Author: Square Peg

Sports Exciting New Signing From Alfreton Town

Mickleover FC are over the moon to announce our new signing Eliott Reeves from Alfreton Town.

I’m delighted to commit to Mickleover for the upcoming season. Firstly I think it’s a great club, but it also strikes the right balance between family, friends, work and playing at the club which makes me happy. I met the gaffer John McGrath for a coffee and we both share the same ambition for promotion. I’m already excited about next season and I’m hoping I can put in some good performances for the club and score plenty of goals.

Eliott Reeves

Eliott is someone who will add real quality to our attacking line up.  I’ve tried to sign him on numerous occasions over the last few seasons and I’m delighted to finally get him to Mickleover. He’s an exciting centre-forward with a keen eye for goal and I am really looking forward to working closely with him over the upcoming new season.

John McGrath

Beavon Signs On for Another Year

Mickleover FC are proud to announce that one of our star players, Stuart Beavon, will be playing for us next season.

I am really pleased to have signed for another year and I cannot wait to get going again, especially after the way we finished last season on a great run of form. I think it’s gonna be a good season ahead.

Stuart Beavon

Absolutely delighted to keep Stuart for another season. Players like Stuart Beavon are unique and I am delighted he has committed again to Mickleover FC. He’s an outstanding player but also an unbelievably positive person to have in and around our changing room.

John McGrath

Reserves: Last Game Of The Season

by Dave Mackenzie, Reserves Manager

The long and winding road unfortunately containing a couple too many potholes started back at South Normanton on one of the better playing surfaces which would prove to suit our technical players. 

There were 32 games resulting in 23 wins 4 draws and 5 reversals. During which, 116 goals were scored and 34 let in. Strangely enough, it would be not scoring in two games that would prove to be the difference. Zero Zoro’s against Linby at home and Blidworth away would have redressed the 4 point lead that Blidworth ended with. Apart from not scoring the common denominator in both games was everyone’s favourite official. Against Blidworth he allowed persistent fouling of Kia Moore and started giving fouls against Kai when was getting hit from behind. Against Linby he was kind enough to give us a yellow card after 7 seconds and just to be consistent the second followed minutes later. Whilst he didn’t miss the chances we created he did come away with the refereeing comment of this and every other season that I have been involved with.

It’s a corner, I can tell by your body language!

Having mentioned the effect referee’s can have on a game probably the worst ever decision occurred in my last full game for the club – 22/2/2018. Will Norcross having rounded the keeper was rolling the ball into an empty net when he was clattered into by a defender. The ball had just crossed the goal one and would have put us 2 up. The ref pulled it back and gave a penalty and didn’t even send off the offender. Jermaine Palmer hit the post and we then went on to lose the game. We lost the league that year by 2 points!

Back to this year and we should really take the positives with 7 players making it into the first team at various times during the season. This was down in no small part to John McGrath and the rest of his team but also the players in the first team that made the step up less arduous.

5 weeks ago the game v Pinxton looked like it would be a title decider but they had 3 points deducted and like us lost players through injury at vital times in the run-up.

The game itself was a toughie with the teams going in level at halftime without a great deal of chances created at either end. We still had to secure 2nd place so the team went out in the second half with more determination and started at a higher tempo. This was to prove beneficial early in the half when George Atwall finished with a lovely left-foot strike after Pinxton had blocked a couple of earlier efforts The introduction of Ben Horleston at the break gave us more tempo and he scored an excellent goal with a bending strike from just outside the box. Even at 2 -0, we couldn’t relax and Pinxton got their rewards with a goal that would have surely been chopped off for a foul on Tom Smith, returning from his sabbatical with Vics.

The scoring was finished off by a typical Fin Barker goal adding to his 26 in the season.

At that point the game was pretty much done and dusted but you wouldn’t have known as the Gaffer worked tirelessly closing people down and winning us more ball thus ensuring the 3 points and a deserved second place in the league.

Team: Tom Smith, Lopes Massampo, Ethan Mann,Will Robinson, Ben Lewin, John McGrath, George Atwal, Tom Braer, Jude Ayetine, Kia Moore and Fin Barker. Subs used Devon Smith and Ben Horleston. Unused – Cam Anthony.

Thanks have to be given to all the players throughout the season. To Fran for cooking the books and cooking the chips plus a massive thanks to Aaron Hayer for his organising, his enthusiasm and for topping up the coffers of the Derbyshire FA.

Reserves Win Final Away Game Of The Season

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reserves headed for Wirksworth Ivanhoe last night for the final trip of their Central Midlands League Premier Division South season.

With hopes of the title having gone, Sports were looking to do the double over their hosts, having won 8-1 at the Don Amott Arena earlier in the season.

Starting line-up: 1-Tom Smith 2-Lopes Massampo 3-Sam Groves 4-George Atwal 5-Pablo Mills 6-Ethan Mann 7-Tom Brear 8-Jude Ayetine 9-Kai Moore 10-Will Robinson 17-Fin Barker. Subs: Devon Smith Ben Lewin.

It was five minutes into the game when Wirksworth were first to get a shot in, but the effort was straight at keeper Smith.

It continued to be a fairly even but scrappy game, with Mickleover struggling to take their familiar runs on the bumpy pitch.

Moore got a shot in after 12 minutes which was blocked and a minute later the hosts had a free kick which failed to penetrate the defensive wall.

Barker finally managed to get a longer run after 19 minutes, fired in a shot from distance but was well wide of the mark.

Robinson then burst out of defence to try his luck, floating in a curler from the left which was taken by the keeper.

There was another free kick for Mickleover after 26 minutes, with Atwal playing it short to Barker, whose pass found Moore with his effort blocked again.

But Wirksworth then went close when their number nine tested Smith, who palmed away the effort to his left for a corner.

Mills had the ball in the net on the half hour but it was offside, before Brear lost the ball in midfield and the Wirksworth number four had a first time shot just wide of the post.

The hosts seemed to have gained confidence and had started to take charge, with the number nine having two shots in a two-minute spell, both covered by Smith as they went wide of the goal on both occasions.

The deadlock was finally broken when Moore was fouled in the box and Atwal made it 1-0 from the spot after 38 minutes.

Wirksworth had one more effort wide of the post before half time, but there was drama in the Mickleover camp. Mills had been fouled and injured his shoulder, being replaced by Smith.

Atwal’s free kick was handled just outside the box, prompting a second kick, which was curled fractionally over the bar with the keeper beaten.

As the second half got underway Mickleover seemed to have more possession from the off. Atwal shot over after 49 minutes, but the hosts replied with another effort straight at Smith.

56 minutes and Lewin came on for Groves, which was soon followed by Ayetine’s first real attempt on goal.

Mann and Robinson were looking steady at the back, allowing both Massampo and Lewin to push forward.

Brear was working hard with Atwal in midfield but it was Robinson whose long ball found Barker after 63 minutes, cutting in from the right to earn another corner.

Lewin put in a nice cross which Moore headed wide and Brear had a long run 75 minutes in, before his effort was blocked and Barker’s follow up went wide.

A second goal was looking a strong possibility in the failing light, with Moore making a nice turn and shot just off target.

But with 10 minutes left and just the one goal there was a bit of chaos in the Sports defence following a Wirksworth break. Smith was out of his goal and his attempted clearance was sliced wide to the Wirksworth chasers, who failed to capitalise on their chance.

Brear had another shot blocked after a precise and slow build up and then with seven minutes left Robinson charged through again and fired just over.

84 minutes and the second goal finally arrived with Moore heading the ball around the keeper, before firing into the back of the net 2-0.

It was almost dark when the final whistle went but it was three points and the runner-up spot in the league table secured.

Sports End With A Win!

By Lewis Radbourne, with additional words from Peter Scherer

Mickleover ended the season on a high as they beat Lancaster City 3-1.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ben Radcliffe 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Liam Ravenhill 8-George Milner 9-Kai Moore 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Ethan Mann, Andrew Wright, Pablo Mills, Jahvan Davidson-Miller.

Sports started the better of the two teams, when in the sixth minute some good pressure from Moore led to Walker receiving the ball on the edge of the area, and he smacked the ball onto the crossbar, which set the tone for the rest of the game.

A couple of minutes later and Beavon was put through on goal down the right- hand side of the box, but his shot was straight at the keeper.

13 minutes in and Walker came close once again, with his free-kick deflecting under the wall, and going just past the post. Beavon then came close once again two minutes later when his half volley curled wide.

It took 20 minutes for Lancaster to have their first attempt of note, when Charlie Bailey’s strike from 30 yards out forced an acrobatic save from Sports keeper Hedge.

But there was an early change for Mickleover when Mann came on for Milner.

Lancaster continued to come back into the game, when Liam Brockbank put in a low cross from the left-hand side, only for Hedge to claim the ball on the six yard line, just before Robert Wilson to get a nick on it after 35 minutes.

Lancaster started the second half the better of the two, with striker Enoch Likoy managing to get onto a ball down the left side ahead of Walker, before smashing just past the far post in the opening minutes,

Despite Lancaster’s start, it was Mickleover who took the lead through Dales, when some good pressure from the winger led to him winning the ball back in the opposition box, before calmly finishing into the bottom right corner in the 51st minute. 1-0.

It was only four minutes later that Mickleover doubled their lead through Radcliffe, when he headed in Moore’s cross from the right- hand side after some good play from the hosts. 2-0 after 54 minutes.

Shortly afterwards the scorer came off to make for Wright, and Davidson-Miller replaced Moore, but Wright was soon on the scoresheet himself.

Beavon played the ball across to the edge of the area for Wright, who’s bouncing 74th minute shot into the bottom left corner made it 3-0.

Mickleover piled on the pressure near the end as they looked for a fourth, when Dales picked up the ball in the centre of the area, trying to place the ball into the bottom left corner, just putting it wide as it hit the post.

Sports thought they got their fourth when Wright curled in, only for it to be given as offside. Dales then thought he got the fourth too, with his half volley looking like it looped over the keeper, only for Lancaster goalkeeper Curtis Anderson to tip it over the bar.

Despite the late pressure, it was the away side that got the fourth goal of the game when Nathan Reid was put through on goal with five minutes left and slotted it home to make it 3-1.

The 3-1 win means Sports end the season in 12th place on 55 points, one place behind Lancaster.

 

Last Match Of The Season: Lancaster City (H)

by Peter Scherer

It’s been a long and difficult season, with a threat of relegation in the air pre-Christmas. But the strength in depth of the relatively young squad has seen John McGrath’s  Mickleover rise to 12th in the NPL table, after some outstanding performances.

Saturday’s match against Lancaster City at the Don Amott Arena is the last of the 2021/22 season and we see our visitors one place above us in 11th, but without a win or a goal since March 26th, when they beat Nantwich 1-0 at home.

Goalkeeper Curtis Anderson was capped by England at Under 16,17,18 and 19 levels, having joined Lancaster from Wycombe Wanderers at the end of January.

He was a Manchester City junior who then tried his luck in the US with Charlotte Independence. He joined Wycombe on his return to the UK and was loaned to Walton Casuals and Eastbourne.

Jordan Eastham is a keeper on loan from Blackburn Rovers and Max Povey has also been a regular sub keeper, a former Morecambe junior he had a spell at Conwy before joining Lancaster in 2019.

Defender Liam Brockbank arrived from Workington last July. He was a junior at Carlisle Utd, but was released after nine years and is an England Futsal International.

Fellow centre back Andrew Teague was a Macclesfield Junior, who was also loaned out to Hyde. On his release he joined Leigh Genesis, before arriving at Lancaster in January 2009. He then spent almost nine years at Chorley, before returning to Lancaster in July 2020.

Glenn Steel is another long serving centre back who has been with our visitors for five years. His early career was at Bamber Bridge and Fylde, before his first stop at Lancaster in December 2013. He returned to Bamber Bridge a year later, where he stayed until January 2017.

Centre backs Joe Blanchard and Jack Byrne are both currently on loan, Blanchard from Preston North End and Byrne from AFC Fylde. 

Former Bolton Wanderers Junior midfielder Sam Bailey has been at Lancaster for almost five years, after an intervening three-year spell with Kendal Town.

Midfielder Charlie Bailey came through Morecambe’s Academy. He was loaned to Kendal Town and joined them following his release. He has been at Lancaster since July 2017 and his full name is Lord Charles Bernard Rufus Montegue Bailey, Earl of Cork.

Christian Sloan is another ex Kendal Town player. The midfielder was also a Barrow Junior and joined Lancaster in September 2020.

Yet another ex Kendal player is midfielder Simon Wills, he has been at Lancaster for well over nine years over two spells, racking up around 300 appearances.

Midfielder Niall Cowperthwaite has spent most of his career in Cumbria and North Lancs. From Morecambe’s Academy he played for Workington, Kendal, Penrith and Barrow, before rejoining Workington after a two-year career break. He has been at Lancaster since July 2019.

Midfielder Rob Wilson is in his third spell at the club, having returned in 2018, while Ben Anderson is a more recent product of their own youth scheme.

Striker Nathan Reid was signed from Holker Old Boys in October 2021. He was previously at Kendal too and spent a short time with Barrow, after they signed him from Holker Old Boys too.

Enock Likey is another relatively new arrival. The former Bolton junior was also at Chorley, before a four-year break brought him to Lancaster in February.

Joe Rodwell-Grant is one of the more recent signings. A junior striker on loan from Preston North End, he has also had a couple of loan spells at Bamber Bridge.

In recent weeks Lancaster own junior strikers Finley Lynch and Joel Davidson have become part of the first team squad too.

Kick off as usual at the Don Amott is 3pm, if you don’t make it you will have to wait until August for the next NPL action.

Three Points For Sports in Final Away Game: Basford United (A)

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover came away from their second local Derby of the Easter weekend with a 1-0 win at Basford, thanks to a late second half strike from James Butler.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ben Radcliffe 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Liam Ravenhill 8-George Milner 9-Jahvan Davidson-Miller 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andrew Wright. Subs: Shaquille McDonald, Kai Moore, Kemy Agustien, Andy Dales, Ethan Mann.

Basford earned the first corner after six minutes and a Thornhill ball into the box found Carr’s head, before Hearn flicked wide.

Walker made good use of the overlap for Sports to put a cross into the box after eight minutes, but it was too deep. Davidson-Miller soon followed up though with a low drive tipped away by home keeper Preston.

Milner drove forward and had a shot just off target 13 mins in, but Basford proved dangerous again from a Thornhill corner. With Hedge committed the danger was soon cleared, only for Hedge to make another save from Grantham’s effort.

Walker was on the attack again after 20 mins and his belting strike must have stung Preston’s hands as he tipped it away.

The Mickleover defence of Walker, Butler, Watt and Dolan survived a series of dangerous free kicks, before Davidson-Miller had another chance in the 27th minute. He picked the ball up and was never fully in control and the chance was gone.

Mickleover then had a free kick after 35 mins after Helliwell tripped Ravenhill, Walker’s shot was on target again and pushed away by Preston.

But only two minutes later it was 1-0 to Mickleover, when Butler found the back of the net, so it stayed at 1-0 into the half time break, despite Hedge making a save with his feet from Grantham’s shot, one minute before the whistle.

Davidson-Miller continued to look dangerous, but luck wasn’t on his side. Roma blocked his 50th minute run and then Hearn flicked an attempt wide for the hosts from a Betts cross.

On the hour Davidson-Miller was in the action again with a one on one, before keeper Preston intercepted.

Mickleover brought Moore on for Wright and Agustien for Milner, followed a few minutes later by McDonald for Davidson-Miller.

Dunn had a powerful shot for the visitors after 79 mins saved by Hedge and in the 90th minute Ravenhill had the final shot of the game just wide.

Following the defeats at home to Basford in both the NPL and FA Cup, it was a just reward for Mickleover to end their season on the road, with just the home game against Lancaster on Saturday to complete a character building season.

Easter Thriller: Sports Take A Point Against Table Toppers: Buxton (H)

by Peter Scherer

There were plenty of goals to keep the 700+ crowd entertained at the Don Amott Arena, with Mickleover holding aspiring champion neighbours Buxton to a 3-3 draw.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ethan Mann 5-Phil Watt 6-Kemy Agustien 7-Ben Radcliffe 8-Liam Ravenhill 9-Andy Dales 10-Stuart Beavon 11-George Milner, Subs Kai Moore, Andrew Wright, Jahvan Davidson-Miller, Joe Bateman, James Butler.

After a fairly quiet opening few minutes Curley had the first shot for Buxton after eight minutes, which failed to trouble Hedge in the Mickleover goal.

But far from being overcome by the title contenders, Mickleover started to create their own chances, with Dolan receiving a 21st minute Radcliffe pass but his volley was straight into Buxton keeper Richardson’s arms.

Only two minutes later Radcliffe got a header in too from a Dales chip.

Buxton’s top scorer Di Girolamo was then on the end of a break, but Newton’s header was straight at Hedge as it remained 0-0.

But the deadlock was soon broken when Ravenhill picked his spot from well out and left Richardson well beaten 1-0.

As Buxton pushed for the equaliser, Watt and Mann looked solid at the heart of the Mickleover defence, but with five minutes left in the first half, Hedge made a brilliant diving save low to his right, to keep a Clarke effort out.

The following corner did catch the defence out however and allowed Chambers to fire it home for the equaliser 1-1 after 41 mins.

Buxton went close again after chaos in the defence following another corner, but almost on half time Radcliffe struck with another long shot to send Mickleover in at half time 2-1 up.

The visitors started the second half strongly and after 52 mins had made it 2-2, with Clarke completing a gradual build up on the left, to beat Hedge in his far corner.

Clarke nearly had a second after 67 mins, with his long shot barely inches away from the top corner, but two minutes later Buxton had the lead for the first time 2-3, after a Walker push gave away a penalty for Di Girolamo to convert.

It was still far from over though, when after going close with a header from a Dolan cross after 84 mins, Beavon cut inside from the left and fired it passed Richardson on his near post only three minutes later 3-3.

Butler came on for Dales in closing minutes, but Mickleover once again proved themselves a match for any of the top teams in the NPL.