Saints on the march

Boldmere St Michaels FC 3 (Baker, Osborne, Edmunds)

Tipton Town FC 2 (Ashton, Gater)

Midland Football Alliance, 16th November 2013

Attendance - 84 (officially but more present) 

I didn't intend to even go to this game, but Boldmere is a ground I've been meaning to go to for over a year now. I was expecting my choice to either be Stapenhill, Bolehall or Tamworth, out of which I would have probably gone to Bolehall but looking at the time and how to get their I decided it wasn't too late and the destination was the Mikes. I always look at their results and have been monitoring their progress this season, the club are going well in the MFA where they are established and have a record for being friendly. They're currently 3rd in the league having won all of their home games where as Tipton have yet to win an away game lying 12th in the league, there can only be one outcome.

On arrival at the ground I paid my admission, got my programme and went for a walk around. First thoughts are that it was a very pleasant place with a modern seating stand running along one side and large changing rooms/ food/ bar behind the home goal. The slope on the pitch was noticeable and exploited a lot throughout the game but not too bad. Everyone was very friendly and I took a seat about half way to get a good view of the action. There was plenty of parking at the ground and the sports club was located on the opposite side to the seats. Supporters were in high spirits and all were celebrating 70 years service at the club for Harry Peakman. It was great to see support for him and the club for what truly is a remarkable achievement. I had a minute or two before the game to flick through my programme which is a goo read for only £1, 20 pages in full colour and everything you want really however there doesn't appear to be an MFA league table? Only thing I noticed but it does already appear to be packed with notes, information and adverts which I can't complain about, plus I'm usually quite picky on programmes because I love collecting them.

Onto the game and it started off in full flow, both teams looked confident with good attacking moves but the first goal of the game went predictably to the hosts. A short corner was passed back to Baker who's shot curled perfectly into the top left corner of the net for Boldmere 1-0 Tipton early on. From here on the home side could assert their dominance further and had a number of attacking opportunities,  the second goal came from a great piece of play where a the ref giving advantage led to the winger put a low ball into the box for Osborne to poke it home for 2-0 to Boldmere. Many would have thought that the Mikes would go on and win comfortably from here but no, Tipton came back into it. A well taken shot saw the ball bounce off the crossbar and fall straight into the path of the supporting striker for a tap in and reduced the gap to 1. Boldmere 2-1 Tipton was how it remained at half time.

Both teams came out for the second half which was quite tense as a goal either way would completely change the game, most of the play was in the midfield and neither team could really find a clear opening. The 4th goal of the game was for Boldmere, a corner was whipped in from the right an found the head of unmarked Edmunds at the far post, surely the result was safe at 3-1? What must have been no more than 2 minutes later I was tweeting the goal when I suddenly looked up to find a low shot go into the bottom left corner from Gater to make it Boldmere 3-2 Tipton. Game on again!

From here on it became even more tense when a quick attacking move saw a shot creeping into the corner saved well from the Mikes keeper which found the Tipton oncoming striker but his stab at the ball somehow found the keepers arms from a brilliant dive, so so close! That proved costly as it was their best chance for 3-3 and even though they still troubled it wasn't enough to find another goal. The fascinating and very close game ended Boldmere 3-2 Tipton and was a great advert for non league football on the international break weekend.

After the game I had a final walk around and asked an official if I'd be able to buy a club badge, which I did for £3 and I left the ground very happy, can't wait to return!

Admission - £3 (concessions) £5 Adults £1 for local season ticket holders
Programme - £1 (20 pages full colour)
Badge - £3 (Very nice!)

Entertainment - 4/5
Price - 4.5/5 (about average for the league but still very good value)
Programme - 4.5/5 (very good read, but lots of adverts)
Facilities - 4/5 (everything you need and all very modern, lots of parking)

Pictures all taken by me