The opening game of the season saw Coldfield host Birchmoor FC at Moor lane. After a decent pre-season Coldfield went into the game full of confidence, but it was Birchmoor who started the better putting Coldfield under pressure from the start. Coldfield's organisation and confidence seemed to deteriorate rapidly within the first ten minutes and the opposition snatched upon these nerves to take control of the game.
Birchmoor's speedy number 10 caused problems for the Coldfield defence with his pace and movement and created gaps in a normally solid Coldfield backline. CRFC gave away a succession of free kicks and it was from one of these that the visitors took the lead. They clinically dispatched a free kick form twenty yards out as Birchmoor's number 7 scored with a well placed shot into the bottom corner.
Coldfield went on the attack immediately via some tidy build up play down the left, with Adam Read pulling the strings and some good work from Callum Walker CRFC should have been level but Callum's shot was straight at the keeper.
Birchmoor got a second after a long goal kick that Coldfield didn't deal, looped over the CRFC backline and fell straight to the number 10 who scored with ease. Coldfield went went into half time losing two nil with a very bad defensive display and an impotent attacking line behind them and changes were made. If Aaron Timmis hadn't pulled off two saves, one an excellent stop to prevent another one on one opportunity, things could have been a lot worse.
The changes were rung at half time as the manager tried to salvage something from the game, making all three substitutions and leaving a brave Daniel Neil on the field with a bandaged head wound. Alan Wilcox came on for Jon McNamee, who was suffering with an injury, which saw Liam Cullen drop into the centre back role, Darryl Higgins came on for Callum Walker up top and Ashley Chapman on for Jayden Sharma with Adam Hazel then slotting back into his natural left back position. Coldfield came out a different team second half coming close a few times with long range shots from Adam Read, Tommy Nevitt and a free kick from Alan Wilcox. However, as much as Coldfield had far more possession and retained the ball better, the accuracy of the final ball and a cutting edge up front were missing with only two strikes in the Birchmoor box.
The pressure finally paid off with a move down the right seeing Higgins beat his man and drilling in a low cross finding Nevitt with a simple tap in. This demonstrated the weakness in the Birchmoor defence, and the manager sent messages onto the pitch to isolate the full back in the hope that more joy would come from that area of the pitch. However, Birchmoor seemed to have "parked the bus" and Coldfield were unable to break them down in the last fifteen minutes, going close in the last minute with an audacious Nevitt effort that flashed just over from twenty five yards. The game finished 2-1, and although it was a game of two halves which Rangers didnt turn up to first half, the squad and management will be bitterly disappointed with this start to the season.
With key players coming back and hard work to be done in training this was a minor set back in our quest for the league title.
