Northern Premier League Midland Division Friday 26 December 2025
A good-sized crowd of 608 was treated to a thoroughly entertaining local derby with both sides suffering contrasting fortunes by the end of the ninety minutes action. With both sides at the wrong end of the table the points at stake meant a feisty game was expected. Boldmere went a goal behind with only eight minutes on the clock; a lovely exchange of passes between Jack Lynch and Jayden Campbell saw the latter cut a ball back to James McGrady who fired a right footed volley past the helpless Jonathan Brown. Some three minutes later a reckless challenge by Ryan Shaw on Kye Bilton saw referee Moreton produce the red card leaving the visitors a lengthy battle ahead a man short.
Boldmere played some neat football with Jack Burgess and Connor Amstrong prominent but several passes to the flankers Bilton and Harry Crook were largely foiled by a competent Sutton rearguard. On the occasions Bilton got clear his final balls left a lot to be desired whilst Crook was martialled by two men and remained pretty anonymous during the first period.
Charlie Manners snatched at a couple of efforts but it was Sutton who came nearest to scoring as the half progressed. Kory Burke should have netted after Brown rushed from goal but failed to collect the ball whilst a Joe Hull header wasn’t far wide in the closing minutes.
Pedro Lima replaced the injured Aris Christophorou on the resumption but he had hardly settled when on fifty-two minutes the Mikes suffered a further blow, Brown did well to beat out a vicious inswinging corner but a half clearance fell to Campbell who fired a scorcher into the top right corner to double the lead. Moments later Freddie Cockerell replaced Fraser Doyle as manager Ben Roberts sort to beef up the attacking presence. After Bilton had been fouled near the byline Burgess pulled the free kick back to Armstrong who equalled the Campbell effort with a spectacular right-footed effort to reduce the deficit. Boldmere pushed hard now with Crook enjoying more freedom down the left flank after Tom Hurley was moved into the Sutton midfield.
Cockerell almost forced home a Crook cross but ended up sliding over the ball allowing James Wren to collect.
It was to perhaps prove vital when Hull headed a free-kick back across the home goal for Burke to score from close range. Two goals down and into the final quarter things looked ominous for the Mikes. Despite pressing hard with Crook at the fore of most attacks there was little sign of a comeback until stoppage time. Sutton failed to clear cleanly two minutes into added time and skipper Dan O’Callaghan matched the Armstrong effort with a left footed into the top corner. Was it a consolation goal or not? As the referee was beginning to look at his watch that man Crook eased his way past two defenders and with Wren possibly expecting a cross, he fired home through the despairing keeper’s legs to salvage a point for the Mikes.
A six-goal thriller with neither goalkeeper seriously tested but hopefully the entertainment provided will see some of the Christmas spectators returning in the future.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown, Kye Bilton (Ben George 89), Jordan Gough, Dan O’Callaghan, Aris Christophorou (Pedro Lima 46), Connor Armstrong, Jack Burgess, Fraser Doyle (Freddie Cockerell 60), Tolani Omotola, Harry Crook, Charlie Manners (Kyle Byrne 68) Sub not used: Brett Lloyd
Sutton Coldfield Town: James Wren, Tom Hurley, Jack Lynch, Joe Hull, James Beresford, Ryan Edmunds (Lewis Davis 89), Kory Burke (Luca Taylor 76), Ryan Shaw, Reece Gibson (Isai Marselia 68), James McGrady (Ayomide Lekuti 83), Jayden Campbell (Remie Birch 63)