Sutton Coldfield Town 3 Boldmere St Michaels 0

Northern Premier League Midland Division Monday 6 April 2026

A chaotic start and finish to this game saw the Mikes lose to their local rivals after putting in a below par performance for most of the game. Manager Ben Roberts was forced to make a change to the defensive line-up with Aris Christophorou unfit and replaced by Jordan Gough whilst Kyle Byrne was preferred to Frankie Ealing on the right flank.
The Mikes were a goal down in 30 seconds having kicked off, the ball played back to Jack Burgess whose attempted pass to the right wing went straight into touch; before any recovery could be made Jonathan Brown was picking the ball out of the net after Jayden Campbell scored from close range. A further disaster happened three minutes later a long ball caught Pedro Lima in two minds; his choice proved incorrect as he slipped over trying to turn upfield. Brown was stranded but a defensive block foiled Ayomide Lekuti’s first attempt but the diminutive winger recovered to bundle the ball home at the second time of asking. Two goals down was a distinct contrast to the situation from the Belper game but both were results of poor play unlike the previous game where our goals were quality productions.
After this disastrous opening Boldmere struggled to get a foothold in the game having to defend several corners after the home side put on pressure down both flanks. Once past the half hour mark the Mikes got back into the game. Several promising raids by Harry Crook in particular put the home side under some pressure for the first time but dogged defending kept the Mikes at bay. A goal was badly needed but when it seemed certain that Connor Armstrong must score as the half time whistle approached his effort was saved by James Wren.
Any thoughts of a recovery from this two-goal deficit disappeared in the 53rd minute when Reece Gibson was given time to turn and curl a shot past the unsighted Brown from sixteen yards. A good goal but better defensive nous would have negated the centre forwards effort.
Following the third goal both sides made full use of their substitutes but as the game petered out in the sunshine neither goalkeeper was unduly troubled although Wren would have been pleased to see a Charlie Manners effort skim the top of the crossbar rather than the underside. As the final minutes approached one of the Mikes substitutes Ben Lund tripped an opponent in front of the two dugouts leading to a mass of players and staff getting involved in confrontation. From a distance it looked a routine foul, free kick and get on with the game. However, Lund was dismissed as was one of the Sutton staff. An untidy end to a poor afternoon for the Boldmere lads. Roll on league leaders Anstey Nomads.

Sutton Coldfield Town: James Wren, Remie Birch, Jack Lynch, Archie Duerden (James Beresford), Luke McGinnell, Tom Hurley (Ryan Shaw), Ayomide Lekuti (Kory Burke 68), Ryan Edmunds, Reece Gibson (Danico Johnson), James McGrady, Jayden Campbell (Romehl Critchlow 83)

Boldmere St Michaels: Jonathan Brown, Kye Bilton, Danny O’Callaghan, Pedro Lima, Jordan Gough (Ben Croot 76), Connor Armstrong, Jack Burgess (Charlie Manners 55), James Tague (Lewi Burnside 78), Tolani Omotola, Kyle Byrne (Ben Lund 66), Harry Crook (Frankie Ealing 55)