Mickleover 3 Boldmere St Michaels 3
Northern Premier League Midland Division Saturday 28 March 2026
Frankie Ealing started in place of the ill Kyle Byrne, while Charli Manners replaced Jaiy Leydon, who pulled up in the warm up. An arctic rain storm had given way to benign sunshine by kick off; but conditions were skiddy underfoot, and made for an untidy beginning. An even game, between teams of similar styles, emerged, both keeping ten men back for corners. As the chances came, the hosts had more of them, Pedro Lima keeping things level after thirteen minutes, with one of his trademark goal line clearances. Kye Bilton was soon being attended to after surviving a strong tackle with someone twice his size. Meanwhile, home keeper Jay Alexander (delicately turned out in all canary yellow) was divesting himself of his matching boots for a pair of blue adornments – maybe to get a better grip on the damp surface.
As we reached the half hour, Mickleover were turning the screw. Corner followed corner, and Jonathan Brown saved well with his legs after one of them. The Mikes weathered the storm, and just when you thought we’d reach the break goalless…they went ahead. Thirty-five yards out, Manners spotted the home custodian well off his line…and carefully lobbed him. Half time: 0-1.
The home manager was, by now, observing things from up on the camera perch. He’d been sent off, at the request of the linesman. (Dave Travers says he was complaining to someone off the pitch: I wonder if he’ll appeal?) A cat and mouse game developed, interrupted as the hour approached. A long, accurate ball came in from the far left wing; and there was Luke McCormick to head home the equaliser from close range. Worse was to come nine minutes later; the Mikes depend on Jack Burgess to be their midfield junction; but over elaboration with Connor Armstrong on the halfway led to the inevitable interception, and the homesters suddenly had two men running free up front. Striker Manni Norkett fired them in front. A doleful announcement over the tannoy, that the pies had run out, presaged doom, and doom soon arrived, Norkett doubling his tally via a header from a corner. It could have got worse when Paddy Webb’s effort just eluded the far corner from another attack.
“Early this season, this team would have caved in”, declared one Mikes’ supporter afterwards; but this team don’t know when they’re beaten. The introduction of Tolani Omotola gave the home defenders more to think about but the Mikes had to survive a horrible mix up at the back needing a scrambling Brown save before getting back on the front foot. Good work by James Tague ended up with Burgess coolly slotting home, to halve the arrears. Surely the Mikes couldn’t rescue anything from this, could they? With four minutes left, another Burgess shot took a deflection…and great joy accompanied the equaliser.
Mayhem marked the closing moments, three Boldmere shots parried out from a goalmouth scrum. At the final whistle, the away support was markedly happier than the home fans. They might have been even happier, were it not for that midfield muddle, half an hour earlier.
Mickleover: Jay Alexander; Jake Bennett; Danny Gordon; Will Atkinson; Brad Gascoigne; George Wilkinson; Luke McCormick (Joshua Carter 89); Paddy Webb; Cieron Keane; Manni Norkett (Stuart Beavon 86); Andy Dales; Paddy Webb (Will Smith 87). Subs. not used: Jayden Ogbebor; Jayden-Samuel Lawrence-Louther.
Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown; Kye Bilton; Pedro Lima; Daniel O’Callaghan; Aris Christophorou; Charlie Manners (Tolani Omotola 79); Jack Burgess; Frankie Ealing (Ben Lund 70); James Tague; Connor Armstrong; Harry Crook (Lewi Burnside 89). Subs. not used: Ben Croot; Jaiy Leydon.