Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday15 November 2025
Things got off to the worst possible start. Four minutes in, the Mikes were playing “pass the parcel” along their back line, on a pitch soaked by torrential rain, which had put the score board out of action. A Danny O’Callaghan pass across the face of his own penalty area was mis controlled by Fraser Doyle. Doyle suddenly found himself robbed of the ball, twenty yards out…an anguished cry went up from the visiting support as the visitor who’d dispossessed him went down, twenty yards out…and our official (judging him to be the last man) sent Doyle off. The resultant free kick was well saved by Jonathan Brown.
A lot of teams don’t know what to do with an extra man: not the Racers, who posted full back James Hancocks on the far left wing, to good effect. The pressure now was on, the ball kicked off the Boldmere line after a neat five man move four minutes later, Jonathan Brown soon pushing away a Cameron Ebbutt flyer. It was twenty minutes before the visitor’s pressure told. Charlie Manners gave the ball away in midfield, build up play down the right saw Connor Taylor flight a long centre into the box where centre forward Archie Hamp beat the onrushing Brown to head home.
The balance of play was demonstrated by the fact that, thirty-six minutes in, Warwick had had five efforts at goal: the Mikes had had none. Ironically, as the hosts upped their game, they fell further behind. Our referee found two added minutes, from somewhere – during which Jack Edwards got his head on a corner beating Pierre Phillips in a crowded goalmouth, to make it 0-2 at half time.
Boldmere showed plenty of fight throughout, and after resisting prolonged Racing pressure either side of the hour, began to come into the game. Welcome returnee Pedro Lima replaced a battered Danny O’Callaghan in the middle of this, when Hamp, running into the box, was adjudged to have been brought down by a diving Brown. In Boldmerian eyes, justice was done when a powerful low penalty from Hamp was pushed away by a magnificent Brown save. Thus encouraged Freddie Cockerell saw a fierce effort saved by Tom Allsopp, and a Manners twenty-five yarder hit the post. Connor Armstrong then hit the post from far out, and now Boldmere were in the driving seat, with three or four men up front (as opposed to the first half, ploughing a lonely furrow up front) but lady luck didn’t smile on the Mikes when needed. The visitors had nine men back in the penalty area on occasions. They were, however, fast when on the break, and insult was added to injury when, as the four minutes added were nearly elapsed, Hamp scored with a low shot from the corner of the box, to leave Boldmere scoreless, and pointless, once again.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Pierre Phillips; Jordan Gough; Aris Christophorou; Daniel O’Callaghan (Pedro Lima 58); Connor Armstrong (Henry Ikieji 81); Charlie Manners; Fraser Doyle; Ben Lund; Freddie Cockerell (Constantine Panayiotou 89); Brett Lloyd (Nathan Oyemade 75).
Racing Club Warwick: Tom Allsopp; Ryan Moore; James Hancocks; Lathaniel Rowe-Turner; Kyle Barnett; Dylan Barkers; Jack Edwards (George Seeley 71); Cameron Ebbutt; Archie Hamp; Aaron Opoku Reece Blackmore 59); Connor Taylor. Subs. not used: Ben Flynn; Ryan Andrews; Callum Coyle.