This week we saw the first cup game of the new season and four divisional games as well. Ossett United won their second game in a row and Belper Town picked up their first point of the campaign in the North Division and in the South Division Yate Town remain unbeaten since the first game of the season.
North Cup
The ESPFA Cup kicked off this week as Witton Albion hosted Runcorn Linnets. The two #ESPFACheshire sides met for the first time this year, with Runcorn Linnets taking the win and keeping their 100% record intact. Two first-half goals from Reece Jones and Lucas Wilson were enough to seel the 2-0 win and get their cup run off to the perfect start.
North Division
In the ‘Key Matchup’, #ESPFADerbyshire sides Belper Town and Mickleover faced off with both teams in need of a win. Just 10 miles separate the clubs but during the match there was nothing that could separate them both, with the points being split after a 0-0 draw. Mickleover dominated possession for the most part, but it was Belper Town who had the best opportunities to win the game. Fynn Marshall hit the post in the first-half for the Nailers and Tom Pegg latched on to a loose back pass in the second-half but couldn’t convert. After the game, #ESPFADerbyshire student and Belper Town academy captain Harry Clements was optimistic that his side could build on this result and pick up some more points. He said: “Hopefully we can kick on, there’s plenty of games in the season so, we’ve been scoring alright, if we can just keep it tight at the back every week then I don’t see why not we can’t keep picking up points”. On the other hand, Mickleover’s Oliver Cass thought his side were lacking composure and needed to be more clinical in front of goal. He said: “We had lots of the ball, we kept it well and played round them, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
Also in the North Division, Ossett United picked up their second win in as many games with a 1-2 victory away at #ESPFAWestYorkshire rivals, Brighouse Town. The home side opened the scoring through Loghan Sheridan but that lead only lasted for five minutes as Keel Del-Grande levelled things up on the half hour mark. In the second half, Alex Taylor scored what was the winner for Ossett United and handed Brighouse Town their first defeat of the season.
Listen to the full post-match interviews from Belper Town v Mickleover below.
South Division
In the South Division, Frome Town completed a monumental come back to earn a point against Chesham United. The Robins found themselves 0-3 down at half-time after a brilliant first half performance from Chesham United. Dan Hosier, Abdul Zaman and Ryan Conquest but the away side in front in the first half but a brace from Joe Evemy-Bradley and a goal from Lewis Coles drew the sides level and earned a point from what looked like an impossible position. Frome Town now sit two points behind Chesham in the division but have two games in hand over the #ESPFABuckinghamshire side.
The other game from the South Division saw Yate Town travel to Carlton Town in a fixture that gave us the third draw of the week and saw Carlton pick up their first point of the season. The sides split the points in a 2-2 draw with Kai Smith and Liam Jones both scoring twice for their sides. Despite dropping points, Yate Town remain unbeaten since the first game of the season and remain in the hunt for the top spot in the division.
Team of the Week - #MatchweekSeven
Well done to all the students who were nominated by their coaches for this week’s edition of #TeamOfTheWeek and also a special mention to #ESPFADerbyshire student Harry Clements who was chosen as the #PlayerOfTheWeek for #MatchweekSeven after a valiant performance at the back for Belper Town helped them keep a clean sheet and earn themselves a point.
The Highlights Show
You can catch all of #MatchweekSeven’s goals and match highlights in this week’s edition of The Highlights Show