Saturday Review

Another day dessimated by the weather as once again a third of our matches were postponed by the poor conditions. Well done to Shawn from Champions Church who managed to get his game moved from Dudley Wood down to South Road. That game and the Brierley Hill match were then threatened by the frost that had caught hold. Fortunately, the matches were delayed to allow the soil to melt and the games went ahead.

Division One

St Thomas' Aldridge 1 St Mary's 7

With Clarendon's match unplayable at Dynamo Kingswinford, St Mary's made no mistake in dispatching St Thomas' and put the pressure on Clarendon to win another game in hand and re-extend their lead of Division One back up to nine points again.

Rob Hill says: After all the agonising and soul searching about whether or not to disband the the club, strangely a 7-1 hammering has convinced me that it was right to see the season out. We self destructed several times in the first half and went in at the interval trailing 6-0 to a very fit and classy St Mary's side. Even allowing for the fact that they took their foot off in the second half we gave a much better account of ourselves having made three changes. It was pleasing to see the younger players doing well with Ashley Thorpe getting his second goal for the club. We battle on.

Nick Sprason adds: After a frustating enforced break watching we looked forward to taking on old rivals St Thomas'. The frustrations were expelled within half an hour as we found ourselves 5-0 up and playing some breathtaking football which no team in the league would have dealt with. Josh and Ian (and to a lesser extent Jack) were running the defence ragged and we got another just before the break to make it six. Two of the goals had come from left back Luke who now has seven for the season!

The second half was a bit of a letdown, We hoped to push on and play with the same desire, but St T's were a much more well organised and determind side after the break and soon pulled one back through the dangerous 'Ash'. Following the goal the game got a little scrappy and we didn't play with the same quality. I missed several presentable oportunities to extend the lead and we added a 7th in the final few minutes through a Jon Bignell who followed up his own saved penalty for the second time in a few weeks.

Special mention to James Oratoyo, who officiated the game in a good humoured manner and seemed to get most decisions correct.

With a couple of long term injured players returning to the squad we now seem to be in a position of strength again, following the disappointment of dropping points against Rowley.

King's AFC 2 City Church 2

City Church finally manage to play a competitive match of football and draw 2-2 away at King's. Their backlog of fixtures is one of the longest with just nine league games completed and a local derby of a Cup quarter-final to play, no to mention the Division One Cup. Martin Ogbourn reports: We continue to do things the hard way this season, as once again City demonstrate great team spirit to come back from two goals down (after 20 minutes) to deservedly gain a scoring draw for the second game running.

Neither team has had a game for a month, yet it was King's who settled first and struck early with two well-taken goals. City started slowly and were guilty of getting bogged down in the middle of the pitch and putting ourselves under pressure by giving the ball away too cheaply. We could have caved in after this poor start, but we showed great character and came back into the game with several good one-on-one chances and started getting more control in midfield. The King's keeper made some brave, smart saves. It took a low, deflected shot from Andrew Thomas (who is on a golden scoring streak!) to get City back into the game before half time. King's had looked dangerous on the break with their good attacking players, but less certain defensively.

As the pitch cut up badly in the second half the game became attritional with quality passing football difficult. Both teams had a share of possession and clear chances, but City scored from a lovely left footed cross from Paul Snelgrove (which was his last contribution before limping off with cramp!) for Daniel Atkins to head down for the equalising goal. There was time for plenty of late drama as King's had an offside goal correctly ruled out and City had a free kick awarded on the line of the penalty area, which could easily have been given as a penalty. In the end a draw was a fair result. The game was played fairly and competitively and the referee was decisive and consistent.

For City Neil Solomon, Rob Stokes, Will Wright and Stuart Eustace made great last ditch tackles, and as a team defended bravely to keep King's at bay. All 13 players worked tirelessly. The sight of David Louden running 50 yards to defend a throw in was a sight to behold!

Division Two

The battle for the Division Two title took a twist yesterday with favourites St Boniface dropping a couple of points at home to Selly Oak. Wolves steamed ahead with an emphatic 9-0 scoreline against EK and opened up a four point lead at the top. As Tom Baugh pointed out last week, whilst the teams following have games in hand, some of them have to play each other.

Wolverhampton and Perton Churches 9 EK Corinthia 0

With Sheldon still two matches away from halfway through their season, W&P have just three games left. They play Chawn next week and then may face a lengthy wait until 25 April for another match unless the fixtures are rearranged. If Wolves can win their last three, then I think they are a banker for a promotion place, especially as one of the games is against Selly Oak.

Tom Baugh writes: I think ‘feisty’ is the adjective that would best describe this contest in which Wolves eventually ran out more than convincing winners. There’s no doubting key decisions in the first ten minutes went the home side’s way but the manner in which EK subsequently fell apart, surprised even me. With Wolves 3-0 up after less than 20 minutes, it seemed more a question of how many we’d get rather than whether EK could fight back, and so it proved.

To test the strength of my memory, here’s a rundown of the goals:

Goal 1 - Wolves win a free-kick on the edge of the box and while EK are contesting the decision, Phil takes a quick one and Stevie cuts the ball back for Tom to bundle home. On a personal note, it was nice to end my goal-drought and register against EK for the first time.

Goal 2 - Some neat build up play and a precision through-ball puts Chris in the clear and he lifts the ball over the keeper to double the lead. A smart finish given there were defenders closing in all around him.

Goal 3 - Olly latches onto a ball over the top, muscles his way in front of the defender and strokes the ball home at the near post.

Goal 4 - Mozza makes a trademark driving run forward before releasing Nat on the left. He steadies himself and then belts the ball home at the near post.

Half-time: W&P 4 EK Corinthia 0

(This is where I’m going to struggle to remember the order)

Goal 5 - A ball forward finds Ash inside the penalty area with his back to goal. He turns well and makes just enough space to fire the ball low and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Goal 6 - It was either a cross or shot and the goalie failed to hold the ball allowing Jason to cash-in from point-blank range.

Goal 7 - Olly scampers clear and finishes with supreme confidence, lifting the ball over the top of the keeper as he goes to ground.

Goal 8 - The full-back stretches and fails to block the ball through, allowing Nat to race clear and skillfully send the goalie the wrong way, faking to shoot right but then smashing home at the near post.

Goal 9 - Who else could possibly be powering forward in the 89th minute? Mozza runs from just inside the EK half, bursts through about 4 challenges (albeit somewhat luckily), and finds a majestic finish to bend the ball around the goalie into the right-hand corner of the net.

…phew, think thats about right.

Other notable moments included a top-draw save by Uncle Rich at the end of the first half to deny Chris Morrison and a shot from the same player, which curled and dipped but landed just over in a rare moment of promise for the visitors.

Final Score: W&P 9 EK Corinthia 0

I felt this was Wolves' best performance of the season so far and even though EK capitulated, we still had to create the chances and put them in the back of the net. Three tough games to go in our league campaign and we need to keep the momentum going if we want to achieve promotion.

As a side note, well done to Sandwell who I believe won their first game of the season against West Brom. The best compliment I can probably give them is that I’m not in the slightest bit surprised. We struggled to win at their place early on in the season and that game could have easily gone their way. Hopefully they can turn a few other teams over now to help us out!

St Boniface 3 Selly Oak Methodist 3

St Boniface's James Gray says: St B's went into to today's game knowing that we couldn't afford to allow Selly Oak to continue their impressive form and beat us. We went 3-1 up after a good finish from Jimmy Cutler after the ball pinged around the box and a well placed top corner free kick from Wocko (Mark) some good pressure and what we have all decided is Obi's and the team's goal of the season: Great play from Jimmy down the left wing with the ball being put high in the box, Obi seemingly controlling the uncontrollable ball and finishing it with a spectacular scissor kick into the top corner. A 50:50 challenge on our keeper forced a change and allowed them to get back into the game. A very competitive match as always against our old rivals from last season. Let's hope as Rob said last week we can both get promoted and look forward to the fiercely contested fixtures next season.

Renewal Solihull 4 Chawn Hill Church 2

Chawn lose another game that they had been leading and more importantly to Solihull who are fellow relegation battlers. I did have a theory that you need at least twenty points to stay out of a bottom three of a division of ten. Renewal now have nineteen points with five matches left, so I would assume that they are approaching safety. For Chawn, the situation is far more precarious: Thirteen points with six games left, I think they are going to need to win three.

West Bromwich Beacons 2 Sandwell United 3

Congratulations to Sandwell United on winning their first game of the season and gaining their first points. I never like to see teams struggle. Granted that if you put a league table out there, there'll always be winners and losers and someone has to come bottom but it's not nice to see a team cast away at the bottom. I can only remember one team ever completing the season with no points at all and that was Alpha, which was an irony as back in the early nineties, they were one of the best teams ever to grace WMCFL. They played in Ajax colours and knocked the ball about like them too.

West Brom's Andy Trigger says: Conratulations to Sandwell on their first points of the season. Sandwell's Matt Holt adds: News Flash: The great escape is on!

Division Three

Champions Church 4 Lighthouse Lions 1

Another win for Champions as they close in on the Third Division title with a convincing score line against promotion hopefuls, Lighthouse Lions. If you add the fact that Shawn Devonport blasted a Chris Waddle style penalty high and wide and that they squandered another three gilt-edged chances early on, it makes it sound like an easy win but far from it.

Champions were easily the better side in the first half. They blew a series of chances before finally finding the net in the 23rd minute. They quickly followed their opener with a second and the third followed on 34 and it looked like they were going to run away with it. Adam Elcock, who was influential all match, grabbed one back for Lighthouse against the run of play and gave his team a life line just before half time.

Lighthouse were much better in the second period and created several chances. They outplayed Champions and were unlucky not to reduce the deficit, hitting a post, narrowly shooting wide a couple of times and coming up against the Champions' keeper and church pastor Rev Mark Burchell who pulled off a couple of good saves, if you excuse the weak pun. In the meantime Devonport missed his penalty, so it looked like it would be Lighthouse who were going to break the second half deadlock. But it was Devonport who put the result beyond doubt completing his hat-trick with five minutes left on the clock.

Shawn Devonport adds: After spending all Friday afternoon having to sort another pitch out after Dudley Wood not being playable we arrived at South Road which was covered with frost but after hanging around til 11 the pitch was deemed playable and we started.

As most teams have of late, Lighthouse started well and battled well and stopped us from playing but the first chances came our way with myself and Rion Mills both missing chances that were easier to score. We did go 1-0 up when a fantastic one touch move with a few nice flicks and some defence splitting passes made its way to the very impressive Josh Ball who blasted home. It was soon 2-0 when Rion Mills gave me the easy task of scoring from 6 yards and was 3-0 when the same combination linked well again. We threatened to run away with it at this point but Lighthouse started to play a bit and made it 3-1 with the last kick of the first half.

Second half and we really just didnt turn up. Lighthouse had plenty of chances and should have got back into the game but some great last ditch blocks, good goalkeeping and some woeful finishing meant it was still 3-1 when I put a penalty about 4 feet high and wide. Rion Mills wasted another good chance and Lee Ralph fired just over. We did wrap it up with a fourth late on when a fantastic Lee Ralph ball allowed for the hat-trick to be completed.

MBD next week and we could wrap up the title.

Brierley Hill 1 Elim Athletic 4

With the Inter v MBD match falling foul of the weather, Elim took full advantage to catch up by beating potential banana skin Brierley Hill. I still think that they will upset one of the top teams before the season's out. They were one of only two teams to draw with St Matthew's when they went the whole season unbeaten in 05/06.

Elim's Jon Earp says: Finally a game on for us and fair play to the ref for giving the pitch time to thaw. We were slow to start and Brierley Hill were the brighter team, knocking the ball around well. We managed to get the breakthrough when Chris Smith added to his tally for the season after tapping in from close range. Brierley continued to pass the ball around well and got a much deserved equaliser after a freekick from the right missed everyone and ended up in the top corner. (On-side Benny?-Ed). This kicked us into action and we started to get a our game together and started to play the level of football I expect from the lads. We soon got the second with another Chris Smith goal. It is good to see Smithy back from injury and bang in form. We went into the break 2-1 up.

We started the second half passing the ball around and defending well when needed. At half time I brought on Michael Knowles for the injured Matt Spillane, yes Ed that’s another injury to add to the list. Michael Knowles made a good impact linking up with the dangerous Michael French on a number of occasions. We then got our third after some good play at the back, Adam Wooldridge hit the pass of the game from the back to release Michael French who finished in superb fashion by lobbing the keeper. We then got the fourth with a Dean O’Leary goal after a lovely turn and finish in the box. We saw the game out and maybe should have added to our total with Knowles going close and Joe Croot with a misplaced header from a corner.

All in all a good result for us and some good performances from my players. I must say that Brierley Hill played some great football in the first half and I am sure if they carry on like that the results will soon follow.

Rockmount 4 DC Dynamos 0

Rockmount come out on top in the battle of the mid-table. I think both clubs have left it a bit late but I'm sure we are looking at two top four teams for next season rather than top seven. Having said that, it's not over until the fat lady sings, whoever she is and with a growing list of potential additions to WMCFL's burgeoning collection of clubs, there's a chance that more than three will be promoted.

Rockmount's Phill Tuner texted: A great game today played in the right spirit by both teams. In the first twenty minutes we played the ball around beautifully and we enjoyed our football. We could have gone in at half time three up but for a team goal set up by Mykell, knocking in by Theo being ruled offside.

The second half was just a little bit more open. Ashley scored a wonder goal and a great through ball from Melvin set up Kendelle to round off a good win. Best wishes to DC and Mark Crouch who went off injured.

Mark adds: A frosty morning saw DC take on Rockmount in another must win game. Well I can sum this game up in a few sentences: DC were useless. We were totally outplayed in every area and a more reasonable scroreline would have been 10-0 to Rockmount. As it was, it ended up 4-0 as the only place Rockmount were found wanting was in front of goal. There was none of the usual battling from DC and any notion of promotion seems a million miles from reality. The DC players were not at the races today apart from Jon Murphy Josh Burford and Dean Cole. The break has done nothing for us and I am seriously concerned for us against All Nations next week. Rockmount's management are great guys but I was a little disappointed by some of the unsporting chants from the dressing room after the game.

All Nations 1 Shiloh United 4

The second all-Wolverhampton derby was again a spectacle for players, managers and fans alike. All Nations played hosts this time and were looking to put the spark back into their season with a result against Shiloh United.

From the second the first whistle went, the game was being played at 90mph. Both teams were looking to start the game quickly and get the first goal and both sides played excellent build-up football, just lacking the final killer touch. The first half continued this way until we managed to hit All Nations on the break: A slick three man move found Patrick McKenzie to slot into an empty net after good work from Bawo Jarrett, scoring his first Shiloh goal.

Shiloh were then guilty of taking the foot off the gas a little and as a result we were punished by an excellent through ball and a similar finish from their frontman, Curt Stewart. All Nations continued to press us and if it wasn't for good work from our back four and new goalkeeper, half time could have been a very different proposition to what it eventually finished: 1-1. It could easily have been two or three for the home side.

After the half time team talk, the second half again started in typical emphatic fashion. Both teams knew victory was possible and were doing their best to make it happen. An injury forced our left back off, Ian Gocan was brought on to fill the gap. Shiloh pressed and won a corner and a great delivery and a great call from Ian Gocan allowed him to nod home past the static backline and restore our lead.

From there on in, we knew we had to keep ploughing away and another good passing move saw Jarrett free down the wing to deliver me a fantastic cross, which I controlled and then stabbed home for my first Shiloh goal. It seemed like it took a lifetime to cross the line, but it put us 3-1 up. In the words of the great Andy Gray: "Jarrett delivered the ball, and said 'Go on son, are you going to score?' And Ahmad says 'Aye!' and duly obliges!

Being 3-1 up and leaving All Nations to chase the game, they had to commit more men forward to the cause, leaving space at the back for Bawo Jarrett to cap a fine performance with a deft finish past the goalkeeper.

Overall, it was another great derby and credit to All Nations for being good hosts and battling to the final whistle. On the back of their first half performance, I don't think it will be too long before they gel together and get into the swing of things in the WMCFL.

Friendly Please

St Thomas' Aldridge are looking to organise a friendly for next Saturday morning. With the other thirty WMCFL clubs tied up, it will have to be one of the teams looking to come in next season. Please contact Rob Hill on 07752 837891.

Saturday Review

With eleven out of the fifteen matches played yesterday, I think that most people were just relieved to get a game. Unfortunately, three of the four postponed games were in the First Division, where perhaps we could have done with them being played. There are some teams with just four games to play but others with twelve league matches, plus any of the various cup matches.

With warmer, brighter spells forecast with bits of rain, I am hopeful that we may even get a full set of fixtures played this Saturday.

Division One

Clarendon 2 Halesowen Zion 1

With St Mary's (reluntantly) resting yesterday, Clarendon had the chance to close the gap on the runaway leaders. Halesowen's Dave Walters picked up the story: Even though we lost, I was delighted with our performance today. A bit of a make-shift team but everyone worked hard to put in a solid performance. To be fair Clarenden had more possession and territory throughout the game and took the lead late in the first half through the impressive Everton Morrison.

The second half they doubled the lead with a own goal about eight minutes from time, but we hit back with a long range effort from Cocky which seem to catch the wind and deceive the Clarenden keeper. It was a pity we couldn't have scored a little earlier as Clarenden were nervous and in the end were happy to hold onto what they had.

Rowley College 3 St Matthew's 2

Rowley improve their position considerably with a slim 3-2 win at home to St Matthew's. Pete Bennett says: This was an open and attractive game of football played on a very wet pitch. Full marks to referee Emily Hanson who gave us encouragement to get to work on the surface water with the broom and thus got us a game where others were off. St Matt's are an excellent side who I suspect like us struggle to get the same team out each week but today they showed good quality on the ball and asked us lots of questions. Our answers started with a new Keeper, Lee Roberts who was excellent and Mark Southall, taking one for the team as the leader of a back three. With this reassurance we were able to play our football and Stew Harvey had a particularly fine game in midfield. We also had Jamie Hunter playing near his best up front and delivering a series of almost indefensible long throws (which also decided the reverse fixture).

St Matt's had already had a couple of scares before first Johnny Warr (a good header) and then Stew Harvey (a Ballack-like drive) put us in the driving seat. It remained 2-0 until the 80th minute (at which point for the very first time it looked as if we’d won the game!). Suddenly a shot was deflected at full stretch by Southall over his own keeper and St Matt's smelt blood while our anxiety came in flagons. Their equaliser was a peach: right hand side of the penalty area, cut back onto his left foot and curled in. Suddenly it looked like the sort of smash and grab we did at Walsall campus was on! However it’s a funny old game and in the dying minutes Southall lofted a free kick and the loose ball was nudged by McIvor to substitute Danny Wheeler (Alan Sunderland-Ed) who turned and tucked it away. Of course this was hard on St Matt's but a very good three points for us.

Division Two

Wolverhampton and Perton Churches 4 West Bromwich Beacons 2

Wolves remain on top of Division Two with what at first glance looks like a convincing scoreline, especially when you add that Wolves were four up with minutes to play. They took the lead, very early on after a cross was turned into their own net. It took West Brom a little while to wake up and they were pressing Wolves towards the end of the first half but the score remained at 1-0 until the interval.

Once again, W&P scored not long after the half had started. A fella behind me who had been watching the game say 'Well it's all over'. Far from it though. The game came to life in the last fifteen with Wolves scoring two more to make it 4-0 before the Beacons got two back. Firstly, big Alf floated a forty yard free-kick towards goal, with the wind and more importantly a low winter sun behind him. Uncle Rich was unsighted and the ball found its way into the net. Stu Rogers headed in neatly to make it 4-2. Earlier, Paul Beagan had had a header chalked off for off-side and in the dying seconds managed to head over from five yards, despite heading the ball down, it bounced inches over the bar. So the final score could have been much closer.

West Brom and Wolves are two different sides: West Brom have more grit and determination; Wolves seem to be more comfortable on the ball and perhaps a little more football nous. I looked along their back-line: Phil Webster, Kevin Preece, Andy Page and Scott Lindsay. No spring chickens.

Wolves' Tom Baugh adds: Wolves claimed an important victory at home to West Brom that keeps them right in the mixer for promotion back to Division One.

The first half saw Wolves dominate possession but only test the goalkeeper on a few occasions. However, after just ten minutes we were given a helping hand by the West Brom defender who turned the ball into his own net following some decent build up down the left. As the half wore on the visitors seemed to take the initiative and push further up the pitch looking for an equaliser. Unfortunately from their perspective, they seemed to be lacking a cutting edge in the final third meaning the Wolves back four were able to sweep most things up fairly easily.

Half-time: W&P 1 West Brom 0

The second period was a much more open affair with chances being created at both ends. However, it was Wolves who struck first once again, when Olly latched onto a through ball and precisely planted it in the corner of the net. The next goal was always going to shape the direction of the match and Wolves struck the decisive blow when a corner was dropped by the West Brom keeper, allowing Kev to swivel and fire the ball home. Dennis Bergkamp would have been proud of that one hey Kev? Three soon became four when Mozza got what is now becoming his customary goal, nodding in a free-kick after rising higher than the defender and advancing goalkeeper.

As quite often happens at this level, the team that is command of the game start to warm down when there’s still 15 minutes on the clock, but credit to West Brom who started to claw their way back. Saying that, Wolves will be disappointed with both of the goals conceded after Rich was beaten from the centre circle and Stu Rogers was given the freedom of the penalty area to power home a header.

All in all, I thought this was a fairly efficient performance from Wolves and with four games of the league campaign to play, we’ve given ourselves a really good chance of making life difficult for the other promotions chasers. Yes they all have games in hand, but its worth remembering they have to play each other with some of those, so they can’t all get maximum points. Should be an interesting climax to the season, I’m looking forward to it.

Chawn Hill Church 3 Zion Athletic 5

A defeat Chawn could have done without but with Renewal and West Brom both losing too, no serious damage done. However, EK managed a win and they are just three points behind. The win for Zion keeps them in second place and they are still a realistic bet for promotion, despite the fact that they have just four matches to play.

Zion's James Hamilton reports: A good result for us today against a strong and physical Chawn. I lost count how many bookings the ref made, so I think that sums up this one. In the first half Chawn were out of the blocks quickly and took the lead three times in the first half, capitalising on some poor defending. At half time we were 3-2 down and a few harsh words were needed at the break.

In the second half, we showed much more character and determination, and although in the end this game could have gone either way, the points were ours when Ben Lawrence came off the bench to net one and set up another. Ethan Barnett was our man of the match today, causing their defence all kinds of problems as well as taking his two headed goals well. Once again we left it late to beat Chawn, who are far too good to go down.

We are still in this league and if we can win our last four games, then the pressure really will be on the other three title contenders! You see, it's not just Fergie who can play the mind games!

Sandwell United 1 St Boniface 10

A routine victory for in my book, the favourites for the Division Two title. The ten goals means they are the League's top scorers and the first to pass fifty. Obi also managed to back a double hat-trick to make him the leading scorer in Division Two. As for Sandwell, they have played two-thirds of their games and have already conceded eighty.

Selly Oak Methodist 6 Walsall Olympic 3

Selly Oak close in on the top end of the table at just the right time of the season as Walsall's title challenge appears to fade. I would still back both clubs to make it into the top three but Walsall must start winning games soon or they will miss out. Having said that, they have only played ten matches, which is fewer than any team in the division and should they win all four of their games in hand, then they would be above Wolves and Zion. Selly Oak may be a little disappointed with their season so far but they appear to be riding the crest of a wave at present. If we cast our minds back a couple of seasons, they only managed to win three matches all season, so a little bit of consolidation is understanable.

Selly Oak's Rob O'Neill says: A huge statement from Selly Oak today as we beat one of the two teams to have beaten us so far this season in the league. It was touch and go whether we would beat the weather but credit to the referee we got the game on and the pitch didn’t affect play too much once the sun had shone down on it. The first part of the game was pretty much all Walsall as we struggled to stop their passing play and their possession paid dividends as they struck first when they broke down the left hand side and I (covering in goal again) hesitated in coming out which gave the striker time to slot the ball into the far corner. This served to wake us up and we started to get into the game and compete in the packed midfield. However it would be Walsall that would strike again when a high cross caught the wind and left me stranded and back peddling and the only thing I could do was to pick the ball out of the net.

It was still early in the match and we knew that there was plenty of time to bring it back but we weren’t going to waste any time and Joel Richards was sent through on our left flank and broke into the box and dispatched a superb finish across the keeper into the far corner. We had definitely turned the corner and even though we were one goal down Walsall seemed stunned. The next goal would prove to be the talking point of the match, the ball was played into the box and Laurence Belgrave chased the ball and it was clear he and the keeper would meet it roughly at the same time, the keeper got there first and had his body on the ball however Loz had swung his leg and made contact with the ball freeing it from the keeper and then he slotted it into the empty net. The goal was given we were level and Walsall visibly in disarray. Jamie Williams managed to bang in a third goal for Selly Oak before the half, he was our player of the season last year but has been absent for a few matches this year due to other commitments and its clear he can make a difference when he’s available.

The second half and we were kicking with the wind and started to dominate the possession ourselves and were rewarded with a superb finish from Laurence Belgrave and a two goal brace from Dan Jennings. It could have been more if it wasn’t for their keeper pulling off a few great saves. Walsall managed to put the ball in the back of the net with ten minutes to go to make it 6-3 but the game was already over.

We seem to have found our stride now and are undefeated in five, winning our last four games. A tough game against our local rivals St. Boniface next week, the only other team to beat us in the league this season, where three points would put us firmly in the promotion chase and also the title chase even a loss wouldn’t leave us with too much to do to finish in the top three as we still have two games in hand on Zion and Wolves and Perton. We have lost the least amount of games in our division however it was draws that cost us promotion last season. I’d like to see us first, Boniface second or third and City to stay up and get a good South B'ham representation in Div One.

EK Corinthia 3 Renewal Solihull 1

A welcome win for EK against a Solihull team that battered them a couple of months back. I ran the line at the corresponding fixture and if it hadn't been for goal-keeper Dan Greatrex's heroics, it could have been double figures. EK's Chris Morrison says: A great game where EK started so brightly. Two quick goals from Chris Morrison and Steve Harper saw EK take a 2-0 lead. Renewal quickly got one back but EK missed chance after chance to finish the game off hitting the post on one occasion! After soaking up pressure EK took advantage of sloppy defending and Chris Morrison scored his second of the game to get back the two goal cushion and deserved to lead 3-1 at the half interval.

Renewal came out fighting in the second half but again EK missed several chances to finish off the game again. EK held their nerve to get a deserved win and a great start to the New Year! Well done to EK and Renewal for an end to end game!

Division Three

Champions Church 4 Shiloh United 2

Champions Church could have the Division Three title sown up in a week or two, such is their domination of WMCFL's bottom tier. Whilst they have won all twelve games so far, which is a truly magnificent achievement, many games have been like yesterday's: quite close. What I mean to say is that Champions aren't knocking ten or more in every week; teams are giving them a game.

Shawn Devonport says: Today had been pencilled in as the day we could have won the league, however with the cancellations over the past few weeks we knew today was going to be difficult against a Shiloh side who were determined to go away with three points and with us having to get back in our stride we knew this would be tough.

The pitch was a little on the boggy side but after clearing away the what seems ever present surface water at Dudley Wood it was fine to go. After weathering an early spell of pressure from ourselves Shiloh took the lead with there very lively striker holding off challenges and striking home a left footed shot from 12 yards out. (See what I mean?-Ed). The game was then a battle and although we hit the bar there weren't many chances either way until a lovely floated ball by Rion Mills was converted by the ever present Greg Timmington for his first Champions goal. We were then not given a penalty for a hand ball that all 22 players saw but the ref's view was blocked so he couldn't give it (I'll leave that one in, lol-Ed) and Shiloh went up the other end and our keeper made a smart save from point blank range. Then just before the break we got a free kick right on the edge of the box and Lee Ralph took a quick one which the keeper tried to get too but only ended up helping it on its way in to the net.

The second half was then much of the same however 90% of the chances fell to us although it took a good 25 minutes to make it 3-1 when a tame Rion Mills finish some how got under the keeper. We immediately went close again with the excellent Josh Ball scoring but it was disallowed for offside. We had a few other half chances as Shiloh pushed and scored after a goal-mouth scramble too make it a tense finish. Almost immediately Rion Mills again played a perfect through ball which Josh Ball again made no mistake with to make it 4-2. Rob Moody should have made it five after a fantastic run but hesitated in front of goal and the excellent Shiloh captain made a impressive block.

Credit again to Shiloh who, to be fair, are the best defensive unit we have played against this season. They had a very lively striker and had a few very good lads come on for the last 30 minutes. I expect them, along with Rockmount, tol do very well next year. For us its another hard fought good win and its Lighthouse next week who lost again today so we will look to take advantage of that and get closer to promotion.

Lighthouse Lions 1 Birmingham International 5

Inter close the gap on MBD, whose game was called off to two points with an impressive win away at Lighthouse. The division has Champions way off in the distance but then the following six clubs are all in with a shout with DC and Rocmount straggling a little and with just five to play. But MBD and Inter are in the box seats, so guess who's playing who, yes you guessed it!

Inter's new secretary Kwesi Okanta Ofori writes: BIFC started off brightly, for once, and within five minutes had scored their first goal, through a move which saw the left back link up with the striker, who cut in from the wing and squared to his strike partner who slotted it home comfortably. The next goal came not long after, this time through the middle. Some nifty footwork by Nathan Atkinson, even more impressive considering that the centre circle resembled an Irish peat bog, opened up the way for a delightful through ball which was finished by Mark Johnson. The third goal also came through the middle which made it 3-0.

Lighthouse attacked through the middle and down the flanks, however BIFC defended in numbers and held them off. Man of the match was Robert Morgan, in defence, though several players were realistic contenders. Lighthouse have an excellent central midfielder (Carl James) who was their man of the match, and good wingers, however, they were neutralised and BIFC counter-attacked effectively, scoring two more goals after some sloppy defending let in Lighthouse for a consolation. A penalty appeal after a “ball-to-hand” incident was turned down in the second half, and overall, it was agreed that the referee had an excellent game; allowing play to continue where possible, taking account of the conditions and making sound decisions. The last two goals saw Anthony Johnson complete a skilful hat-trick. Saman Sadeghi narrowly missed out on a hat-trick and goals could have come from other members of the team, but for some near misses and good defending...

BIFC’s next game at home to MBD is another big six pointer, and should be an excellent game for the neutral!

DC Dynamos 2 Brierley Hill 1

Well, DC certainly have turned the corner, at least from a results point of view but Brierley are not far behind either. DC's Mark Crouch says: A miserable blustery day saw DC take on Brierley in another must win game (must win if any chance of promotion).

After four wins in five games, it was as if DC had forgotten how to play football. Brierley started far brighter and at times passed the ball around really well. Their two centre midfielders made some great tackles and were unlucky to be on a losing side. It was Brierley who took the lead when a well struck shot came back off the crossbar and their forward anticipated well and struck a sweet shot into the bottom right hand corner. DC's keeper should have done better though with the initial shot and could have tipped it over.

Half time 1-0 Brierley Hill

DC got a rollicking at half time and substitutions were made. It appeared to have done the trick as they woke up from their Christmas slumber and made some great chances and were unlucky not to draw level on a few occasions. Steve Burford was his usual commanding and consistent self, seemingly winning everything in the air. Ben Russell and Clinton Dudson were playing some great football on the right wing Josh Burford gave another tireless display in midfield alongside Dave Rich and Dean Cole was holding the ball up brilliantly upfront. The pick of the bunch today though was James Cole who drew DC level with a great solo goal finishing with a fierce shot that gave the keeper no chance.

1-1

As the pitch took its toll on tired legs it was end to end stuff but in the last 10 minutes DC were camped in Brierley's half and looked the most likely to score. With two minutes left it looked like a draw was on the cards but an attack up the right wing saw Ben Russell cut in and slam a thunderbolt of a shot from the edge of the box low and under the keeper. I am sure Brierley will feel robbed but no more robbed than when we played them and we lost 1-0 having had 90% of the play.

Final score 2-1 to DC another battling performance and a bit closer to the melting pot that is 2nd/3rd place and auto promotion. Can we do it? Watch this space as stranger things have happened. Rockmount up next who will see a far better than side than when we last played them.

Rockmount United 7 All Nations 0

Sadly All Nations do seem to be cast adrift at the bottom of the League and with Brierley Hill showing serious signs of improvement, there seems little hope of avoiding the wooden spoon. Nevertheless, Rockmount keep alive the faint glimmers of hope of promotion alive with a sound win. Phill Turner from Rockmount was complimentary of All Nation's spirit and attitude right up to the final whistle.

Rockmount face DC next week and must win or elimination from an automatic promotion spot will be a nigh-on certainty.

Saturday Review

Not a fat lot to report on yesterday. There were a couple of matches played but I think that ice skates may have been more appropriate than football boots for the participants that managed to exercise their legs.

Wolverhampton and Perton Churches 4 Walsall Olympic 3

Wolves rescued the points in this one to move into top spot, for the time being at least. There's a well known saying that goes 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'. Walsall could still overtake W&P but are now eight points adrift with four games in hand. And equally as important, Walsall now have just one game in hand on St Boniface but lie five points behind them.

I think the result was a good one for St Boniface. Wolves always seem to be one of the first teams to complete their games. They have just five league matches remaining but there are a couple of teams with twelve matches left to play.

W&P's Tom Baugh reports on the game: Two late goals from John Morris give Wolves a crucial win over Walsall, which keeps them firmly in contention for a top three finish.

On a frozen pitch both teams attempted to make the best of the conditions and it was an interesting battle throughout. However, it was Wolves who struck first when an in-swinging free-kick from Phil deceived the goalkeeper, slipping through his grasp and dropping just under the bar.

The remainder of the first half saw Walsall pressing for an equaliser but overplaying in crucial areas. In contrast, Wolves were being far more direct and it was paying off as we created a few good openings, without really testing the keeper. With no further goals, the game remained in the balance as the ref blew up for the interval.

Half-time: W&P 1 Walsall Olympic 0

The visitors came out of the traps quickly in the second half and wasted no time in assuming control of the match. On such a difficult pitch, mistakes were always likely to occur and without sounding disrespectful to Walsall, all three of their goals owed something to individual errors.

Pete Falconer did well for the equaliser, getting in between the defence and Uncle Rich to slide the ball home under pressure following a missed clearance. The second goal was a tremendous finish from Andy Marshall after the ball came to him about twenty yards out on the right. With Rich out of his goal he found a precision first time finish to give Walsall the lead. The third and final goal from the visitors, which looked to have killed the game as a contest, followed some decent passing in and around the area before the ball broke to Daniel Costin to drill home.

Wolves were back in the game via the penalty spot, when Costin brought down Baugh (it was a penalty), allowing Olly to stroke the ball home. John Morris then took the game by the scruff of the neck and powered Wolves over the line with a performance that Walsall simply couldn’t live with. Firstly he rampaged through with a trademark run from deep before drilling the ball home at the near post, before getting on the end of a corner to head Wolves in front.

With only a few minutes remaining, Wolves did a good job of keeping Walsall well away from their goal, but it was still a relief when the final whistle went and the three points were in the bag!

Sandwell United 0 Zion Athletic 6

A hat-trick from James Toomey helped his side to a predictable 6-0 win over Division Two strugglers Sandwell United. The win lifts Zion to second place, although like W&P they have played more games than those below them. They will probably be left sweating on results towards the end of the season as their challengers catch up. Sadly, the result leaves Sandwell United still without a point and perhaps wondering where one will come from.

New Telephone Number

James Gray's new telephone number is 07833 052134. He's the St Boniface Secretary.

Happy New Year

Well, a Happy New Year to you all. 2009 looks like it may start with a phut rather than a bang. The frosty weather may put paid to the limited set of fixtures that we have arranged for Saturday, with freezing temperatures forecast for the next few days at least.

If we do get any played, Clarendon will look to make up ground on their title rivals, St Mary's. They have played two games fewer, are nine points behind them and have an inferior goal-difference. Clarendon's opposition is Rowley College, who need the points for different reasons: they hover just above the relegation zone. A win for Rowley would nicely square up their record to won four, lost four and drawn two.

The other two games on in Division One also have a relegation taste as three points for the teams involved would come in very handy.

In Division Two, St Boniface start the year on top and will want to keep it that way as they face Renewal Solihull. Second placed Wolves can take a step closer to top flight football next season if they manage to extend Walsall Olympic's poor run of results. Zion Athletic must fancy their chances against Sandwell United at Lion Farm. And lastly West Brom can put themselves back in contention if they can beat Selly Oak.

With seven of Champions Church's squad having once played for Brierley Hill, the match between the two teams will be keenly fought. With the points taken not being much of an issue to either side, Champions will be eager to preserve their winning streak. To my knowledge, no team has gone through an entire season winning every game in WMCFL. The closest I can find, at least recently, was St Matthew's sixteen wins and two draws in Division Two in 05/06. Grenfell nearly did it in 03/04 but eventually lost one and drew one.

Lighthouse can move back into second place with a win over bottom club All Nations and DC can put a spanner in the works for Elim if they continue with their winning ways.

Fingers crossed that the games get on.

Ed's Christmas Review

I've stuck my neck on the block again and done a Christmas Review. I must be a sucker for punishment, not only have I enrolled as a referee but I'm bound to get some feedback for this.

Have a look and see what you think

Happy New Year

Ed

Christmas Review

Relegation and Promotion

I am frequently asked how many teams will be promoted and relegated at the end of the year. The League currently operates a three up, three down system but it rarely works that way. I cannot remember a season when there have been no changes to the make up of the League, so we usually see some kind of alterations to the make up. We saw City Church last season, despite being in the bottom three, saved from relegation due to the new clubs joining.

If we saw five new teams join us, for example, then one idea could be that we operate three divisions of twelve teams. We would have to decide how we would do this. This is done by members of the Committee and or Member Clubs submitting proposals at the Annual General Meeting in June and a vote is taken. This is one reason why we cannot add clubs after this date.

So in short: It's a three up, three down system with the possibility of some clubs being saved from relegation or extras promoted if clubs join or drop out.

Sedgley Community Church 3 St Matthew's 6

I think the majority of people who play football want to do just that: play! And with the over-indulgence weighing heavily on a good few of those involved today I trooped off to South Road to see if I could join in, as a referee mind you. My knees are past it these days and do their best to keep up with the non-combative activity that I subject them to.

Sedgley are a team that are looking to enter the League next season. They have a few old faces from the past, some of whom saw action in WMCFL's infancy. They took on St Matthew's today and gave them a decent game. It was very cold but the top pitch at South Road had dried out to such an extent that a moulded boot would have done the job.

St Matthew's took the lead after a little while but Sedgley were back into it with a penalty scored by none other than Dek Dudfield. It clipped the post as it went in. Sedgley then took the lead after St Matthew's tried to play it out of defence and then added another to make it 3-1.

The wind was blowing from one end to the other but it seemed to suit the defending team as the through balls were being held up for the attackers to run on to. St Matt's got one back after Sedgley's own defensive mix up; the keeper picking up a throw-in. They then equalised: a corner headed in and then scored another two, including a penalty. Mart Nicholls made it six with the last kick of the game.

A good run-out for the Sedgley boys. They will iron out a few creases that are better sorting now than next September and can take pride from the fact that they lead 3-1 after two-thirds of the match. St Matthew's will be pleased to have won a game and will hope to carry some momentum into their match with Dynamo next week.

All Time Top Scorers

This one does take a while to collate but I think it all adds to the experience that makes WMCFL different to other leagues and I hope you find it worthwhile.

We've had this debate many times over but I'll go through it again for the new folks on the site: I've been collating the scorers from our League matches since September 2003. Prior to this, record have been lost. When I talk about 'All Time Top Scorers' for the League, I mean from 2003 onwards. Before then there are plenty of people that have laid claim to mammoth scoring achievements. Unfortunately the evidence is anecdotal.

Nevertheless, we have what we have. Currently, we have two lads who are approaching the 100 goals barrier: In first place going into 2009, Mark Hadden has 97 and closing in quickly is Shawn Devenport with 91. Shawn has closed the gap by 18 this year and has passed Martin Nicholls, one time top scorer currently on 82.

Someone else that's worth a mention is Everton Morrison, who if he carries on in the same vein, will be joining the elite. He is already at number 8 with 44 goals. Sean Mckenna is also back in the top ten and has settled back into the groove at Elim Athletic.

I would also like to mention the few players who have managed a goal in every season that I have been counting. Out of the 713 people that have scored a League goal since September 2003, there are just 24 that have netted every year. They include: Mark Hadden, Martin Nicholls, Chris Morrison, Oliver Jones, Dan Smith, Jamie Hunter, Curtis Jordan, Jadon Silva, Jason Greene, Leon Turton, Scott Murrell, Andy Aston, Lee Ralph, Mark Southall, Nick Sprason, David Broome, James Toomey, Roger Moore, Steve McGarry, Tim Atkins, Lee Bedford, Andy Waddams, Jon Allen and last but not least John Myatt with just eight in five and a half seasons: A regular scorer for St Mary's.

Joking apart, when the most common gripe from managers is getting the same team out, week in week out, it's people like the above mentioned that keep teams going.

Well done lads.

You can find the amended listing through the Archive link from the Home page navigation bar.

Ed