by Peter Scherer

With some minor injuries and a couple of players away, it was a considerably weakened team that made the trip to visit Uttoxeter Town.

Starting line-up: 1-Fin Bowen 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Wilson 4-George Atwal 5-James Butler 6-Ethan Mann 7-Ben Horleston 8-Mason Warren 9-Kai Moore 10-Elliott Reeves 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Joe Bateman, Stuart Beavon, Brandon Ferron.

In a fairly even start to the game in which Uttoxeter tried to push forward, the hosts won the first corner after four minutes, before Mickleover followed four minutes later.

It was the hosts that had the first shot too, with an attempt well off target in the ninth minute, before an Atwal break found Walker on the right, and Wilson had a shot over the bar.

As Sports began to push out of defence Mann tried a long shot, again just off target, before Horleston managed to split the home defence but the final ball was just too long for Walker.

Both Dales and Atwal had started the game well back, which allowed the continued push from the home side. Uttoxeter won a free kick in the 14^th minute which went straight out of play, before Mickleover followed suit when Atwal found Warren who fired just wide.

A couple of minutes later the Uttoxeter left back gave the ball away and Moore picked it up. He broke towards goal and earned another corner.

Butler got his head to a free-kick after 22 minutes, but the angle was too tight to trouble the keeper and then Atwal gave away a free kick which the hosts put straight out of play again.

Uttoxeter were relying on the breaks and a left wing charge was partially cut off by Walker, before Bowen was forced to make his first save of the night after 24 minutes.

The Mickleover attack then seemed to spring into action for a while, with Horleston finding Reeves, who shot well over, before Warren and Wilson combined with the keeper tipping away the best shot of the night, as Walker just missed out on the rebound.

Dales then had a run down the left to find Moore in the middle, but the home keeper again had it covered.

Another break for the hosts saw a hasty shot well over, before Warren broke on the left and had his effort saved on the half hour.

Moore then connected with a long ball from Walker on the right and shortly afterwards Reeves got on the end of a goal mouth scramble but his shot was deflected out.

Bowen had to make another save after 37 minutes and finally an Atwal corner found Wilson, but his shot was just wide as the half time whistle blew at 0-0.

Sports brought on Beavon and Bateman for the second half, with Moore and Atwal making way.

It was Mickleover that started the stronger and an early Walker shot earned a corner, but it didn’t last long. Walker again tried to be the instigator but the home side had him covered, before Bateman cut off their retaliatory break.

Although Butler and Mann kept things tidy at the back, Uttoxeter continued to make some challenging breaks, before dales got away to find Reeves, whose shot was blocked again after 52 minutes.

There were a few minutes of sustained attacking with Wilson firing in another good effort, before Warren found Reeves on the left, then a well-timed cross just failed to connect with Beavon.

Beavon then set up another chance for Reeves as the hour mark approached and Sports brought on Ferron for Horleston.

The young Academy players pace was soon evident and he managed to get a cross in from the left, but no one collected.

Bateman had a shot blocked after 65 minutes but the deadlock looked set to be broken after 72 minutes when Dales was tripped just inside he box. But Warren stepped up to take the penalty, which he placed to the keeper’s right and it was well saved, so it remained 0-0.

For most of the final 15 minutes Mickleover were on top, but the ball just wasn’t falling for the strikers. Dales had another run but the ball got away before he shot, while Atwal and Moore came back on for the closing minutes for Walker and Warren.

With three minutes left Uttoxeter had a free-kick. It was cleared out of the box, but sent in again to find a relatively unmarked striker on the far post. His free header went wide however and the best chance of the match was lost.

It’s now off to NPL Division One Midlands Gresley Rovers on Saturday for the final pre-season game of the year. Rovers had a 1-1 with Hanley Town last Saturday, after going down 1-5 to Rugby Town.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover first team squad continued their unbeaten pre-season build up with a 4-0 win at local neighbours Borrowash Victoria.

Sports kicked off with the same line-up as in last Tuesday’s home win against Derby County Under 21’s.

1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliot Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ryan Wilson 5-James Butler 6-Ethan Mann 7-Joe Bateman 8-Mason Warren 9-Elliott Reeves 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Fin Bowen, Ben Horleston, Marcus Marshall, Kai Moore, Brandon Ferron.

It was a strong performance from Sports throughout the game despite some determined opposition from the hosts. Once again Elliott Reeves was on the score sheet, having scored in every pre-season game he has played.

Stuart Beavon, Joe Bateman and recent signing  Marcus Marshall also found the net, with Marshall scoring two in two sub appearances after recovering from back injury.

Tuesday evening it’s Mickleover’s penultimate pre-season match, when they visit Midland League Premier Division side Uttoxeter Town, with a 7.30 kick off at the Oldfields Sports ground.

by Archie Brown

Coming off the back of a sweltering couple of days in England, Mickleover hoped their football would match the fabulous weather conditions at the Don Amott Arena in their Pre-Season encounter with Derby County U21s in front of 407 fans.

Before the 90 minutes of footballing action went ahead  ,a minutes applause was spared for former Derby County Player Jack Parry who’d sadly passed away recently.It was Derby who kicked off the game but Sports who presented the first real opportunity when a cross by Stuart Beavon was cleared away for a throw-in. The opening five minutes showcased a great display of pressure from the home side, forcing mistakes from the youthful Rams.

Possession then became equal for a good 10 minutes with neither side able to create any solid chances. Sports then saw their moment to attack but a good cross by Mason Warren ended up being caught by the Rams keeper. The opening third of the first half was more memorable for its scrappy football with both sides frustrating each other and their fans with poor displays of passing and lack of attacking movement.

It was in the 20^th minute where Sports opened the scoring. After a beautiful long ball over the top and a header back across goal, Elliott Reeves slotted the ball home for 1-0! Mickleover were then awarded a free kick on the right side of the 18-yard box two minutes later and after a low driven cross, what looked to be a simple catch for the Derby keeper was subsequently spilt into the path of  Reeves to grab his second goal in as many minutes!

Other than the two moments of magic from youthful Sports striker Reeves , it was a pretty flat 10 or so minutes following the goals ,with Mickleover dominating possession but failing to do anything with it. Soon after this poor spell from both ,a much needed drinks break for the players was signalled by the referee.

Two separate incidents a minute apart and five before Half Time had car owners around the Don Amott Arena nervously sweating as two of the match balls were recklessly hoofed over the main stand roof and towards the direction of the car park ,let’s hope none of the cars surrounding the stadium suffered any dents on them!

A third for Mickleover just before Half Time! A hat-trick that is now for  Reeves, he’s made a stellar impact on the first team. In the aftermath of the goal, tempers flared between Sports Captain Phil Watt and The Rams Number 9 who both received yellow cards after an altercation. In the dying minutes of the first half,Sports nearly produced another moment of brilliance with a great run and pass by Mickleover midfielder Ryan Wilson finding Hat-Trick hero Reeves however, despite a promising run to the by-line, the strikers’ cross couldn’t find a team mate in the middle.

HT: Sports 3-0 Derby U21s

The second half pretty much started with an instant free kick for the home side as Wilson’s cross was comfortably caught by the Rams goalkeeper. Reeves was then put through on goal with time very much on his side but his dink was poorly executed and rolled behind for a goal kick.

Soon after, an impressive shot by Beavon was parried by the goalkeeper but the follow-up was cleared.You may be wandering why their isn’t much coverage on the Rams in this game but quite honestly, they struggled to get into the game with Mickleover controlling possession for most of it.

The visitors finally attempted to recover their composure as the opening third to the second half displayed equal amounts of possession from both.Mickleover then attempted to make it four as a great ball freed sports Full-Back Rhys Dolan but once again the final product wasn’t there and the cross was poor.

Mickleover were able to sustain their lead for a good period of 15 or so minutes with neither side able to control the game or create any goalscoring chances. In fact the second half was quite a scrappy affair as Derby began to get frustrated with themselves for not creating chances and Sports getting frustrated for not putting their chances away.

Although Mickleover didn’t have the attacking spark in the second half, James Butler was particularly impressive in defence with good blocks, tackles, clearances and forward runs. Sports midfielder Wilson also deserves a mention for creating multiple attacking chances and displaying great work-rate in the centre of the park.

Then in the 90^th minute a great run from Jahvan Davidson-Miller found fellow substitute Marcus Marshall at the back post who tapped the ball into an empty net for 4-0! 

FT: Sports 4-0 Derby U21s

A great win for sports then in their third win in their last four pre-season games as preparation for the start of the season in the Southern League Premier Central continues and nobody can argue that the confidence of Mickleover is sky high going into it!

by Peter Scherer

Full back Ryan Wilson is the latest addition to the Mickleover FC squad for the forthcoming season, the full back having spent the past few seasons with Sports rivals in the NPL Basford Utd, who are also making the move to the Southern Premier League Central this term.

He has played for a number of Midlands based clubs in his career, so what attracted him to Mickleover?

“It was the gaffer John McGrath that persuaded me to come, because they play football here the way I like to play, so I knew I would fit in OK,” he explained.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover’s pre-season run of success continued with a dominant 4-0 victory over Derby County’s Under 21 side.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ryan Wilson 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Joe Bateman 8-Mason Warren 9-Elliott Reeves 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Fin Bowen, Ethan Mann, George Atwal, Jahvan Davidson-Miller, Ben Horleston, Louis Pennington, Kai Moore, Marcus Marshall.

Mickleover’s midfield took control of the game in the opening minutes, with Dales mounting the first attack after two minutes to earn a throw. Six minutes later Beavon and Dales combined again to put a dangerous ball into the Derby box, but on this occasion the danger was cleared.

Both Walker and Dolan began to push forward, with Butler and Watt at the back under little pressure from the young Rams attack.

Wilson, Bateman and Warren looked strong and had the control of midfield, leaving Dales with his familiar roaming role to feed Beavon and Reeves.

Some good build up’s were just failing to pierce the Derby defence, with the final ball just failing to hit the spot.

After 18 minutes a Beavon cross found Reeves in the middle, he chested the ball but couldn’t quite get his shot in. Only one minute later the young striker made amends and fired the ball home 1-0.

Barely had the game kicked off again when Wilson was fouled on the right. With the Rams keeper failing to hold the ball, Reeves pounced on the rebound to fire home 2-0.

It was all Mickleover at this stage, with Derby struggling to get out of their own half.

25 minutes in and another good move from Dales was followed by an attempted one-two with Reeves, but just failed, before a Walker cross found Beavon, whose shot was blocked.

The one-way traffic continued as Dales tried his luck after 35 minutes, with a long run down the middle, before his shot was saved.

Four minutes left in the first half and Reeves collected the ball on the right, before cutting in. At first his shot looked to be heading wide of the far post, but it was timed to perfection for 3-0 and the striker’s hattrick.

There were no immediate changes for the second half, but Reeves went close again after Derby lost possession in the middle.

Beavon had a 52^nd minute shot saved and two minutes later Bateman had a blast over the bar, following a Mickleover corner.

Reeves had his final attempt intercepted after being forced wide, before a mass substitution took place on the hour. On came Davidson-Miller, Atwal, Moore, Horleston and Mann and off came Beavon, Warren, Bateman, Watt and Reeves.

Davidson-Miller had the ball in the net again after 69 minutes, but was deemed offside and with Derby deciding to make changes too, Mickleover replaced Dales and Dolan with Marshall and Pennington.

Butler decided to join in with a couple of attacks and found Wilson in the box after 84 minutes, but the midfielder just failed to gain control and the chance was lost.

But goal number four finally arrived with a minute left, when the battling Moore kept the defence busy and Davidson-Miller found Marshall on the far post, who made no mistake from close range 4-0.

Another impressive performance from the Mickleover squad, but more was expected from a lack lustre Rams side, who failed to have one single shot on goal.

Next stop for Mickleover first team is a trip down the road to Borrowash Victoria on Saturday with a 3pm kick off.

by Peter Scherer

Tomorrow evening Mickleover FC host a Derby County XI in the latest pre-season friendly, kick off 7.45pm.

With the Rams first team playing away at Stevenage, it is expected that our visitors will be a combination of the Under 18 and Under 23’s under Pat Lyons leadership.

After the Derby game Sports have three more friendlies against Borrowash Victoria, Uttoxeter Town and Gresley Rovers, before they start their Southern Premier League Central campaign away to Kings Langley on August 6^th.

By Peter Scherer

Mickleover’s experience and guile proved too much for a very young Burton Albion XI, taking a comfortable 3-0 win to retain the KC Trust Trophy.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Ethan Mann 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Joe Bateman 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Callum Chettle 8-Mason Warren 9-Jahvan Davidson-Miller 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Ben Horleston, Louis Pennington, Kai Moore, Dean Ironmonger, Fin Bowen.

After a few minutes of settling down Mickleover were straight on the attack, with Davidson-Miller having a fourth minute shot saved by keeper Dan Moore, after a Dales break.

There were penalty appeals waved away three minutes later when Chettle went down in the box, but although Mickleover were full on attack, Hedge was forced into action with a comfortable save after nine minutes.

As the Burton youngsters started to try and play out of their own half, there was a dangerous ball played into the box, but Butler headed away and Hedge safely took the catch.

But Burton were on a run and after a further plan broke down on the edge of the box, Hedge collided with a Burton striker, who continued after treatment.

18 minutes in and Dolan charged down the left to cross into a busy goal mouth, but Beavon’s attempt to connect was thwarted when he was held back.

Dolan was close himself only seconds later,when he almost connected with Davidson-Miller in the box.

But Burton keeper Moore almost handed a gift to Warren, when his poor clearance was intercepted but the followingshot was just wide.

The Burton defence were starting to face a continuous barrage, and when Dales outstripped his challenger, his cross was followed a Warren shot just wide of the post again.

The opening goal finally came after 28 minutes, following a corner, Dales played the ball in to Davidson-Miller who made no mistake for 1-0.

The remainder of the first half was almost sustained pressure, with Dales, Chettle, Bateman and Warren in total control of midfield, giving Beavon and Davidson–Miller the freedom up front.

Burton managed a slight break after 34 minutes, but Hedge was never seriously challenged, but the Burton keeper again put his own defence under more pressure with a poor clearance.

It was any one from five Mickleover players to takepossession, before Dales created his space for a 34th minute shot that Moore saved comfortably.

Davidson-Miller then had a shot blocked four minutes later, before Bateman’s rebound attempt went just beyond the top right corner.

With two minutes left on the clock Warren smashed in Mickleover’s second after another Dales build up, before Beavon went close on the right and Watt almost connected for a header with the half time whistle poised.

With no immediate changes for the second half, it wasn’t longbefore the attacks were underway again, with Dales hitting the far post after cutting in from the left after 47 minutes.

Over the next 10 minutes Mickleover were playing a keep possession passing game, which involved virtually the whole team until Chettle took a knock and was replaced by Horleston.

Both Mann and Dolan were regularly joining the attack with Butler and Watt covering at the back. It was a Dolan run after 58 minutes then sent Davidson-Miller close, before the wing back earned himself a free kick, from which Moore had to tip Dales’ shot over the bar.

With Pennington on for Watt, Mann moved into the middle of the defence, but it was a rare Burton attack that led to Mickleover’s third goal.

Nothing had materialised for Burton, but Dales picked up the ball on the edge of the Mickleover box and sprinted the lengthof the pitch, before cutting inside to chip the keeper for 3-0 after 70 minutes.

Moore and Ironmonger then came on for Beavon and Davidson-Miller and after 75 minutes it was Moore’s chance to shoot just wide after a good turn inside the box.

Hedge had to make a couple of fairly easy saves before the full time whistle and Davidson-Miller came back on for the last couple of minutes after Ironmonger took a knock.

A fairly easy win for Mickleover, but nevertheless a good pre-season challenge as we now look to Tuesday’s game against a derby County XI

by Peter Scherer

Friday evening Mickleover host a Burton Albion XI in the first home game of the current pre-season.

With both gaffer John McGrath and Stuart Beavon ex Burton players, and having had Callum Hawkins, Ben Radcliffe and Callum Niven loan from the Pirelli Stadium last year, there has always been a close and positive working relationship between the two clubs.

It was just under a year ago too that the Brewers management team of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, assistant Dino Maamria and club Chairman Ben Robinson performed the opening ceremony of the new 3G pitch and refurb at the Don Amott Arena, before Ben Gowing and Bobby Battisson scored in Mickleover’s 2-0 victory.

It is expected the Sports will be facing Burton’s Under 23/youth team, with the first team hosting Birmingham City on Saturday.

Kick off at the Don Amott Arena on Friday is 7.30pm.

by Peter Scherer

Following their 1-1 at Hanley last Saturday, Mickleover FC made their annual pre-season trip to United Counties League Division One side Clipstone.

It proved to be a dominant performance for the Sports squad, with four goals in each half to return home as 8-0 victors.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Ethan Mann 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Joe Bateman 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Andy Dales 8-Callum Chettle 9-Elliott Reeves 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Mason Warren, Subs: George Milner, Jahvan Davidson-Miller, Louis Pennington, Fin Bowen, Ben Horleston.

Mickleover earned their first corner in the second minute and four minutes later Dolan charged through on the overlap, found Beavon whose shot was blocked, before firing his own shot over the bar from the rebound.

With both Mann and Dolan attacking on the wings, and the push from midfield by Warren, Chettle and Bateman, it was only a matter of time before the first goal arrived.

11 minutes in and following a sustained attack, Reeves had reeked havoc in the box and Dolan followed up 1-0.

But Clipstone had a rare chance three minutes later after possession was lost on Mickleover’s right, Hedge had to make a diving save at full stretch to his left.

Beavon and Chettle fought hard to combine on the edge of the box after 18 minutes, with Reeves on the receiving end to make it 2-0.

There was no respite for the Clipstone defence with Dales and Beavon roaming the pitch at will. 23 minutes and a Mann cross found Beavon’s head, with Warren following through to make in 3-0.

There could easily have been a fourth only two minutes later when another cross from Mann found Reeves again, but his shot was blocked.

Dales fired another shot over after 30 minutes, before Beavon found Reeves again, who then created the space for Beavon to shoot against the post.

The fourth goal arrived only a minute later with Chettle hitting a debut goal, 4-0.

Clipstone managed to make a rare break but found the side netting, before Butler came charging through from defence to earn another corner.

With half time approaching Mann was almost through on goal too after a long run, and Bateman found Beavon again with the half time whistle poised, his final shot was just wide.

Gaffer John McGrath made one change for the second half with Pennington on for Butler, which meant Mann moved to the centre of defence to join skipper Watt.

The opening minutes of the second half didn’t quite flow although Reeves did fire another attempt over the bar after 47 minutes.

Clipstone had a shot only just wide two minutes later, as the hosts began into break in the Mickleover half more often.

Davidson-Miller came on for Beavon after 53 minutes, but Dales finally got his reward for an outstanding performance, with goal number five after the hosts keeper almost saved with his legs, 5-0.

More subsitutions followed with Horleston on for Chettle, Milner for Warren and Bowen for Hedge.

Reeves’ aerial supremacy saw another attempt off the post, before Davidson-Miller’s 74^th minute header made it 6-0.

Having been subbed earlier, Warren came back on for Dales and was instrumental in goal number seven. Warren combined with Bateman on the left and found Horleston in acres of space on the right. The youngster made no mistake and smashed it into the roof of the net 7-0.

Dolan had opened the scoring back in the 11^th minute and capped an excellent performance with goal number eighth a minute from time, 8-0.

A good all-round performance from the Mickleover squad which bodes well for the season, showing the determination, drive and eagerness that no ball was ever truly lost.