NORTHFIELD TOWN 1-0 KNOWLE FC: THE INDEPENDENT, LIGHTHEARTED MATCH REPORT + SCREENSHOTS...

 Stubborn Northfield Stifle Knowle & See A Title Approaching…

Northfield Town 1-0 Knowle FC…

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

Firstly, congratulations to Northfield Town for a gritty victory over promotion rivals Knowle FC!

A win for Knowle would have seen them clinch the MFL Division 2 title but the victory for Northfield has now offered the Birmingham club a smooth route to overtaking their visitors and winning the league. Two points from their two remaining matches will do the trick, for the frustrated Robins have now completed their fixtures…

This was a huge encounter but with Town’s other team in the Birmingham AFA Division 1 League being forced to play at 1pm on pitch two at Shenley Lane, parking cars would become really chaotic as a good number of people arrived for the MFL decider. By 1.50pm, no spaces were left in the parking lot…

When I left the ground, cars were parked on the dual carriageway’s central reservation at jaunty angles, as well as on grass verges, which was why I asked to be driven to the match and was then kindly and gratefully collected afterwards, despite heavy traffic in the area… 

The club room and bar were already busy by 2pm but it was clear that a gusty wind, bright sunlight and a dry, hard pitch would all affect the contest considerably. Northfield were in a strange situation because they needed only to avoid defeat, then take their chances in their final two matches, first at Coventry Alvis then at home to Hampton to win the competition. 

Right from the start, it was clear that Town’s offensive aspirations were hardly ambitious, as they dropped back to defend in groups against a Knowle team which struggled to create goalscoring opportunities even with the wind at their backs.  

I don’t recall a match which produced so few goalscoring opportunities or saves by the two goalkeepers, which meant that the large groups of spectators spread round the touchlines were offered little excitement, except for the arrival of the next beer and in truth, there was a dearth of atmosphere throughout.

Until, that is, the final whistle blew and Northfield’s players hooted and hollered, leapt and danced and some young children chanted at Knowle’s players and staff, 

“Top o’ the league, you’re havin’ a laff…” (Actually, they still are…)

The, er, goal chances…

A LATE CROSS BY CAL SCOTT IS KICKED CLEAR BY WALKER...

OK, so Knowle had a few shots blocked in a crowded 18 yard box, home goalie Tom Walker twice pounced on loose balls late in the match as Odane Barnes, then replacement Md Shimul lurked and in the final moments, Cal Scott’s low angled delivery deflected off the outstretched left boot of Walker.

DUGGAN FALLS BUT CAN'T GET TO A LEFT-FLANK DELIVERY...

And that was about all that the league leaders could muster. Occasional threat, barely any penetration, despite the majority of possession. 

GOOD CATCH BY WALKER...
(THE MATCH-BALL WOULD SURELY BE AWARDED TO WALKER'S GLOVES AFTER THE GAME...) 

Northfield? They scored on a first period break…

ABOVE & BELOW: WALKER FALLS UPON LOOSE BALLS...

They needed nothing more.

The uncomfortable watch… 

As an independent reporter, it is always tough to be forced to comment on a contest which features less on the skills shown, the shots struck, the saves made and the excitement produced but more on the conditions, the attitudes, the inept handling of a game by officials and alarmingly, the time wasting which began in the 19th minute.

I had checked the time when home gloveman Walker first took an embarrassing age to collect and release the ball but I have to admit that in his position, I would likely have done exactly the same thing…

Walker wasn’t cautioned for his go-slow activities until well into the second period…

Town’s players were not averse to unnecessarily blasting the ball into the large grassy areas beyond the pitch either but although the referee was able to call for another ball, it was often slow to be served onto the pitch. Tactical and very effective…

Northfield’s players going down with apparent knocks happened several times too, all designed to disrupt Knowle, which was another successful ruse and an understandable tactic with so much at stake. Late substitutions were made regularly by Northfield too, again causing stoppages which affected the game’s flow, or its hustle, bustle and muscle, I should say…

However, the main official would never be likely to add on the full amount of time wasted and of course, Knowle’s frustrations were continually increased. Anyway, Villa’s home game v Notts Forest was on TV from 5.30pm. Just sayin’… 

The main official struggled to keep a lid on the physical side of the encounter but maybe cautions for Town’s Chris Tabberner and Knowle’s Ricardo Dudley after an early squaring-up might have set the tone for a more cautious approach by any players who were gunning for a set-to with their opponents.

Tabberner played on the edge, often being involved in a cameo of cynical banter towards and from the Knowle dugout and in all honesty he was fortunate to avoid a second yellow card before being sensibly replaced. However Dudley was also lucky not to receive a second caution for hauling Walker to the ground late in the proceedings, as if he was auditioning for a wrestling job on TV.

The Northfield defensive performance…

Effective, extreme and endlessly excellent…

The concentration by Dan Morris, Brad Hendry, Dan Wells and Jack Wilson could not really be faulted, as they denied the misfiring Robins time and again and kept them at arm’s length. 

Supported by the midfielders, Town’s back line offered solid protection for Walker, who was subsequently able to mop up loose balls, lie on them, take a break, eat a Kit-Kat, take in the sunlight for a few seconds and only then hammer the ball as far away from his penalty-box as his foot would allow.  

Job done.

The unexpected Northfield goal… 

Knowle had been on the offensive but the ball was then pummelled clear by the hosts from the left-back position. When it landed, the bounce, as if from a garden trampoline, sent the the ball high, as Knowle defender Anton Caines-Powell chased back, with the nippy Josh Roberts on his heels. However, the Town man read the trajectory better and latched onto the ball at the edge of the 18 yard box, before firing an acceptable volleyed finish past the very stranded visiting goalminder Nathan Taylor…

THE CHASE...

ROBERTS HOLDS OFF CAINES-POWELL...

...& SHOOTS PAST TAYLOR...

...INTO THE EMPTY NET...

...FOR 1-0...

And that was very much that…

The final thoughts…

Despite some enterprising play by Knowle’s two Scotts, Cal and Toby, a few clever rushes by winger Hayden Purves, plus some powerful heading by central defender Jack Duggan, until he was hurt before the break, Knowle were unable to pierce the intense Town defence and much of the play was confined to downtown and was thus often easier to defend against.

One or two lively moments from substitute Md Shimul livened Knowle up a little but two late goals were never likely and Northfield took the honours… 

When Jack McGinn appeared as a Town replacement, his one very smart pass set up an attack on the right but it fizzled out and the fact that that moment of creation was memorable, probably says it all…  

Finally, as the relieved and even more thirsty crowd drifted away to the bar to find some comfort, I headed for the loo but all three of the urinals were being used, as were the two cubicles. Two partly consumed beers lay on the shelf and when a tall guy exited a cubicle, instead of making way for me, he simply lifted up the left leg of his mate who was in mid-pee and held it there… 

The peeing fellow hopped as he peed and then the beers were claimed…

I managed to squeeze past the leg-holder and trod through the urine splattered floor, covered by wet loo-roll to pee into a toilet which likely hadn’t been flushed since I had been there at around 2.30pm.

The joys…

I chewed my gum, squeezed past the bar revellers and picked up my lift home…