Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 5 April 2025

Boldmere St Michaels 1 – 2 Coleshill Town 

Boldmere’s young side faced local rivals Coleshill whose sixteen-man line-up included no fewer than seven ex-Mikes. On a sunny afternoon an evenly matched start saw little threat on either goal in the opening twenty minutes. Keiron Berry looked to be in on goal after twenty-two minutes but a saving tackle by Harry Craven not only blocked the effort but left Berry limping. He was replaced some six minutes later by John McHugh followed by Town’s Jack Hallahan being replaced by Bassit Mandey. McHugh showed one or two nice bursts of pace but overall it was little surprise when the interval arrived goalless. Stephen Palmer replaced Ben George after the interval taking up an unaccustomed position on the right-hand side of a back three and put in a good performance during the half.

Mikes took the lead early in this period when Frankie Ealing moved into the penalty area and beat Tyrese Warmington at his near post. This sparked a bright period for the home side and ten minutes later the score could or should have been 3-0. Firstly, a great left sided break by Demico Burton left defenders trailing in his wake but his effort finished in the side netting. This was quickly followed by Kevin Ngombi heading against the crossbar from an Ealing cross. These misses would come back to haunt the Mikes. A double substitution with Michael Taylor and Alex McSkeane being replaced by Ross Evans and Daniel Gyasi saw the visitors on the ascendancy and it needed some solid defending to keep the goal intact. However, on the seventy-five-minute mark a Jack Concannon cross from the right saw Gyasi fire home from eight yards. Level pegging it remained as referee Luke Scott signalled a minimum of five minutes stoppage time. As the minutes ticked away Ngombi chased a long ball out of defence beat the onrushing Warmington to it and headed goalwards. It was the winner from where I stood but it passed the wrong side of the upright. In the dying seconds old boy Ben Usher-Shipway picked up a loose ball deep on the left wing, moving inside across a line of Mikes players he got in a right footed shot and it defeated the unsighted Jonathan Brown to record an undeserved victory for Coleshill. There was barely time to kick off before the final whistle signalled a fourth consecutive defeat for the young Boldmere outfit.

Despite these setbacks each match, in my view, has showed some shoots of recovery although in reality the season end cannot come soon enough when Manager Ben Roberts will be looking to add some experienced players to his squad ready for the new campaign.

Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown, Lewis Allison, Jake Allen, George Cleet, Demico Burton (Zachary Binns 84), Ben George (Stephen Palmer 46), Nathan Oyemade, Charlie Manners, Kevin Ngombi, Keiron Berry (John McHugh 28), Frankie Ealing (Charlie Edge 80). Sub not Used: Danny Wood

Coleshill Town: Tyrese Warmington, Dan Brookes, Sam Tye, Sam Paddock, Harry Craven, Jack Hallahan (Bassit Mandey 31), Ben Usher-Shipway, Michael Taylor (Ross Evans 63), Alex McSkeane (Daniel Gyasi 63), Jack Concannon, Harry Sweeney.

Subs not Used: Hisham Chiha, Piers Juliff