Boldmere St. Michaels Reserves 5-1 Fairfield Villa
The Mikes bounced back from the heartbreak of their last gasp cup final defeat on Monday, to return home from Bromsgrove Rovers with the Smedley Crooke Cup. The Mikes last won the trophy in 2004-05.
The Mikes started at a furious pace as they threatened to overrun Fairfield, who are currently chasing the runners up spot in Midland Combination Division 1.
The Mikes grabbed the lead through a bizarre own goal. A corner was miscued skywards by a defender. As the ball dropped, the goalkeeper flapped at the ball and only succeeded in diverting the ball into the net.
The Mikes were defending well and playing some lovely football. It was soon 2-0 when Lyndon Weller was released on goal. The keeper made an excellent save to atone for his earlier error, but the loose ball rebounded to Weller. Rather than shoot from a very tight angle, Weller coolly picked out Mark Mason. He took a touch to stready himself before picking his spot past two covering defenders on the goal line.
The Mikes looked like scoring at will, as first Mark Mason then Scott Barker were denied by the overworked keeper.
Just as the Mikes looked to settle for 2-0 at the break, Fairfield were right back in it with a goal out of nothing. Good work on the left and a cross to the far post gave the chance for a simple finish.
The goal obviously changed the dynamics of the game, as after the break it was Fairfield in the ascendancy. The Worcestershire side enjoyed the majority of the early territorial advantage as the Mikes distribution became a little wayward.
Although Fairfield were on top, Sean Butler in the Mikes goal was not seriously troubled. Indeed, it was the Mikes who all but secured the win with the critical beakthrough. The keeper called for a through ball as he advanced from goal, but his defender touched the ball back. The keeper was unable to adjust his feet quickly enough, allowing Roland Agbor to walk the ball into the empty net.
The nature of the goal knocked some of the stuffing out of Fairfield as the Mikes regained control. A neat through ball into the area was seized upon by the onrushing Kevin Buxton, who waltzed round the keeper to walk the ball home.
Iy was clearly party time now, and the icing on the cake came courtesy of the goal of the game. Andy Lewis produced a glorious defence splitting ball to pick out the marauding Jamel fuller in the inside left channel. Fuller took a touch before nut-megging the keeper to round off the scoring.
The Mikes deserve the utmost credit for the way they responded to their cup final defeat in the dying minutes of extra time, only three days earlier. The 5-1 scoreline may have been a little harsh on Fairfield, but the Mikes were clearly the better side and fully deserved the silverware, which is excellent reward for efforts of the players and management duo John Wilson and Mick Hawkins.
Boldmere: Sean Butler; John Rutter; Jamel Fuller; Shane Maydhew; Andra Calder; Scott Barker; Kevin Buxton; Andy Lewis; Mark Mason; Lyndon Weller; Roland Agbor.
Subs: Declan Clarke; Danny Dubidat; Jamie Fisher; Jack Brown.
