by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reserves faced South Normanton Athletic last Friday and once again there were plenty of goals.

Starting line-up: Jim Polard, Mason Hoult, Jared Cholerton, Brandon Ferron, Joe Bateman, Bobby Battisson, George Atwal, Fin Ryder, Kai Moore, Josh Powell. Subs: Toby Smith, Sam Tomlinson.

Mickleover had gone one up after Moore scored on his comeback, but the visitors were back on equal terms when Parfitt found the net. 1-1.

But Sports push paid dividends when Moore hit his second to send them in at half time 2-1 up.

Parfitt had got his second too 2-2, but after Tomlinson came on as a second half sub, he gave Mickleover the lead again and three points seemed to be edging nearer 3-2.

But McTighe got in on the act too, so his late equaliser sent South Normanton home with a late point secured at 3-3.

Mickleover are now 10^th in the table and now face a trip to Melbourne Dynamo on Saturday.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reserves were at home again for their second league match in four days, as they faced Arnold Town.

Starting line-up: Josh Maher, Toby Smith, Brandon Ferron, Harry Atwal, Jared Cholerton, Zak Sandhu, Dean Ironmonger, George Atwal, Fin Ryder, Bobby Battisson, Josh Powell. Subs: Mason Hoult, Mason Tudgay, Silas Donker, Will Coffen, Luis Mas-Hall, Jayden Cozens.

It started badly for Sports youngsters, when the defence seemed to freeze as the visitors striker found a gap in the middle and made it 0-1.

Following a corner four minutes later, there was little resistance again in the box, and it was 0-2 to Arnold.

Mickleover looked somewhat shell shocked and it took a while for them to get into the game, with Smith losing possession on the right, Cholerton managed to intercept an Arnold break.

Sports first real attempt came after 13 minutes when Ferron made a run down the left, finding Harry Atwal, whose shot was blocked.

As confidence began to be restored a 15^th minute corner fell to Ironmonger, but he couldn’t get control and it then fell to Cholerton. He couldn’t get a shot in either, but third time lucky Ryder had his attempt blocked.

Powell had a shot saved two minutes later after a jinking Battisson run and with Mickleover pressing hard, Powell cut inside again from the left, his shot was saved as was his rebound, earning another corner.

The Arnold defence was being kept in retreat and after 19 minutes Mickleover got their reward, when Ferron cut inside and ran through the middle to outpace the defence, making it 1-2.

The momentum was all Mickleover at this point, as Battisson again tore through the middle, cut inside to set up Powell, but the 21^st minute shot was wide of the right-hand post.

Three minutes later a George Atwal free kick was just outside the right-hand post too, before another Ferron run saw him lose possession in the box, as he was about to shoot. The following corner then fell to Ryder and his shot was just over the bar too.

Some nice interplay between Ferron and Powell ended with a lob into the visiting keeper’s hands, but Powell should have tucked away a 29^th minute chance, after a lovely ball from Smith on the right, but it was wide again.

Arnold managed a random shot wide of the target just after the half hour, but the game took another twist after 34 minutes as the ball arrived in the middle of the box. The home defence failed to react to the danger and it was 1-3.

Despite being two goals down, Mickleover continued to have the run of play. Battisson found Powell, but he couldn’t get a shot in, leaving Harry Atwal to follow up but just wide. Battisson then had his own effort saved after 38 minutes, before Ryder fired over.

George Atwal had another free kick but this one went straight to the keeper, before a fine solo run from Ryder saw his shot slightly deflected before the keeper made his save.

With half time approaching Harry Atwal just missed connecting with a cross from the right, before Battisson tested the keeper again. Finally a crossfield ball from Smith found Ferron in space, he had the defence beaten, but once again the keeper saved the day.

So it was 1-3 half time in a game that maybe should have been 4-3, but there was more drama to come.

Three minutes into the second half and it was 2-3, when the ball fell nicely for Harry Atwal in the box, beating the keeper close in.

But Arnold were still trying to push forward and tried an ambitious lob four minutes later, to no avail.

Powell then battled through to find Harry Atwal again, who picked out brother George in space, but the deflected shot was just wide.

Battisson’s 51^st minute attempt was just wide too, but earned a corner and then Powell had a good try saved by the impressive keeper.

The Arnold defence were taking a battering as fitness levels began to show, Mickleover were doing everything but score, but in 66^th minute Ryder met Ferron’s cross and it was 3-3.

Five minutes later there was a hold up as the referee went off injured, as Mickleover sub Cozens took over on the line.

Maher had to come to the home defence rescue after 73 minutes, diving at a strikers feet, but Mickleover were now going for the win.

Battisson was brutally fouled, but George Atwal’s free kick was too high and then Ferron pulled back a nice cross from the byline, but no one was on the receiving end.

79 minutes and Tudgay came on for Powell, but there were shouts for a penalty after 86 minutes, when Ryder appeared to be held on the ground by a defender. There was no penalty, but he was down long enough to secure a pin fall.

With two minutes of normal time left Harry Atwal’s effort bounced off the top of the bar from another Ferron cross, before an Atwal Tudgay one-two saw the keeper smother a good effort from Tudgay.

It was into injury time with the whistle almost poised, Battisson fed Ryder. Heading straight at the keeper, his shot bounced off the advancing stopper.

But in a final scramble in the box Battisson and the Arnold keeper were in close proximity.  So close the shot bounced off the keeper and hit Battisson again, rebounding into the net 4-3 in a dramatic finale.

by Dave Mackenzie

Just over 16 hours after putting up a terrific performance against Derby County’s Youth (mainly U21 and some 18’s), the reserves took to the field against a Derby Singh team that had made some excellent additions during the close season.

Old MFC players like Yakeef Murphy, Muzari and Tyler Yohal all played a prominent part  whilst Alex Steadman turned up with his right ankle in a cast!

Sports starting 11 was Josh Maher, Mason Hoult, Silas Donker, Jared Cholerton and Zak Sandhu – defending. Toby Smith, Harry Atwal and Fin Ryder occupied the midfield and up front with Hamza was Dean Ironmonger and Josh Powell.

The game started at a good pace and Mickleover were showing little fatigue by controlling the midfield and defence.

Powell was looking lively and it was from his cross from a deep position that had the defender in two minds running back towards his goal. We didn’t care as he chose the wrong mind, steering a header over the advancing goalkeeper to give Mickleover a well deserved lead. 1-0.

Singh Bros had some talented and experienced players in their ranks and began to take the upper hand with some good quality passing and the right winger proving a handful for Zak.

They scored with a well worked goal which should have been prevented, but the previous nights endeavours started to take their toll, not just physically but mentally. 1-1.

The lads did well to get to the turn with no more damage as the half finished bang on 45 minutes.

The second half started just like the first with Mickleover in ascendency but Singh Bros held firm. After 60 minutes the legs of some players were going and Will Coffen and Sam Johnson came on for Harry A and Josh P.

Another foul stopped the play wide on our right and Ryder put in a great delivery between the players and the goal which was met by the rising Ironmonger who powered a great header into the net.

Could the lads hold out? Other fresh legs were needed and Dean(the leap) Ironmonger and Hamza made way for Ellis King and Hayden Simpson. The lads that came on were being asked to play out of position but were asked to give us some much needed energy.

With about five minutes left a Singh cross from the right bounced up near the back post and as the trajectory was upwards, the header from the Singh player went even higher over the bar. Amazingly the linesman who was at the far side gave a penalty, whilst the ref who was about 12 yards away pointed for a goal kick before changing his decision. The spot kick was well struck, skelping the outside of the post and away to safety. Could the lads hold out?

Sadly from a free kick on the left a Singh player snuck in at the back and scored. The scorer definitely evaded a defender as he was on his own but surely he couldn’t have been offside. 2-2

That was not a good goal to lose and on reflection a draw would have been a fair result.

When we had played about three minutes over, the ref. claimed that there was still seven minutes to play. On hearing this you could see the players react in disbelief. Our final change saw Josh Bull (keeper) replacing Mason H.

Singh continued to press and Josh Maher saved well from a header pushing the ball around the post to safety but from the corner the taker was able to drive into the box and finished well to give his team the three points. 2-3’

Congratulations to DSB for another excellent game, however where the time extension came from nobody bar one person knew.

by Dave Mackenzie

Hot on the heels of the enthralling encounter with AFC Mackworth, we welcomed Stapleford Town to the Don Amott Arena.

Against Mackworth the lads showed great tenacity, high skill levels and courage to overcome Derby’s top Sunday League outfit by the odd goal in eleven!

Stapleford play their football in the Nottinghamshire Senior Premier Division and they topped their table, losing only two games during the season.

To give a measure of their success they finished 31 points clear of Borrowash Vics and 14 points ahead of Keyworth Utd in second place.

Starting line-up: 1-Josh Bull 2-Will Coffen 3-Brandon Ferron 4-Tony Smith 5-Silas Donker 6-Harry Atwal 7-Sam Tomlinson 8 – Fin Ryder 9-Luis Mas-Hall 10- Josh Powell 11-Mason Tudgay. Subs: Owen Slater, Hamza Konane, Liam Carter, Sam Johnson, Josh Maher.

The conditions couldn’t have been more contrasting. Gone were the monsoon rains of Wednesday evening, being replaced by intermittent cloud and sunny spells.

Holidays meant there were three changes, with Will Coffen, Silas Donker and Luis Mas-Hall starting. Stapleford had a nucleus of experience and from the start you could see they would provide a stern test for the young reserve side.

It was however Mickleover that started well with strong defending from Silas and Toby aided by good work in midfield from Fin R and Josh P.

Sam Tomlinson was showing well and from a powerful run he beat the full back and he got away his shot before the keeper could set himself. 1-0.

Stapleford got themselves back in the game when a good cross found a Stapleford player unmarked at the back post. The goal was well taken with a calm side foot back across the keeper. 1-1.

What followed was a goal of great quality. The ball was played down the left to Mason Tugay who spotted Brandon Ferron  moving forwards down the left. Although the pass was good Brandon still had work to do, cutting inside taking out two defenders. The ball was then on his standing foot, but Brandon didn’t panic as he stroked the ball into the corner of the net. 2-1.

That ended the scoring as Stapleford gave away a gilt-edged opportunity by skying a penalty high and not very handsome.

The half time interval gave Leigh Parr the chance to explain the importance of some of the players’ positions in maintaining a good shape to the team and moving across the pitch in relation to an attack.

The Gaffer was also able to highlight a couple of areas where the team could improve out of possession.

The team reacted well to the half time coaching and put in a controlled second half that saw them restrict Stapleford to long balls, which the defence, including the introduction of Owen Slater dealt with well.

The third goal showed the effectiveness of a long pass. After some interchanges between Toby S and Fin R, Fin hit a lovely diagonal which found Liam Carter running into the box on the angle. Liam’s first touch took out the defender and his second placed the ball under the advancing keeper to seal the game. Great goal.3-1.

Overall another very positive performance against a competitive Stapleford team. The lads have shown that they are taking on board instruction and benefitting from the structure and coaching provided by Leigh Parr and Steve Powell.

by Peter Scherer

There was no shortage of goals as Mickleover Reserves visited AFC Mackworth for a pre-season friendly last night. Sports youngsters finally ran out 6-5 victors with Sam Tomlinson hitting TWO.

Starting line-up: 1-Josh Bull 2-Mason Hoult 3-Brandon Ferron 4-Toby Smith 5-Zac Sandhu 6-Harry Atwal 7-Sam Tomlinson 8-Fin Ryder 9-Dean Ironmonger 10-Josh Powell 11-Mason Tudgay. Subs: Josh Maher, Luis Mas-Hall, Will Coffen, Owen Slater, Liam Carter, Silas Donker.

It was wet and miserable as the game kicked off, but Mickleover almost scored from the kick off, with Powell and Tudgay combining to earn a corner.

The opening goal came after seven minutes when Powell fed Tomlinson, who sent a belting shot into the back of the net, 1-0. Only two minutes Tomlinson tested the keeper again, but his chip was taken fairly easily.

Ferron and Hoult were starting to attack down the wings and after 10 minutes it was a long run from Ferron with a crossfield ball, that was just too long for the chasing Tomlinson.

Mackworth’s first chance came when Sandhu slipped on the wet grass, the hosts number nine collected but Bull saved his effort initially, before a rebound made it 1-1, 11 minutes in.

Ironmonger had a chance three minutes later from a Tomlinson cross, before another Tomlinson cross set up Ryder, whose shot was blocked.

Bull had to palm away another Mackworth strike, before Ferron’s attempt on a charge ended with a crude foul. It was Sports on top though and 23 minutes down and it was 2-1, after Tomlinson again cut in front the right, giving Tudgay a tap in.

Atwal was controlling the central midfield, with the eagerness of Powell and Tudgay strong on the left and Tomlinson dominating the right wing, but Tomlinson nearly hit a second, firing just over on the half hour.

But Mackworth were proving determined opposition and when Bull was spotted off his line, a speculative lob made it 2-2. They went close again a minute later with a long shot just off target.

Both sides were trying random long shots, but with two minutes of the first half to go, Tomlinson jinked through the defence with a fine solo effort to make it 3-2 and then went close again with the whistle poised.

A number of subs came on for the second half, with rain still falling heavily. Ryder had the first shot of the second half, before Ironmonger made it 4-2 following a 48^th minute corner.

Tomlinson continued to cause havoc, but after 55 minutes it was 4-3, after Bull failed to hold the slippery ball.

Sandhu then joined the scorers as the ball fell nicely from at Atwal free kick 5-3. But the two goal only lasted for six minutes, after chaos in defence made it 5-4.

It was another slip from keeper Bull that made it 5-5 with 15 minutes left, which seemed to spur on Mackworth for the final push.

But with two minutes left Mickleover sub Slater sealed it at 6-5 with a solo run down the middle.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reserves will once again be playing in the Central Midlands League Premier Division South this season, after finishing eighth last season.

The number of teams will be back up to 18, an increase of two from 22/23, with Division One West Champions Melbourne Dynamo joining us, along with runners up Mayfield, Division One East Champions AFC Normanton and Bakewell Town, who were eighth in last years Division One North.

Leaving the division are Clay Cross, promoted as Champions and Ashland Rovers relegated.

The fixtures and date of the opening round of matches is yet to be announced.

by Peter Scherer

Mickleover Reserves ended their Central Midlands Premier Division South season with a point at Nottingham FC on Tuesday evening in a 2-2 draw.

The hosts had taken the initial lead before Declan netted the equaliser. Harry Atwal then gave Sports the lead, before Nottingham snatched the equaliser late in the game.

Sports have finished eighth in the table.

by Peter Scherer

A Kai Moore hat-trick was the highlight of Mickleover Reserves final home game in this seasons Central Midlands Premier Division South, as Sports gained revenge over February’s 0-2 defeat last Friday.

Pablo Mills, George Atwal, Bobby Battisson and Fin Ryder were also on target as Sports ran out 7-1 winners.

Tomorrow night the reserves end their season with a visit to Nottingham FC.

by Peter Scherer

Having gone down 1-2 in the last two games, Mickleover Reserves were back on form at South Normanton, coming away with a 5-2 win.

Top scorer Declan Brown hit his third hattrick of the season in the convincing victory, with Ash Powell and Owen Parr also on the scoresheet.

Sports youngsters play their final home game on Saturday at the Don Amott, when they face local rivals and second in the table Graham St.Prims, with a 3pm kick off at the Don Amott Arena.

by Peter Scherer

It was another disappointing night for Mickleover Reserves, as they went down 0-2 to Teversal in their Central Midlands Premier Division South match.

Starting line-up: 1-Josh Maher 2-Joe Sellors 3-Brandon Ferron 4-Ronnie Bonser 5-Zak Sandhu 6-Louis Pennington 7-Owen Parr 8-Fin Ryder 9-Josh Powell 10-Dean Ironmonger 11-Declan Brown. Subs: Luis Marshall, Will Coffen.

Teversal were on the attack from the start, firing a shot straight at Maher in the first minute, before earning the first corner two minutes later, which Maher saved.

Ironmonger had Mickleover’s first attempt at five minutes, before another Teversal break ended with a shot straight at Maher.

The pressure continued on the Mickleover defence and after eight minutes they were comfortably outpaced down the left. The cross found a striker in space and it was 0-1 after eight minutes

Sports were forced to make an early switch when Sellors went off injured and was replaced by Coffen.

The first of many clear offsides that the refs assistant failed to acknowledge almost caused a second goal a minute later, but the final shot was over the bar.

But Mickleover then got a break with Brown just beaten to the ball by the advancing keeper.

But 15 minutes in and another clear offside was let go and this time it was critical, with the defence looking for the whistle, the home side were clear and it was 0-2.

Mickleover then won a free kick just outside the box, from which Pennington forced a diving save from the home keeper.

It proved to be a difficult night for the defence, with both assistants continuing to fail in flagging offsides for the home side and after 19 minutes it happened again but the shot was wide.

The combination of pace from the Teversal strikers and the poor officialdom, made it a tough night for the Mickleover youngsters, with few decisions going their way.

Powell was tugged back by his shirt and the defender was booked, but another Teversal break soon followed with a wasted chance well wide of the post.

Further shots came the hosts way before Ferron cut in from the left and tried a long shot that wasn’t far over the bar.

As half time approached Sports tried to push forward and Ironmonger did well to get a cross in from the right, but there was no one to receive.

Bonser then tracked the Teversal centre forward with the whistle poised, but he still got a shot in, fortunately over the bar.

Mickleover started the second half with more determination and after 50 minutes the home keeper had to snatch the ball from Brown’s feet.

Ironmonger had a shot cleared off the line just after the hour mark and there was substantially more attacking from Sports.

Brown had a 75^th minute shot blocked, but Teversal continued to be dangerous on the break and Maher had to make a point blank save in the 76^th minute.

On a couple of occasions the Teversal keeper dropped the ball and although Mickleover cracked the shots in, luck was with the home side and there was always a defenders leg in the way.

Marshall came on for Powell in the closing minutes, but Sports did everything but score, but it ended with a 0-2 defeat and another atrocious display from the ref and his assistants.