Northern Premier League Midland Division – Saturday 22 November 2025
Two goals to the bad at half time, it looked as if the Mikes were sliding to their eighth defeat in nine, with Bourne heading towards their third win on the spin. In the last thirty-five minutes, however, Boldmere discovered a self-confidence which saw them home to what had looked like an unlikely victory.
The game started in lively fashion, both sides creating chances, and promising a hatful of goals. Jonathan Brown was hopelessly stranded as a long effort flew past his left-hand post; Charlie Manners and Ben Lund had shots parried away; a great Pierre Phillips tackle denied a straightforward chance at the other end; Kyle Byrne curled one just past the framework’s corner; but no goal came, as things settled down into an absorbing chess match.
A seven minute interval followed an injury to Wakes goalie William Lakin, who went down (and was sick) after desperately fisting a ball away from the edge of his area. We’d hardly restarted when Brown had to push away a swerving shot from Zacorie Allan. Sam Bayly seized on the rebound, and fired it home to give the visitors the lead. Nine minutes later, worse was to come. You held your breath as a bout of back-four-pit-pat broke out. Sure enough, a misplaced pass was seized on by Bayly, who duly doubled his account. The Mikes made their first substitution before the interval and, in a game without a foul until the thirtieth minute, two yellow cards appeared, for some reason: something must have been said. Half time: 0-2.
Nothing happened for a quarter of an hour, after the break. Tolani Omotola had been held in check (literally, at times) by his marker; but was beginning to get the better of him, and with the hour on the horizon, broke free to halve the deficit. Boldmere had been building momentum, and this goal palpably raised their self-belief. Soon, they were causing the opposition problems, and it came as no surprise when Charlie Manners squared the match, on sixty-eight minutes.
From now on, it was anybody’s game. Boldmere, with their tails up, rapped the bar twice – an Omotola dipper from the left hand wing, and a thirty yard free kick by Manners over the wall. Tempers started to fray as an increasingly stretched Bourne defence started to upset their molested hosts. “You saw that, Lino”, shouted aggrieved punters, as something happened to Freddie Cockerell, off the ball. Soon, two captains were called together, as things threatened to boil over. Anyway, a plethora of yellow cards (four each side, eventually), kept the lid on things, without anyone getting their marching orders.
The Wakes got a header into the net, from a corner; but no one argued when the goal was disallowed, for some reason. Omotola was held once again, as he tried to go forward. Our referee wisely played the advantage as Cockerell surged onwards…and clinically slid the winner home, right on the ninety. As the battered Omotola was helped off, his colleagues kept the ball in the corner, and garnered what had once seemed an unlikely three points.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Pierre Phillips (Pedro Lima 41); Jordan Gough; Aris Christophorou; Ben George (Freddie Cockerell 70); Connor Armstrong; Daniel O’Callaghan; Charlie Manners; Tolani Omotola (Henry Ikejie 90+6); Ben Lund (Kye Bilton 69); Kyle Byrne (Brett Lloyd 90+1).
Bourne Town: William Lakin (William Bird 27); Callum Milne; Aaron Eyett (Connor Peters 64); Robbie Ellis; Bradley Marshall; Richard Jones; Connor Furey; Sam Bayly; Thomas Siddons (Lewis Darlington74); Jordan O’Brien (Joshua Burrows 64); Zacorie Allan. Sub. not used: Jack Wilson.