Rain decimates weekend action
Just two games beat the torrential rain in the West Midlands League Premier Division on Saturday – but there was only one goal between them to show for their efforts.
OJM Black Country Rangers maintained their unbeaten start to the season after holding third-placed Bilston Town Community to a goalless draw.
Though some teams in the division have played as many as nine matches, this was only OJM’s third league encounter of the campaign.
Bilston have won five of their seven games, drawing this one and losing the other, to sit five points behind leaders Shifnal Town with a game in hand.
The only goal of the day arrived in Darlaston Town’s first match for eight weeks.
It was a winning goal for Darlo, though, as they recorded their second victory of the season by downing Dudley Town at the Aspray Arena.
In the enforced absence, Darlaston boss Nick Lewis has been busy reinforcing his squad as he gave debuts to seven new signings.
Tom Kirkpatrick (Alvechurch), Stefan Walker (Market Drayton Town), Ronee Hendricks (Wolverhampton Sporting), Maxwell Ngbeken (Warstone Wanderers), Omar Haughton ( Sporting Khalsa) and the returning TJ Davies ( Tipton Town) all started, while second-half substitute Sheikh Barrow (Coton Green) made it seven.
It was perhaps no surprise then that three of those new signings combined for the only goal of the game on four minutes when Haughton, Hendrick and Walker linked up before the latter muscled past a defender and struck a powerful low drive beyond the goalkeeper.
Few matches also beat the weather in the Midland League, with Tividale earning a 1-1 draw at home to Worcester City in the Premier Division thanks to Lewis McPike’s eighth-minute effort.
In Division One, Brocton and Leicester Road played out a pulsating 0-0 draw, but there were 2-1 defeats for Lichfield City, at home to Chelmsley Town, and Stafford Town, at Nuneaton Griff.
