Northern Premier League, Midland Division Tuesday 30 September 2025
After the usual introductory header tennis, the Mikes missed a chance to go ahead with only five minutes on the clock. Charlie Manners surged into the home penalty box, and was brought down by young home keeper Ethan Pheasey. (Not often you see a young keeper, is it?) Harry Wakefield took a decent spot kick; but Pheasey dived the right way, pushed it on to the post, and the ball was scrambled away, to the first loud cheer from the rather sparse home support.
The hosts were soon giving the Boldmere defence a thorough examination, and ten minutes in, went ahead. Stan Anaebonam fired into the ruck from twenty yards…the ball was deflected off a defending foot…and the ricochet gave Jono Brown no chance of saving it. The game continued as a cat and mouse affair, each team taking it in turns to string together half a dozen passes, before giving it away for the opposition to repeat the process. Most of the noise came from the dugouts, both of whom were spoken to as time went on.
Occasionally, someone broke free dangerously, was flattened from behind, and a yellow card was waved. Eight minutes from the break, the Mikes were awarded such a kick out on the right. It sailed across the massed combatants…and there was skipper Danny O’Callaghan, unmarked on the far post, to head home the equaliser. Half time: 1-1.
Surprisingly for a hard-fought game, no physio appeared until the fiftieth minute, Frankie Ealing limping off for the game’s first substitution being replaced by Kye Bilton . You can tell who’s getting slightly the worse of a game: they’re the ones bringing on the replacements, in hopes of adding a different, winning ingredient. The Valley brought on three, within ten minutes of the hour having passed; but the cat and mouse scenario continued, with the net remaining unsullied until seventy-six minutes had gone. Newcomer Jayden Bailey-Hunter (who’d replaced Freddie Cockerell) left his marker standing, and charged goalwards, only to be brought down by Bleu McNeil. McNeil got his marching orders, it being a clear scoring chance, and this time O’Callaghan drilled the penalty home.
Boldmere now brought on two substitutes to bolster their defensive strength and preserve their lead. Exhaustion was now taking its toll, and sloppy passes littered an untidy last quarter of an hour. A misguided Pheasey clearance put in Nathan Oyemade, who nearly opened his account, drilling his shot across the target. You sensed Boldmere were going to win this, as you saw the home support drifting towards the exits, and a prolonged bout of cornerflagitis helped to see them over the line. For the first time this term, they have achieved mid table respectability. Has the team now settled down into a unit capable of taking on anyone in the Division? A draw would have been a fair result from this encounter; but you take the points when you can get them.
Rugby Town: Ethan Pheasey; Sam Tye; Geoffrey Lundoloki (Nathan Kabea 69); Bleu McNeil; Josh Thomas; Oliver West (Isaac Adegoke, 66); Ryan Sahota (Harrison Nee 60); Caine Elliott; Rivel Mardenborough; Stan Anaebonam (Cairo Taylor 81); Callum Griffin. Sub. not used: Marcus Bald.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Ben George; Aris Christophorou; Nathan Gough; Dan O’Callaghan; Connor Armstrong; Frankie Ealing (Kye Bilton 52) Charlie Manners; Freddie Cockerell (Jayden Bailey-Hunter 52); Harry Wakefield (Pierre Phillips 80); Kaireice Cunningham (Nathan Oyemade 86).