In #MatchweekTwo of the 2020/21 ESPFA season, with most teams playing their second game of the season and starting to find their feet, it provided for some excellent football. There was no shortage of goals this week, with 14 teams in action across the country scoring a combined total of 42 goals between them.
NORTHERN DIVISION
Six teams were in action in the Northern Division this week including Ossett United who got off to a brilliant start to the season last week, after they beat Yorkshire rivals Brighouse Town. They continued their good start and became the only team in the Northern Division to win their first two games after a 4-3 thriller vs Witton Albion. Witton Albion took a 0-2 lead in the game inside 15-minutes but an own goal before half time reduced the deficit to 1-2 at half time. A second half hat trick from Carl Clarkson sealed the points for Ossett United and also earned Clarkson the title of ‘Player of the Week!’ for #MatchweekTwo. Runcorn Linnets welcomed Radcliffe to the Millbank Linnets stadium but couldn’t build on their winning start from last week as the visitors won 1-3. Despite going in at half time 1-0 down, a brilliant second-half performance, where Radcliffe scored three goals earned them the points. In the final Northern Division matchup, Mossley made the short trip from Greater Manchester over the West Yorkshire border to face Brighouse Town. Mossley were searching to keep their winning start intact and Brighouse were hoping to put their defeat by Ossett United behind them and get their first points on the board. Brighouse started the game well and found themselves in poll position to go on and win the game at 2-0 up at half time. Mossley never gave up though and a resilient second half performance saw them score two goals to earn themselves a point from the game.
MIDLANDS DIVISION
In the Midlands Division, Mickleover (Red) were in action for the first time this season and got off to flyer after beating Derbyshire rivals Belper Town 0-9. Bobby Battisson scored a first half hat trick and Brodie Carter scored a late brace to do the damage for Mickleover (Red) and kickstart their campaign with an emphatic win. Stafford Rangers travelled to Mickleover (Black) and got their second win from as many games and are the only team in the division to do so. In a 1-3 win, Jayden Hunter scored another brace along with Leon McDonald scoring the opener to help Stafford Rangers carry on their winning form. Rushall Olympic (Amber) were in action again and after a disappointing loss to Stafford Rangers in week one, they were keen to get their first points of the campaign as they welcomed Carlton Town. The Nottinghamshire side were playing their first game of the ESPFA 2020/21 season after not being in action in #MatchweekOne but will be disappointed with their start as they were beat 7-2. Ethan Pearce scored a hat trick in the first half with only eight minutes between his first goal and his third, and a brace from Hayden Brown wrapped up an impressive win for Rushall Olympic (Amber).
SOUTHERN DIVISION
In the only Southern Division match in #MatchweekTwo, Rushall Olympic (Black) were beaten 3-4 by Chesham United in a highly competitive game. Chesham United took an early lead in the game through Maddison Wilkin, but Rushall were soon on top after Jordan Hobbs and an own goal put them in front at half time. Chesham United rallied back in the second half and an equaliser from Jake Amos Astley and a third goal from Callum Gerrard was enough to secure the points for Chesham United who move to two wins from their opening two games.
Team of the Week
As players begin to gel together in their teams and coaches are starting to put their style of play into action, lots of players were out to impress in #MatchweekTwo. Congratulations to all the students that were nominated by their coaches and selected for the Team of the Week and also a special mention to Carl Clarkson of Ossett United who scored a hat trick vs Witton Albion to help his team to two wins from their first two games and earn himself the title of ‘Player of the Week!’ for #MatchweekTwo.
Match Highlights
Watch all of the goals and match action from #MatchweekTwo in the Highlights Show. Two 9-goal-games, a 7-goal thriller and some brilliant goals all make for an excellent edition of the Highlights Show.