Boldmere St Michaels 2 Belper Town 0
Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 4 April 2026
The Mikes, at full strength, starting with Toli Omotola using his size to lead the line, (James Tague tucked in behind him), made a whirlwind start: within six minutes, they were two up. After Harry Crook had gone close from way out left, a smart build up ended with Frankie Ealing running through to put Boldmere ahead, in the second minute. Only four minutes later, complex interplay involving Jack Burgess and James Tague ended with Omotola finishing from three yards out. Despite an increasingly gusty wind, there was plenty of individual skill and silky teamwork on display – though the Nailers did put the ball over the Stand roof five times!
By the quarter mark, the visitors were finding their rhythm, and it needed Jonathan Brown’s advancing knees to deny the game’s most accomplished player, Jacob Gratton, who’d jinked his way through. The Mikes (at times fielding five men in their back line) could sit back and defend their advantage, and their opponents were, at times, at a loss to see a way forward. A twenty-yard Danny O’Callaghan near miss brought us to half time.
Our guests began the second period in positive fashion, determined to stop their recent pointless run. It was the kind of game where, from early on, you watched the clock tick slowly down, as the Mikes harried, scrapped, and kept their concentration. On the break, they nearly scored a third on occasion, visiting keeper Kieran Preston having to push away a Tague effort and a Harry Crook post-hugger. Tague went even closer on sixty-nine minutes (just after Boldmere’s first corner!), his shot hitting the inside of the post…and squirming across the goalmouth to safety. Close calls came at the other end, at one point Aris Christophorou’s backside soon denying Gratton. The home troops were now, in parts, looking exhausted, and reinforcements began to appear. Frustration, meanwhile, was rising among the sizeable visiting support, the villain of the piece now designated as (surprise, surprise) our referee.
As happens when you’re defending your lead, events took a surreal turn in the closing stages. Preston, prompting his troops, spent most of his time near the half way line, rarely inhabiting his goal. A frenetic Boldmere scramble conceded a corner, and took us to six minutes’ added time. Substitute Charlie Manners was putting himself about admirably up front, while the ball was headed, hacked or bludgeoned away from danger. Surviving another corner which had twenty combatants in the home box, the final whistle went, leaving the Mikes eleven points clear of relegation. The Nailers (despite having now lost four games out of their last six) are still in the play-off places, as are next week’s visitors, Anstey Nomads. Anstey are the only team above us on current form…with six wins from six, while the Mikes have clean sheets from five of their last eight. Something’s got to give…
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Kye Bilton; Pedro Lima; Daniel O’Callaghan; Aris Christophorou (Jordan Gough 72); Connor Armstrong; Jack Burgess; Frankie Ealing (Ben Lund 74); Tolani Omotola (Lewi Burnside 90+2); James Tague (Charlie Manners 84); Harry Crook (Kyle Byrne 82).
Belper Town: Kieran Preston; Matty Bowman (Ben Rhodes 81); Louis Keenan; Jordan Fankwe (Lewis Austin 66); Jack Broadhead; Ioan Evans; Kevin Bastos; Curtis Burrows; Danny South (Liam Moran 55); Jacob Gratton; Luke Shaw (Jonathan Wafula 66). Sub. Not used: Joshua Hassett.