FA Cup
Sporting Khalsa v Pegasus Juniors
It's incredible to think this is the start of a journey which will end in May 2015.Needless to say, neither of these combatants will be involved on that day ! Nevertheless, it must be a fantastic feeling for these players to be part of such a great competition.
With £1500 on offer to the winners on the day, there was certainly no shortage of effort from both sides with clear-cut chances few and far between and defences dominating at both ends. From this viewers eyes,the visitors possibly just shaded the first half with their midfield often seeming to have a spare man and passes rarely going astray while the hosts plan of using Nisbetts pace up front was ably dealt with.
The second half saw Khalsa have much more of the ball and the visitors' defence kept busy. That said, the first real effort on goal was from the visitors and Pemberton in the home goal just managed to tip the ball over. Try as he might, Nisbett could not a direct shot on goal. It was certainly not one-way traffic as Pegasus themselves saw plenty of the ball but were denied by the hard-working home defence. A draw was probably the right result and these two must replay for the opportunity of pocketing a further £2000 in the next round.
Result ;
Sporting Khalsa 0 Pegasus Juniors 0
Sporting Khalsa MOTM - Nisbett
Pegasus Juniors MOTM - Number 7(apologies,don't know his name)
Click on a pic to enlarge
Entrance ; £3(concession)
Programme ; £1
Crowd ; 40-45(est)
Referee ; Good
West Midlands Regional League. Div 1
Wrens Nest FC v Wyrley FC
This was our first visit to The Handrahan Sports Stadium at Wallheath,home of Wrens Nest FC and we were not disappointed.You get the feeling this is an extremely well-run club.
What a strange game this was.The home side had most of the possession for the first 25 minutes with Wyrley seemingly unable to penetrate their opponents' defence. It really surprised no-one when Nest took the lead on 20 minutes and added a second on 25. The visitors looked destined for a bit of a bollocking but 3 minutes later they reduced the arrears. This did nothing to deter the home side who were putting together some really nice moves.Credit to Wyrley for withstanding the onslaught to half-time.
Half-time ; Wrens Nest 2 Wyrley 1
The game turned on its' head from the kick-off. Where the visitors had been under the cosh in the first half,they were now doing the same to their hosts and but for some heroics by the home goalie,would and should have drawn level at least. As is almost always the case,if you don't take your chances you will get punished. The hosts weathered the storm and broke from defence with a clever ball over the top for number 10 to take to the by-line and put over an inch-perfect cross for a third home goal from number 9. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Wyrley and although they kept battling,the damage was done.
This was a thoroughly entertaining match at a level of football often ignored.Full credit to both sides for giving maximum effort with no play-acting,rolling about like they had been shot and no cynical fouls.
Click on a pic to enlarge
Wrens Nest MOTM - No 10.
Wyrley MOTM - No 5.
Result ; Wrens Nest 3 Wyrley 1
Entrance ; Free
Programme ; N/a
Drink ; £1
Crowd ; 30(est)
Ref ; Good
Midland Football League Premier Division
AFC Wulfrunians v Shepshed Dynamo
Wulfrunians have had a fine pre-season and tore into the visitors from the off, maintaining a good tempo for the first 15-20 minutes without creating any clear-cut openings.The visitors took time to work their way into the game and by half-time were enjoying a fair amount of possession and had a couple of half-decent chances, ably dealt with by Tipton in the home goal. A thoroughly entertaining first half.
Half-time :
AFC Wulfrunians 0 Shepshed Dynamo 0
Egged on by some highly vocal travelling support,the visitors had the upper hand early on, playing some neat controlled football and had more than their fair share of chances to open their account. That they did not was down to their own failings in front of goal and some last-ditch defending by Wulfrunians.
The home side steadied the ship and it was they who took the lead with a spectacular back-heeled shot which looped over the goalkeeper. Unfortunately for the visitors,it was one of their own who scored.Try as they might Shepshed were unable to get back into the game and Wulfrunians kicked off the season with a win and three points.
This was an excellent game for the spectators,played in a good spirit. I can certainly stick another 9 months of this. Isn't it good to be back ?
MOTM for Wulfrunians : Josh Jones
MOTM for Shepshed : Number 5
Click on a pic to enlarge
Entrance : £3(concession)
Programme : £1(excellent )
Drink : £1
Crowd : 119
Referee : Good
