Northern Premier League | Midland Division | Saturday 31 August 2024
Joe Hull stood in at centre half for the absent Harry Craven, while two ex-Mikes (Ryan Shaw and Curvin Sanderson-Ellis) turned out for our hosts. The nature of this game can be judged from the fact that, after twenty minutes, your correspondent wrote, “Boldmere’s first corner”….and this was the first thing he’d found to record! Neither team had a player with the guile necessary to slow things down, with the result that what we saw was frantic, often shapeless, and in the air for long periods. The Mikes used the long ball throughout, resisted by resolute home defence, and an efficient off side trap.
On the quarter mark, something happened. Daniel Gyasi swept in a cross close to the goal line…and there was Jake Collins on the near post, to bobble the ball home, from close quarters. This, after a period of Boldmere pressure. This goal seemed to enliven the Greenbacks, who now started to knit some neat passes together. On the half hour, Jonathan Brown was at full stretch to push a home twenty yarder round his left post. Liam Murphy looked the most likely to further Boldmere’s lead; but six minutes from the break, Bedworth were level. A free kick from way out on the left arrived at a mass of players grouped round the penalty spot. Jonathan Letford got the outside of his boot to it…and it bounced in off the inside of the far post. Thus, we went in honours even at half time. At least, Bob Dearden won the 50-50 draw in the interval.
Bedworth being visibly heartened by their equaliser, the second half belonged to the hosts, and they will be disappointed they couldn’t turn their dominance into victory. William Grocott blasted a free kick from just outside the box over the bar, five minutes into the second period; Dexter Walters hammered one against the far post, from distance; a Brown interception twice denied Letford, when he’d steamed through the middle; fluent build up led to Leo Stone being kept out by Brown, two yards from home; a roar went up when the ball hit Joe Hull in the area, a penalty (rightly) being denied; Letford fired a dipper over the bar, from an acute angle; substitute Adam Hanson looked to be goal bound, but somehow lost the ball as he neared the target. The Mikes finally started to feature once seventy minutes had passed, and indeed had a clear chance to pinch the points with a minute of standard time left, Hull heading a corner wide. The men in green only used two substitutes, whereas the Mikes (as now looks to be their standard policy) brought on all five, their first two as early as the fifty second minute. If you’ve got them, flaunt them…Not the most memorable of games, but played in a commendable spirit: only one yellow card was issued throughout. Anyway, each team ended up with a point – which they both deserved for effort, if not poise.
Bedworth United: Liam O’Brien; Ryan Moore; Luke Rowe; Elliott Parrott; Alex Dean; Ryan Shaw (Curvin Sanderson-Ellis, 66); Christopher Cox; William Grocott; Jonathan Letford (Adam Hanson, 82); Leo Stone; Dexter Walters. Subs. not used: Sam Paddock; Dom Rogerro.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Lewis Allison; Harry Sweeney; George Cleet; Ollie West; Theo Rowe (Gus Sanches 73); Hisham Chiba (Sean Devlin 52); Liam Murphy (Kevin Ngombi 66); Jake Collins (Kyle Burke 52); Daniel Gyasi (Alfie Taylor 85)