In their last game of the season and with the 'Bulldogs' already named as champions, a win was the only thing on the mind of Boldmere against a feisty and tough Coldfield Rangers. Although not at their best Boldmere never really looked like losing and eventually ran out winners at 4-1. John Haycock returned to the starting 11 with Richard McCausland absent, Chris O'Brien also returned to the bench to join, Craig Oates, James Duff, Jack Salter and Ricard Leighton on a 5 strong bench, a feature of Boldmere's success this season has been the strength in depth. Coldfield took an early lead with Boldmere looking lethargic when on 6 minutes Paul Davis upend the forward and a penalty was awarded and duly despatched by the Coldfield player. 'Bulldogs were not quite at their game to begin with but then started to carve out chances as they started to dominate possession. However Coldfield were resiliant. Chances came and went for Boldmere, but patience was the key and eventually in the 19th minute a trade mark Tom Shakespeare corner was headed back across goal for Paul Davis to acrobatically volley home a great finish. Half time came with Boldmere having dominated possession against Coldfield, but it was 1-1. Boldmere continued in the same vein in the second half knowing that more crisp passing and decisive movement was key for them to win the game. With the Rumsby Cup and title already in the bag Boldmere could be forgiven for the missing energy that has been so prominent throughout the season. However, they were still dominating and looking like scoring. In the 57th minute thats exactly what they did when the ever dangerous Che O'Connor was upended in the box and the ever reliable Liam Hannon duly despatched the resulting penalty for his 15th goal (to add to his 21 assists) of a memorable season. Boldmere continued to press and ask questions, although Coldfield were looking dangerous on their odd venture forward, but the outstanding Paul Davis was always on hand to snuff out their threat. Coldfield were noticeably tiring now and the Boldmere gaffer had entered 3 pairs of fresh legs with Chris O'Brien, Craig Oates and Jack Salter entering the fray replacing, Adam Mills, Michael Dossett and Aaron Humphries. On 82 minutes Che O'Connor chased down skipper Paul Bradys long pass, cut inside the defender with a great touch and turn of pace, before firing home his obligatory goal for his 18th goal in his 9 appearances! A fantastic effort. In the last minute of the game a decent move ended when Jack Salter finished superbly and the game was won 4-1. Cue the celebrations as the league Chairman had arrived with the division 3 trophy! A fantastic day (and night) ensued as the 'Bulldogs' showed off the silverware that they had won in what was a truly remarkable season. THE GAFFER "Im so proud of what these guys have achieved this season. We were top of the league for the first time at Christmas and have remained there for the rest of the campaign. I targeted the Rumsby Cup and league title, but we knew it would be extremely hard to achieve and knew we would have to produce something very special to do it. To win 17 league games on the trot and end up winning the last 10 on the spin in our last 10 games was nothing short of remarkable, let alone special. I have a fantastic squad of players, I have a fantastic captain and I have a fantastic team around me behind the scenes. I thank everyone of them from the bottom of my heart for creating history for this club and giving us all memories that we will always cherish. Next season will be even tougher but the 'Bulldogs' will be ready for the challenge" #WeGoAgain
