27/09/2026
A frustrating draw today in the Birmingham County League but the squad is looking strong. ⚽⚽⚽
*Match Report: Hartshill Walkers 1 – 1 Blackwood*
_Birmingham 7-a-Side Walking Football League — Sunday 27th September_
Hartshill followed up on week one’s victory with a thoroughly dominant yet ultimately frustrating 1–1 draw against Blackwood.
*Hartshill Squad & Match Stats*
Micky Renny (GK)
Andy Murdoch
Dean Tranter (c)
Nigel Campbell
Harry Singh
Graham Taylor
Richard Green
Anand Patel (A, OG)
Andy Norris
Danny Gill ⚽ (Goalscorer & Man of the Match ⭐)
The Boss: Rich Prestidge
*Match Summary*
With a full squad available, Hartshill came fast out of the blocks, pinging the ball around with sharpness and stretching the pitch right from the opening whistle. Just six minutes in, Danny Gill struck the post after some clever work from Anand Patel on the edge of the box. Moments later, Anand set up Nigel Campbell on the right, whose subsequent shot went... well, calling it "wide" might be a slight understatement!
Hartshill remained in total control. Danny Gill went close again on ten minutes following great buildup play from _England international Graham Taylor_ .
Two minutes later, the deserved breakthrough finally came: a well-worked corner routine led to a deflected shot from Anand (A) that fell right to Danny G ⚽, who calmly dispatched it to put Hartshill ahead.
Up until this point, Blackwood had barely stepped into the Hartshill half, and keeper Micky Renny hadn't had a single touch—largely thanks to Deano Tranter and Big Andy Murdoch forming an absolute wall in front of him. However, despite the lack of action, Micky somehow managed to pick up a groin strain. When he asked for a quick massage on the sidelines, my ACL miraculously healed and I sprinted off in the opposite direction!
Blackwood eventually managed to venture into the Hartshill half and earned a free-kick after a foul by Big Andy. From their one and only shot of the entire match, the ball took a cruel deflection off Anand Patel (OG), completely wrong-footing Micky to level the scores. Extremely harsh on the balance of play.
Just before the break, Hartshill thought they had restored the lead. Rich Green and England star Graham Taylor linked up beautifully through the middle to put Danny G in to score his second, but the goal was disallowed for a push—another very harsh call given the Blackwood defender was practically riding on his back.
The second half was even more one-way traffic, with Hartshill carving out chance after chance. Harry Singh was superb up front, holding the ball up intelligently and feeding in Rich Green, Graham, and Deano, who all went close. It felt like only a matter of time before the winning goal arrived, but Blackwood's goalkeeper produced an outstanding save with an outstretched leg to keep them level.
The match also saw Andy Norris make his welcome return to the side. Looking exceptionally comfortable at the back, he played like a modern-day Ronald Koeman—calmly picking out pass after pass, and almost winning it late on with a cracking long-range effort.
Hartshill pushed right up to the final whistle, but the winner eluded them, and the referee’s whistle signaled a share of the points.
*Manager’s Post-Match Thoughts & Awards*
⭐ Man of the Match: Danny Gill — Looked extraordinarily sharp in front of goal and led the line brilliantly. Best of all, he didn't run once! In fact, across our first two matches of the season, we've only had 1 running penalty called against us in total—superb discipline from the lads.
There was a brief spell where we lost our shape slightly and got drawn into things we shouldn't have. While I have to caution everyone to stay disciplined—as those reactions can easily lead to sin-bins or red cards—I secretly love the fact that this group always has each other's backs, even if it means hobbling up the pitch to support a teammate!
Looking at the big picture: with at least 70% possession, complete control of the game bar one unlucky moment, excellent tactical shape, and seamless player rotation, this team has everything. We could play that exact match ten times over and win it nine times out of ten. But that’s football—we take the point, build on the performance, and move on to the next one.
" _You can't do it alone. You need a team. Even if it's just someone to tell you when you're being an idiot."_
— Richard Pryor
