football rambles

I expected Rocester to struggle against Oldbury on Tuesday night, as they have really been playing quite badly of late. Matches between the two clubs also have a reputation of being closely fought affairs, although the first meeting between the clubs in 1988 in the West Midlands Regional League ended in a 4-0 defeat at home for Rocester. On Tuesday they got their revenge for this and beat Oldbury 4-1. Oldbury went ahead on 23 minutes when Max Bissell put the visitors ahead and for most of the first half it looked like Rocester would be well beaten. However in the second half we saw a very different Rocester who ran Oldbury ragged and dominated the game. The Romans drew level when Chris Sleath, who signed last week from Gresley Rovers, was fouled in the area and Paul Millward scored from the spot. On 69 minutes Sleath scored to put Rocester in the lead and then it was the turn of Lee Bagley, who had only just come on as a substitute to score on 80 minutes and then again in stoppage time...

Oldbury United are playing Rocester up the road tonight and with nothing much else to do and being a glutton for punishment I will be at the game. Oldbury, despite their name and the age of most of the clubs in the Midlands Football Alliance were formed as late as 1958. They joined the Worcestershire Combination, which was later called the Midland Football Combination, in 1966. In 1982 they moved up to the Southern League Midland Division, where their highest finish was 3rd, however in 1985-86 they finished bottom and went into the West Midlands Regional League. In 1993 they won the Championship and in 1994 they became founder members of the Midlands Football Alliance. Their highest finish in the MFA has been 3rd, but last season they narrowly avoided relegation when they finished 21st. They weren't helped though by having to play the first half of the season at Pelsall Villa's Bush Ground when there was a legal dispute over the use of their 'The Beeches' ground in Tivi...