by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Academy Reds dominated their visit to Carlton Town and were on the attack from the first whistle.

 Only two minutes in and Fin Barker was fouled on the edge of the box, before they went even closer when Barker donutted a Carlton defender, before a challenging ball got through for Sam Pipes to go close, then Josh Satchwell put his attempt just over the bar.

It was only three minutes later that the goal account was opened, after Bobby Battisson was tripped just inside the box. Battisson successfully took the penalty, 1-0.

Satchwell was then on the attack, his through shot was blocked, but earned a corner, leading to a cracking shot, well saved, from George Atwal.

Relishing his return to the frontline, Satchwell broke free for another shot after 10 minutes, with Battisson picking up the rebound, which was saved, before Barker earned another corner.

With wing backs Jacob Edge-Lucas and Ben Lewin free to overlap at will and Pennington, Battisson and Atwal continually feeding the strike force, Satchwell put a telling ball into the area on 12 minutes, but no one collected.

It was continuous pressure on the Carlton goal, and Barker burst through yet again two minutes later. He was on the back line, turning it back to Atwal, whose shot was blocked, before Edge-Lucas fired just over.

The Carlton goalkeeper was left extremely exposed and after 18 minutes he charged out to intercept Satchwell, the ball ran loose but no one tried a chip towards the empty net.

20 minutes gone Barker was clear once more, forcing an excellent save from the Carlton keeper. Then it was Battisson’s turn to press, sending Barker on another run. The keeper saved again, before Edge-Lucas headed over from the resulting corner.

It was inevitable there would be more goals and number two came after 26 minutes, when Satchwell’s progress allowed Lewin to float a perfectly timed cross to meet Barker’s head 2-0.

Barker and Satchwell combined again on the half hour after Pennington had taken control in midfield and then Will Robinson came charging from the back line, to set up Satchwell whose shot was saved.

With a minute left in the first half, the Carlton keeper came well out again, as the ball ran loose from a defensive mix up. He failed to connect and Barker not only collected it, but scored what should have been a third goal, until a late and dubious decision from the linesman gave it offside.

Right on time it finally was 3-0, when a quick and efficient build up took Battisson to the back line, which allowed Atwal to fire in a shot, but in the scramble to clear he collected the rebound and made no mistake at the second attempt.

There was no respite for the Carlton defence as Mickleover were straight onto the attack again in the second half.

Battisson found Barker, whose shot hit the bar, with Sam Pipes putting the rebound just over.

Carlton did have a weak attack after 49 minutes, but from interception it was straight to the other end as Atwal shot just wide.

For a brief moment the Mickleover had some work to do, but Cameron Anthony and Robinson were untroubled.

There was an appeal from Battisson for handball in the box in the 55^th minute, but nine minutes later Carter made it 4-0, when a cross from the left appeared to go in off his back!

Ted Stevenson had joined Carter as second half subs, and was keen to push forward too. But it was a Pennington cross then gave Carter a chance, shooting just over.

Carter had another lob onto the top of the net, before Stevenson had an attempt saved and Satchwell tried his luck too.

72 minutes and it was 5-0 and Battisson’s second from the edge of the box, with the keeper well beaten.

Carlton still kept trying to break out and succeeded in the 74^th minute when Tom Smith was forced into a diving save.

Kai Moore and Kyran Ward came on too, but Smith got a knock with 20 minutes left. A few minutes later Carlton pulled one back 5-1, but Stevenson, Carter and Battisson all went close again in the closing minutes, before the final whistle went and another fine win was sealed.

by Peter Scherer

For the second time in two weeks Mickleover FC two’s Academy teams played each other. Unlike last week, the younger Black squad had the measure of the Reds for much of the game, and only lost out to two second half goals, rather than the 9-0 defeat in their first meeting.

From the kick off it was fairly end to end play for the first 10 minutes, before Fin Bowen had to charge from his goal to intercept a Brodie Carter run.

The Reds continued to build on their attacks, but the Black defence of  Rossy  Mahynduz, Chipigo Mahanga, Ethan Mann and Lennon Higgins held firm, as well as looking for promising breakaways too.

It continued to be fairly even, with most of the play in midfield, before Bowen had to race off his line to cut off another Carter attack.

Reece Perry then found space as the Blacks pushed forward, he had a shot just over Tom Smith’s bar after 28 minutes. It was then Bowen’s turn to be under attack, as Kyran Ward shot just wide of the right hand post.

The strength of the Black defence continued to be tested and in some cases Bowen was left with little cover as they tried to push forward.  He ran out to clear again after 34 minutes, before Ward put a good ball into the box, which was initially cleared, before Josh Satchwell fired it back in again only to be blocked.

Ted Stevenson then went on a run to earn a corner, as the half team whistle approached,

The Blacks earned  a free kick, which was wasted when Mann lofted it straight into Smith’s waiting hands, then it was Reds turn after Hamanga fouled Sam Pipes on the edge of the box.

Ward and Pipes both had good attempts as the Reds tried to break the deadlock before half time and with a minute left Pipes placed the ball almost at Carter’s feet in front of goal, but the striker just missed connecting. Centre back Will Robinson then tried his luck, with a shot well wide of the mark.

So they went in 0-0 compared with the 6-0 only a week before. 

The Reds made a number of changes for the second half, bringing on Bobby Battisson, Jacob Edge-Lucas, Fin Barker and George Atwal, as well as moving Satchwell from left wing back to striker.

Edge-Lucas had taken the right wing back position with Ben Lewin on the left, both looking to push forward, leaving Cameron Anthony and Robinson to look after the defence.

In the first minute of the restart Battisson had a shot tipped over and five minutes later Atwal went close too.

It was a much stronger looking Reds team with Louis Pennington beginning to look more effective in midfield than in the first half.

Pipes continued to work hard and put a lovely ball in close for Satchwell after 12 minutes, who quickly pivoted on one foot to crack a shot just wide. Two minutes later it was Satchwell returning the favour for Barker, with Bowen saving his attempt at point blank range.

Atwal then had a half chance and just after the hour Barker was almost through again, but somehow the first years continued to hold out.

Edge-Lucas had an effort lofted into Bowen’s hands after 21 minutes, then Hamanga showed commendable skills as he stopped Barker in his tracks.

It was 69 minutes when the breakthrough finally came. Battisson’s cross found Satchwell on the edge of the box, who then layed it into Atwal’s path and it was 1-0.

The Blacks came charging back however, and Devon Smith ran at the Red defence before being blocked and a minute later he was on another run with Robinson intercepting.

Battisson went close as the Reds looked to make it safe and 73 minutes in Lewin’s cross from the left was collected by Barker, whose first time shot was just wide.

Stevenson had come back on had a good try which Bowen put out for a corner, before Satchwell almost took advantage of an 80^th minute defensive mix up, before Bowen came to the rescue.

Satchwell was relishing his move back into the strike force, heading just over from a Barker cross, before Barker then found Edge-Lucas, who found too many legs to get a clear shot. 

With two minutes left Satchwell got his goal for 2-0, Battisson’s first attempt was blocked, but it was Satchwell that managed to pick it up in a busy goal mouth and seal the victory.

Both Battisson and Barker went close again before the final whistle, but despite finally going down to the two second half goals, the first year Black squad performed with great credit and determination.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Academy striker Fin Barker hit his second hattrick of the week, as the second year Red squad took all three points at Rushall Olympic.

From the first whistle Mickleover were on the attack, with Ben Lewin getting the first shot on goal after five minutes.

Only two minutes later the Rushall goal was threatened again when a Josh Satchwell cross, whistled just past the post from a Brodie Carter header.

Rushall managed to make a break and put a good ball across the face of the Mickleover goal, but with no one to collect it rolled out for goal kick.

The dominance from the Mickleover attacks meant that wing backs Satchwell and Lewin spent more time in attack than defence, creating chances from where Barker had another shot just wide.

In the first 20 minutes both Barker and Carter kept the pressure on, and an appeal for a penalty failed to succeed after Barker had gone down in the area.

George Atwal, Jacob Edge-Lucas, Bobby Battisson and Louis Pennington had control of midfield and after Battisson fired a shot at the keeper, the following corner was met by Cameron Anthony’s head and it was finally 1-0.

The attacks continued to flow and after Smith easily collected a Rushall free kick, Barker had a good shot after 25 minutes, before Satchwell hit the bar with a header.

But on the half hour Edge-Lucas was on another run, when he was tripped on the edge of the box. Lewin took the kick, picked his spot and fired into the left hand corner, 2-0.

Four minutes later Edge-Lucas had a shot pushed out for a corner, quickly followed by a saved shot from Battisson, before Barker hit the bar again!

There was another telling run from Battisson, which just failed to reach Carter and similarly as the half time whistle was readied, Carter’s diving header just missed a Satchwell cross.

As the second half kicked off, a Rushall free kick came to nought, before Carter sprinted after a long clearance, which proved to be just out of reach.

Lewin then had a shot over after 49 mins, as Carter and Barker continued pounding the Rushall backline.

Only a minute later though, Barker got another shot in to make it 3-0, although Battisson put it in again to make sure, onlookers confirmed it was Barker’s goal.

Suddenly the attacking stopped and Rushall began to threaten. After one shot had cleared the bar, on the 10 minute mark they pulled one back 3-1, with the Mickleover defence split wide open down the middle.

There was yet another strike against the bar in the 56^th minute when Battisson created his own space, before he set up a shot for Atwal, who shot just wide.

Anthony and Will Robinson continued to look uncomfortable for a while, and after a mistake from Robinson, he had to fight back rapidly to rectify.

In the 62nd minute there were more defensive errors, a yawning gap down the middle offered Smith no protection in the Mickleover goal and suddenly it was 3-2.

The first substitution was Ted Stevenson on for Atwal, followed quickly by Mickleover’s fourth goal. Barker had his initial effort saved after 21 minutes, but was there for the rebound 4-2.

Seven minutes later Barker completed his hattrick with a fine, strong solo run for 5-2, before both he and Carter took a well earned rest as Kai Moore and Sam Pipes came on.

Moore had a good shot saved and after Battisson was put through he shot wide. With seven minutes on the clock Moore was inches away from collecting a Satchwell cross and in the final minute Moore went one on one with the Rushall keeper, but the final score remained 5-2.

by Peter Scherer

There were hat tricks for both Fin Barker and Brodie Carter as both Mickleover FC Academy sides faced each other at Borrowash.

Only three minutes into the game Carter was on the receiving of an early defensive error, to make it 1-0.

They had only just kicked off and it was close again, as Bobby Battisson picked his spot.

The pressure on the first years defence was relentless, and after eight minutes it was 2-0 when Barker was on the end of a positive build up.

But the first years kept plugging away themselves  and after 12 minutes Devon Smith had a shot just over Tom Smith’s bar.

There was soon another goal though from the Seniors, when Barker outstripped Lewis Hughes and Ethan Mann in a sprint and made it 3-0.

Both Bernard Koecher and Lennon Higgins tried to push forward for the first years, and after 16 minutes Emilio D’Abreu had a good effort just over.

With Louis Pennington controlling midfield, he was able to pick out Jacob Edge-Lucas and George Atwal, as well as strikers Carter and Barker.

Barker had a shot straight at goalkeeper Bowen on the hour, before forcing him to intercept on the edge of his box only four minutes later.

D’Abreu and Smith worked well together when the ball got through to them, but Reece Perry, Dylan Sanghera and Joe Nzeyimana were all finding it tough.

After 40 minutes D’Abreu put Smith through, but Will Robinson easily intercepted.

The ball was soon back in Bowen’s goal mouth, and when the Seniors won a corner, Josh Satchwell, playing left wing back, rose high above the defence to head home for 4-0. To which coach Mills was heard to say, “we’ve only practiced that a 100 times.”

Barker managed to seal his hattrick before half time  to make it 5-0.But the Juniors could have had one too, with Smith on a telling run, only to find the whole of the Senior defence laying in wait.

Both sides were starting to use their subs in the second half, but the Seniors were piling the pressure on again from the word go. 

Nzeyimana had a half chance, but Smith shot out of his goal to end any hopes, but it was Bowen’s goal under more and more pressure.

Barker had a bustling run through on goal and earned a corner, but a mid-defence mix-up left Carter free for his second and it was 6-0 with 56 minutes gone.

D’Abreu and Smith both had cracks at goal when even a half chance occurred. But just after the hour the ball bobbed around various legs, before finding its way into Bowen’s net, 7-0. Edge-Lucas claimed it, “well I touched it at some point, so I will claim it,” he reckoned.

Apart from Cameron Anthony, most of the Seniors defence went on the attack, with Ben Lewin and Satchwell on the overlaps.

Carter had another chance after one of Lewin’s runs, before he hit his third and made it 8-0.

In the 75^th minute came the 9^th and final goal. Perry was chasing Sam Pipes towards the touchline and clipped the back of his heel. Pipes then made no mistake from the penalty spot to make it 9-0.

Kai Moore and Kyran Ward had come on and linked up with Satchwell, whose shot went over the bar, while with six minutes to Lewin had a try and forced Bowen into another diving save.

The strength and experience of the Senior players was the key factor, but the Juniors kept trying to the final whistle.

They play each other at Borrowash next Monday too, but before then the Seniors visit Rushall Olympic on Thursday.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reds, the second year Academy team, arrived at Stafford Rangers, undefeated without having conceded a goal.

In this table topping encounter the opening 15 minutes gave an indication of the task ahead.

There had been no early attempts on goal from either side, but after 14 minutes Stafford won a free kick, which was fired well over the bar.

Only a minute later there was another attack from Stafford, after they collected a poor kick from Mickleover goalkeeper Tom Smith.

Mickleover’s first real attack soon followed, when Josh Satchwell, playing at the back, combined well with Brodie Carter to win a corner.

Stafford’s leading scorer Jayden Hunter had already been a tough opponent and kept Satchwell and Cameron Anthony on their toes in the centre of the Mickleover defence, earning a corner which went to waste, after 19 minutes.

Much of Mickleover’s play seemed to stem from Satchwell, but after Stafford made a break on goal, Smith came hurtling out and fouled the home striker, earning himself a yellow card.

Ben Lewin and Will Robinson both worked hard on the overlap, but the final ball continued to fall short of the Mickleover strikers, amidst a flurry of hard tackling from both sides.

Hunter had a shot across the face of the goal after 34 minutes, before Carter responded with a shot just wide, earning a corner, but the closest yet for Mickleover.

It could easily have been 1-0 for Mickleover three minutes later, when George Atwal crossed and Kai Moore just failed to connect.

Although Louis Pennington and Ted Stevenson continued to push forward, Stafford were threatening still too. 

Hunter collected the ball off the back of Satchwell’s head, before Smith safely collected it.

In the closing minutes of the first half, Pennington was fouled , but Atwal’s shot cannoned into the wall and away. Stevenson then had a good clean shot, forcing the Stafford keeper into a diving save.

There had been few clear cut chances for either side in the first 45 minutes, but unusually there was a lack of precision and ideas from the Mickleover side, earning them a stern talking too from coach Pablo Mills.

The second half started with promise, when after 49 minutes Robinson shot down the wing, whipped passed the approaching Stafford keeper and put a challenging ball into the box at Moore’s feet. But unfortunately he failed to connect.

Jacob Edge-Lucas came into the game more and some of his creativity seemed to help Mickleover push forward. He led a break after a Stafford free kick, which gave Carter a half chance.

Five minutes later Mickleover rued their missed chances, when after holding off Pennington’s challenge, Hunter fired a missile of a shot into Smith’s top left hand corner 0-1.

Hunter was set on goal again on the hour, but his weak shot was easily blocked by Smith. There seemed far too many free kicks given by the Mickleover team, but after Kyran Ward had come on, he combined with Edge-Lucas with a sniff of an equaliser.

Any hopes of pulling the game back were dashed however, when in the 75^th minute Hunter rounded Anthony to turn the ball into the area, before a fellow Stafford striker hit the ball home from close range, 0-2.

Fin Barker came on for Mickleover, just before Ward had a clash of heads with a home defender. Both players required treatment before the game continued.

Barker pushed hard to create space, but was fouled three times in one run. Edge-Lucas then had a shot blocked by the keepers feet and then in the closing minutes, Pennington layed the ball back just falling short of Brodie’s run.

With the whistle already being raised, Edge-Lucas was fouled on the edge of the box, but Pennington’s free kick sailed high and wide and it was game over.