Alvechurch 0 - 1 Spalding United (Southern League Premier Central), Saturday 14 December
A lovely non-league West Midlands ground, near to Redditch, on the South side of Birmingham. Is it Birmingham or Worcestershire? A scrappy match which Spalding edged in the 91st minute. I enjoyed my first ‘daytime’ match in a while, even though most of it was under the lights.
Kiveton MW 1 - 1 Hatfield (Central Midlands Alliance), Friday 8 November 2024
An absorbing game between two sides who came to play good football. Fast, skilful play and very little play-acting. Kiveton did brilliantly to get a point against 5th-placed Hatfield. A decent atmosphere at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park too.
Leyton Orient U18 1 - 0 Aldershot U18 (FA Youth Cup), Wednesday 30 October 2024
Thorncliffe Villa 3 - 3 Dinnington (North Midlands Development League), Thursday 24 October 2024
A high-quality encounter which looked like it had edged Dinnington's way when they took a 3-1 lead. But a spirited Thorncliffe found a way back in, despite being reduced to 10 men.
The quirk of the venue was that there was a wire suspended across the halfway line - play had to be stopped 3-4 times as the ball bounced off it.
Liverpool 2 - 1 Chelsea (Premier League), Sunday 20 October 2024
Our first Liverpool game of the season turned out to be a tense and scratchy tussle with Chelsea. Liverpool did well to keep control of the match, in spite of the Blues' gamesmanship and delay tactics.
The wind and swirling leaves as we arrived reminded me of past Autumns on Merseyside. We will back in 2 weeks so it may well be chillier by then.
Mansfield Hosiery Mills 1 - 1 Melbourne Dynamo (Central Midlands League South), Friday 18 October 2024
This was a scrappy and well-contested draw with some wasteful finishing from both sides. The home side - in bright yellow - broke the deadlock with a header at the far post, but Melbourne struck in the last minute to take a point.
A nice ground which still has Sutton AFC signage outside - worth investigating the history. Another ground ticked off in Mansfield - in fact my first 'new' ground since Featherstone in August.
Handsworth U18 4 - 2 Grimsby U18 (FA Youth Cup), Friday 4 October 2024
Another high-scoring FA Youth Cup tie, settled by a couple of quick-fire goals by Handsworth. The team performance of the Ambers was what won the day against a tough Grimsby side.
Worsborough 4 - 2 Nostell MW (NCEL Division 1), Wednesday 2 October
A bottom-of-the-table tussle which swung the way of both sides at different points. Worsborough came out on top thanks to 2 penalties and a Batistuta-esque screamer from number 12.
Halifax Women 0 - 2 Leeds United Women (Women's National League North Cup), Wednesday 28 August 2024
Handsworth U21 0 - 3 Emley U21 (North Midlands Development League), Friday 19 April 2024
Warrington Rylands 1 - 2 Lancaster City (Northern Premier), Saturday 13 April 2024
