Burton Albion opened their Group 1 campaign with a 5-0 victory over Austrey Rangers who were thankful for goalkeeper Ellis Hunkins keeping the score down. Romulus had their scoring boots on when they faced Pilkington XXX and rattled up ten goals to their opponents one. Pilkington fared slightly better when they took on Burton but despite pulling a goal back when two down it was Burton who went on to win 6-1. Romulus had Jim Dale, Paul Murchington and Courtney Richards all scoring hat-tricks while Jan Trapszo capped that by getting on the scoresheet four times in a 17-0 win over Austrey Rangers who, despite their heavy defeat, earned the appreciation of those watching for their spirited performance. Austrey, after going one behind against Pilkington, scored their first goal but the understandable celebrations seemed to distract them from the game at hand and they fell behind yet again. They then went on to take a 3-2 lead which Pilkington pulled back with a penalty. It was another spot-kick which gave Austrey a 4-3 victory. Romulus and Burton faced each other both defending 100% records and it was Romulus who kept theirs with a 3-1 win.
Group 1 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Romulus 3 3 0 0 30 2 28 9
2 Burton Albion 3 2 0 1 12 4 8 6
3 Austrey Rangers 3 1 0 2 4 25 -21 3
4 Pilkington XXX 3 0 0 3 5 20 -15 0
Group 2 was hit by the withdrawal of Allexton before a game had been played. In the first game Nottingham City started slowly but soon adapted to the pace to provide an even game against Bedworth United. Ashleigh Reid gave Nottingham the lead. Slack marking let in James Ritson to bring Bedworth level before his team-mate Karabo Motshweni scored to earn the three points for Bedworth. Atherstone were unable to field a side to play Nottingham but they did manage to fulfil their fixture against Bedworth. Bedworth took a two-goal first-half lead and doubled their tally within ten minutes of the restart. Atherstone showed considerable improvement after this and managed to get two goals back but still finished on the wrong end of a 4-2 defeat.
Group 2 P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
1 Bedworth United 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 3 3 6
2 Nottingham City 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0
3 Atherstone 1 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 -2 0
Redditch United got off to a great start in Group 3 with a goal inside two minutes against Kidderminster Harriers and then going on to win 4-2. Two first-half goals were enough for Sutton Town to beat Stratford Town. In the second matches Redditch were again ahead early against Kidderminster but the hosts were soon back level. Redditch were kept at bay by some great shot stopping by Ryan Andrews before taking the lead again just before half-time. Andrews continued to impress before his side managed to get the equaliser for a 2-2 final score. In their rematch it was Sutton who took the lead against Stratford who then looked to be likely to come back but were held off by the Sutton defence. Three more goals in the last ten minutes gave Sutton a greater margin of victory than the balance of play had suggested. Sutton mounted a number of attacks in their game against Kidderminster but solid defending and some unbelievable saves, including from a penalty, by Aaron Thomasson kept out most of the Sutton attacks but they did manage a goal either side of the interval to make it three wins out of three. Stratford recorded their first win when they defeated redditch by three goals to nil.
Group 3 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Sutton Town 3 3 0 0 8 0 8 9
2 Redditch United 3 1 1 1 6 7 -1 4
3 Stratford Town 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
4 Kidderminster 3 0 1 2 4 8 -4 1
An impressive showing by Solihull Moors saw them record the first of their three victories when they beat Boldmere St. Michaels 5-1 on the opening day. Tividale put four past Woodford United without reply but the game was more evenly contested than the score suggests. Solihull picked up their second five-goal haul against Woodford. It was Woodford who opened the scoring but they went 5-1 down before pulling one back late on for the end result of 5-2. Solihull took the lead three times against Tividale with the winner, to make it 3-2, coming in time added on at the end of the game. Woodford found themselves three down against Boldmere, the first two goals coming from set pieces, before they scored their only goal towards the end of the match.
Group 4 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Solihull Moors 3 3 0 0 13 5 8 9
2 Tividale 2 1 0 1 6 3 3 3
3 Boldmere 2 1 0 1 4 6 -2 3
4 Woodford United 3 0 0 3 3 12 -9 0
Group 5 is incredibly tight with three teams on 6 points and each with a goal difference of just +1. All games in the group have been settled by a one-goal margin! With the score at 1-1 it was a penalty that was the difference between the sides which gave Gloucester City a 2-1 win over Newport County. Newport took the lead in the next game but again lost to Gloucester, the score this time being 2-3. Worcester City were well on top in the first half against Stourport Swifts and took a 3-0 lead but the second half belonged to Stourport but they managed only two in reply before the game ended 3-2 to Worcester. In the return meeting Matty Smith gave Stourport the lead with Bradley Murrihy then equalising for Worcester before Sam Slater again put Stourport ahead. A goalless second half ensured a Stourport win. Stourport scored after five minutes when they played Gloucester and should have been ahead at the break but instead changed round at 1-1. It was Stourport who got the only other goal of the game to win 2-1. Newport scored first when they played Worcester and led again after conceding an equaliser but went on to lose 3-2.
Group 5 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Worcester City 3 2 0 1 7 6 1 6
2 Gloucester City 3 2 0 1 6 5 1 6
3 Stourport Swifts 3 2 0 1 6 5 1 6
4 Newport County 3 0 0 3 5 8 -3 0
In Group 6 the opener between Aylestone Park and Hinckley United saw both sides enjoy good spells but it was Jake Woolley's treble that gave Aylestone a 3-0 victory. He scored again in the next game between the two after Hinckley had failed to convert their chances. Asa McCoy also found the net to give Aylestone a two-goal interval lead. Luke Hartwell's goal for Hinckley set up the chance of a comeback but Aylestone held on to win 2-1. A solid Judgemeadow back line and a brilliant display by Brandon Orchard in goal kept out Shirley Town and enabled Judgemeadow to take a two-goal lead. Shirley pulled one back before conceding another for the game to finish 3-1 to Judgemeadow. A penalty gave Judgemeadow the advantage in the next game. Shirley equalised just after the restart and then took the lead which was then cancelled out before a late winner made it Shirley's turn to take the three points. Shirley and Hinckley both contributed to a very even game which finished 1-1. Judgemeadow withstood early Aylestone pressure to take the lead. Aylestone got one back tomake it 2-1 but Judgemeadow went on to win 4-1.
Group 6 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Judgemeadow 3 2 0 1 9 5 4 6
2 Aylestone Park 3 2 0 1 6 5 1 6
3 Shirley Town 3 1 1 1 5 6 -1 4
4 Hinckley United 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1
Mangotsfield started their season well with a 5-0 victory over Bristol Rovers (SW). Early pressure from JS Soccer One paid off when Jake Jackson opened the scoring to put them a goal up but Yate Town replied through Matt harding and Dan Clement to give them the 2-1 win in an exciting end to end game. A very good game between Bristol Rovers and Mangotsfield saw the visitors complete the double, this time by 4-0. An entertaining rematch between JS Soccer and Yate was settled 3-2 in JS Soccer's favour thanks to a penalty five minutes from time. A hard fought but fairly contested game between Mangotsfield and JS Soccer provided a lot more thrills than just the two goals, from Jake Jackson for JS Soccer then Aubrey Nyathi for Mangotsfield, which resulted in a fair result of 1-1. In a fast-paced game between Yate and Bristol Rovers it was Yate who took a 3-0 lead into the break before a more even second half with chances at both ends but which produced just the one goal when Jordan Harding scored for Rovers.
Group 7 P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Mangotsfield 3 2 1 0 10 1 9 7
2 Yate Town 3 2 0 1 7 5 2 6
3 JS Soccer One 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
4 Bristol Rovers (SW) 3 0 0 3 1 12 -11 0
Burton Albion opened their Group 1 campaign with a 5-0 victory over Austrey Rangers who were thankful for goalkeeper Ellis Hunkins keeping the score down. Romulus had their scoring boots on when they faced Pilkington XXX and rattled up ten goals to their opponents one. Pilkington fared slightly better when they took on Burton but despite pulling a goal back when two down it was Burton who went on to win 6-1. Romulus had Jim Dale, Paul Murchington and Courtney Richards all scoring hat-tricks while Jan Trapszo capped that by getting on the scoresheet four times in a 17-0 win over Austrey Rangers who, despite their heavy defeat, earned the appreciation of those watching for their spirited performance. Austrey, after going one behind against Pilkington, scored their first goal but the understandable celebrations seemed to distract them from the game at hand and they fell behind yet again. They then went on to take a 3-2 lead which Pilkington pulled back with a penalty. It was another spot-kick which gave Austrey a 4-3 victory. Romulus and Burton faced each other both defending 100% records and it was Romulus who kept theirs with a 3-1 win.