Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 1 November 2025
The Mikes sported a new look forward line, in the absence of Kaireice Cunningham (departed to Shifnal Town) and Harry Wakefield (gone to Lichfield City). Coming onto the stage were returnee Fraser Doyle, Brett Lloyd (arriving from Racing Club Warwick) and Ben Lund (coming in from Chasetown, and lustily cheered on by his little son, with cries of, “Go, daddy!”)
A stranger walking into Church Road would know he was looking at two teams out of sorts, leaking goals at the back (Boldmere have conceded two more than anyone else in the Division, with easily the worst goal difference; Diamonds had let in twelve in their last three games), and badly in need of a result. The Mikes had five straight defeats behind them, failing to score in three of them: the Diamonds hadn’t won away from home since mid-August, and had lost four games on the spin. Everyone got stuck in, Freddie Cockerell being the first of five players to go into the book for an over-muscular approach to things, with only fourteen minutes on the clock. Captain Daniel O’Callaghan was subsequently summoned by our official for a little talk. One hopes he pointed out the amount of stick our Freddie had already taken!
Ten minutes from the break, Cockerell blazed one over the bar, from thirty yards. This was the only shot at goal in the first half.
Both teams began the second period in positive fashion, looking for a route one winner. No one, however, came near scoring, even though the hosts had to withstand three minutes of concerted pressure nine minutes in, three desperate clearances finally relieving the siege. As the hour approached, substitutes began to appear in both colours, as the two dugouts tried to work out ways of breaking the deadlock. Cockerell (soon fouled well away from the ball), was brought off while he could make it off the park.
The game’s only venomous, on target, effort arrived on seventy-eight minutes, and proved to be the winner. The ever-dangerous Bruno Andrade sent a corner into a crowded Boldmere goalmouth…and there was the head of man-mountain Tejan Thomas, to fire it home. From now on, the visitors could concentrate on breaking play up. They had a free kick near the Mikes’ goal line, three minutes into the six that were added: no one came up field to try to score a second. Two visiting subs. arrived, to bolster the Rushden defence, while the Mikes used their full quota of replacements, in search of some magic ingredient that would bring an equaliser. None came, and as the darkness that now enveloped the ground turned into pelting rain, one was put in mind of words from Richard the Third’s opening soliloquy
“and all the clouds that lour’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”
Was the last of the Plantagenets forecasting our relegation? The Mikes remain in the fateful bottom three, while Rushden edge their way towards safety.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Pierre Phillips; Jordan Gough; Aris Christophorou; Daniel O’Callaghan; Connor Armstrong (Danny Wood90+2); Fraser Doyle; Kye Bilton (Charlie Manners 68); Ben Lund (Alfie Taylor 86); Freddie Cockerell (Jayden Bailey-Hunter 67); Brett Lloyd (Nathan Oyemade 62).
AFC Rushden & Diamonds: Lewis Elsom; Kieron Dawes (David Adegbola 59); Jeremy Kyesu; Joel Nketia; Tejan Thomas; Nico Jones; Joe Davies (Tarik Dallas 90+1); Jack Daley; Tyler Winters; Bruno Andrade; Jordan Graham (Raymond Poku 60). Subs. not used: Ramello Mitchell; Curtis Hartley.