With Christmas done, it was time to get back to some football on Saturday and, as I already had to be in the Midlands, I decided to dip back into the Midland Football League. A quick glance at the fixture list revealed an attractive looking tie that also gave me the chance to see the Division Two leaders, Northfield Town, and take in a new ground, Shenley Lane, at the same time. Northfield started the day seven points clear at the top of the table, having taken 40 points from their 15 games, losing just once. Their opponents, Bolehall Swifts, began the day in ninth spot with 15 points from 14 games. Recent form and this season's previous meeting both favoured the home side. Northfield had won their last seven games whilst Swifts had won just twice in the same period. The meeting at Rene Road back in August had ended in a 3-1 win for Town.
Despite this being my first visit to Shenley Lane, I had seen both Northfield and Bolehall play twice before, the last of which was Bolehall's 2-1 home win over Lane head three years ago (Swifts Win By A Head). Previously I had seen Swifts lose 5-0 at Atherstone Town back in 2018 (Swifts No Match For Adders). As for Northfield, I saw them play in the Midland League Challenge Cup Final at Coventry Sphinx in May 2017, a game they lost 2-1 to NKF Burbage (Do You Know Who I Am?). I then saw them lose again in a Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup game at higher-ranked Quorn (On The Rebound).
Despite this being my first visit to Shenley Lane, I had seen both Northfield and Bolehall play twice before, the last of which was Bolehall's 2-1 home win over Lane head three years ago (Swifts Win By A Head). Previously I had seen Swifts lose 5-0 at Atherstone Town back in 2018 (Swifts No Match For Adders). As for Northfield, I saw them play in the Midland League Challenge Cup Final at Coventry Sphinx in May 2017, a game they lost 2-1 to NKF Burbage (Do You Know Who I Am?). I then saw them lose again in a Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup game at higher-ranked Quorn (On The Rebound).
Spink slots home number four There was an icy blast blowing across Shenley Lane as the game started. However, it was only Bolehall who were caught cold, as the home side made a blistering start. Only 3 minutes were on the clock when left-back Rhys Forbes dinked a delightful ball through the middle, perfectly into the path of James Ward, who calmly slotted past Liam Moss. 1-0.
Swifts had barely got their breath back when, four minutes later, Town doubled their advantage. Jamie Molyneux put a hopeful ball into the six-yard box, which should have been tidied up by the Bolehall defence. However, they made a mess of it, presenting James Ward with another opportunity, which he duly took. 2-0
Two down within seven minutes and having barely been out of their half, Bolehall needed to steady the ship quickly, which they managed to do, at least for a further ten minutes or so. However, with only 18 minutes gone, they found themselves three down. Molyneux did very well to control a lofted pass, turning inside his man before playing in Liam Spink, who slotted the ball under the advancing Liam Moss. 3-0 and, at this point, it felt like it could end in a cricket score.
Credit to Bolehall though. They were rattled, but did manage to get some kind of foothold on the game. Thomas Walker, in the home goal, was still largely a spectator, but at least Swifts had stemmed the flow of goals. Just pas the half-hour mark, Spink was disappointed not to have grabbed his second goal, but only had six more minutes to wait, before once again being given the opportunity to fire past Moss. This time he took it, burying the ball into the bottom corner. 4-0.
HT Northfield Town 4 Bolehall Swifts 0. Northfield got off to a fast start and dominated the half. Having not stretched the home defence at all, Swifts will be looking at damage limitation in the second half.
Swifts had barely got their breath back when, four minutes later, Town doubled their advantage. Jamie Molyneux put a hopeful ball into the six-yard box, which should have been tidied up by the Bolehall defence. However, they made a mess of it, presenting James Ward with another opportunity, which he duly took. 2-0
Two down within seven minutes and having barely been out of their half, Bolehall needed to steady the ship quickly, which they managed to do, at least for a further ten minutes or so. However, with only 18 minutes gone, they found themselves three down. Molyneux did very well to control a lofted pass, turning inside his man before playing in Liam Spink, who slotted the ball under the advancing Liam Moss. 3-0 and, at this point, it felt like it could end in a cricket score.
Credit to Bolehall though. They were rattled, but did manage to get some kind of foothold on the game. Thomas Walker, in the home goal, was still largely a spectator, but at least Swifts had stemmed the flow of goals. Just pas the half-hour mark, Spink was disappointed not to have grabbed his second goal, but only had six more minutes to wait, before once again being given the opportunity to fire past Moss. This time he took it, burying the ball into the bottom corner. 4-0.
HT Northfield Town 4 Bolehall Swifts 0. Northfield got off to a fast start and dominated the half. Having not stretched the home defence at all, Swifts will be looking at damage limitation in the second half.
Lewis Moss from the spot After a short break to warm up back in the clubhouse, the decent-sized crowd was ready to head back out for the second half, fully expecting to see Northfield score a few more. They did hit the ground running in the second period and, with less than a minute gone Ward came very close to getting his hat-trick, being denied by a very good save by Moss. The Bolehall keeper had clearly decided that conceding four was enough for one day. A few minutes later he was at full stretch to tip a another goal bound effort over the bar, as Northfield went in search of more goals.
Just past the hour though, even Moss was helpless as a cross looped over him toward the far post where both James Ward and Adam Bourn were coming in, unmarked. However, with the goal gaping the two Town players managed to get in each other's way and the chance was gone. Minutes after this Moss was again on his toes, keeping the score at four, with another fine save.
With just over twenty minutes remaining, Northfield decided to throw a little spice into proceedings. A Bolehall raid, which to be fair to the visitors was a much more common occurrence than in the first half, led to the referee pointing to the spot. From the opposite end the exact reason was unclear and the home defence clearly didn't agree with the decision. Bradley Hendry, particularly, made his feelings known and received a sin-bin for his comments. Lewis Moss ignored the protests and calmly slotted home the spot-kick. 4-1. Their was then a small melee in the aftermath of the penalty, which resulted in Liam Spink seeing red. So, suddenly, after being in complete control, Northfield's lead had been reduced and they were now down to nine players for the next 10 minutes.
The home side dug in well, however, and apart from a James Aucott-Hermann effort that went close, they held off the visitors well before being restored back to ten players with 11 minutes left. They then held their own well for the remaining minutes to take the points.
FT Northfield Town 4 Bolehall Swifts 1. Swifts made some improvement in the second half and, at the point that Northfield went down to nine, briefly looked like they meant business. However, the home side had done the damage early on and, in all fairness, could easily have doubled their tally if not for the effort of Bolehall keeper Liam Moss. My third time watching Northfield turned out to be lucky for them, after watching the lose twice previously.
Northfield remain seven clear, after nearest rivals Cadbury Athletic also won. Bolehall stay in ninth spot. Next up, Northfield travel to third placed Birmingham United, who they beat 4-2 at The Lane earlier in the season. Bolehall go to seventh placed Inkberrow, who are just a point ahead of them. The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw.
Northfield Town: 1.Walker, 2.Forbes, 15.Tabberner, 4.McPike, 5.Hendry, 6.Cameron, 7.Ward, 8.Westwood(c), 9.Molyneux, 10.Spink, 11.Bourn. Subs: Green, McDonald, Prince, Hanks, Halpin
Bolehall Swifts: 1.Liam Moss, 2.Holmes, 3.Symonds, 4.Lewis Moss, 5.Brehany(c), 20.Soloman, 7.Radbourne, 8.Latham, 9.A.Baker, 10 Aucott-Hermann, 11.Barrett. Subs: 12.Baker-Yearwood, 13.Bennett, 14.K.Baker, 15.Orman, 21.Robinson
Just past the hour though, even Moss was helpless as a cross looped over him toward the far post where both James Ward and Adam Bourn were coming in, unmarked. However, with the goal gaping the two Town players managed to get in each other's way and the chance was gone. Minutes after this Moss was again on his toes, keeping the score at four, with another fine save.
With just over twenty minutes remaining, Northfield decided to throw a little spice into proceedings. A Bolehall raid, which to be fair to the visitors was a much more common occurrence than in the first half, led to the referee pointing to the spot. From the opposite end the exact reason was unclear and the home defence clearly didn't agree with the decision. Bradley Hendry, particularly, made his feelings known and received a sin-bin for his comments. Lewis Moss ignored the protests and calmly slotted home the spot-kick. 4-1. Their was then a small melee in the aftermath of the penalty, which resulted in Liam Spink seeing red. So, suddenly, after being in complete control, Northfield's lead had been reduced and they were now down to nine players for the next 10 minutes.
The home side dug in well, however, and apart from a James Aucott-Hermann effort that went close, they held off the visitors well before being restored back to ten players with 11 minutes left. They then held their own well for the remaining minutes to take the points.
FT Northfield Town 4 Bolehall Swifts 1. Swifts made some improvement in the second half and, at the point that Northfield went down to nine, briefly looked like they meant business. However, the home side had done the damage early on and, in all fairness, could easily have doubled their tally if not for the effort of Bolehall keeper Liam Moss. My third time watching Northfield turned out to be lucky for them, after watching the lose twice previously.
Northfield remain seven clear, after nearest rivals Cadbury Athletic also won. Bolehall stay in ninth spot. Next up, Northfield travel to third placed Birmingham United, who they beat 4-2 at The Lane earlier in the season. Bolehall go to seventh placed Inkberrow, who are just a point ahead of them. The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw.
Northfield Town: 1.Walker, 2.Forbes, 15.Tabberner, 4.McPike, 5.Hendry, 6.Cameron, 7.Ward, 8.Westwood(c), 9.Molyneux, 10.Spink, 11.Bourn. Subs: Green, McDonald, Prince, Hanks, Halpin
Bolehall Swifts: 1.Liam Moss, 2.Holmes, 3.Symonds, 4.Lewis Moss, 5.Brehany(c), 20.Soloman, 7.Radbourne, 8.Latham, 9.A.Baker, 10 Aucott-Hermann, 11.Barrett. Subs: 12.Baker-Yearwood, 13.Bennett, 14.K.Baker, 15.Orman, 21.Robinson
Shenley Lane
The Ground
Shenley Lane Sports Ground, or The Lane, is situated just to the north of Northfield town centre, in the south-west corner of Birmingham. There's a good-sized car park in front of the community centre with further parking available in surrounding streets, just a short walk away. Access to the football ground is not immediately obvious. You have to go into the community centre, through the bar and then head towards the toilets at the rear, where you'll see an exit door. There's a small hut where you can pay your entry fee before walking behind the main stand to enter the ground. The stand you walk behind is a brick-built structure that houses both covered standing and some bench seating. It occupies a space between the goal and corner flag, rather than being directly behind the goal. Access is available around the whole pitch, but there's only further cover available to the left, on the Black Haynes Road side. Here you find the dugouts, plus a low-roofed stand that sits between the dugouts. The pitch slopes across the playing surface, from left to right as you look from the entrance. Overall, it's a good facility with a couple of quirks in the unusual access route and the slightly rickety stand between the dugouts.
Ground Number: 473
Att: 68
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A
Shenley Lane Sports Ground, or The Lane, is situated just to the north of Northfield town centre, in the south-west corner of Birmingham. There's a good-sized car park in front of the community centre with further parking available in surrounding streets, just a short walk away. Access to the football ground is not immediately obvious. You have to go into the community centre, through the bar and then head towards the toilets at the rear, where you'll see an exit door. There's a small hut where you can pay your entry fee before walking behind the main stand to enter the ground. The stand you walk behind is a brick-built structure that houses both covered standing and some bench seating. It occupies a space between the goal and corner flag, rather than being directly behind the goal. Access is available around the whole pitch, but there's only further cover available to the left, on the Black Haynes Road side. Here you find the dugouts, plus a low-roofed stand that sits between the dugouts. The pitch slopes across the playing surface, from left to right as you look from the entrance. Overall, it's a good facility with a couple of quirks in the unusual access route and the slightly rickety stand between the dugouts.
Ground Number: 473
Att: 68
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A
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