milton United
Fourth and second respectively, these two sides have played just one league game each so far. Both won their opening games, Milton 4-1 at home to Long Crendon and Woodley by a goal to nil at Eversley & California. Milton's Charlotte Comley currently leads the way in the race for the Golden Boot with four goals in three games. Woodley have their own sharpshooter in May Hamblin who has two in two.
UofR Bulmershe Pavilion, ​Woodlands Avenue, Woodley, Reading, Berks RG5 3HE