Football
Alvechurch hit 'em for six as Clarkson makes bow

ALVECHURCH secured their most impressive result of the Midland Alliance season so far as they thumped basement boys Heath Hayes 6-2 on Saturday to move up to 13th place.

The match saw the visitors hand a debut to former Birmingham City and Stoke City right back Ian Clarkson who, at the age of 41, has been snapped up by boss Dean Holtham to provide much-needed experience into the ranks of a side featuring numerous teenagers.

The damage was done by four goals in the opening 15 minutes and Holtham was purring afterwards.

"Ian's (Clarkson) input was tremendous. He played well for 80 minutes before coming off and his talking to the other players was so noticeable. We have needed that and hopefully Ian will be around here for some time now."

James Cosgrave's 20-yard strike put the visitors in front before Omari Sterling-James passed to Tristian Dunkley to double their lead.

Jazz Luckie capped a flowing move in emphatic fashion to make it 3-0 and Liam Spink's persistence then set up Sterling-James to make it 4-0 in just the 15th minute.

David Waple pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 39th minute but Alvechurch had the final say of the first half when Luckie netted from the penalty spot.

Brad Grice headed home from a corner shortly after the restart for Heath Hayes but Luckie completed the rout with half an hour remaining when Craig Gill's cross found Ryan Edmunds and the rebound from his shot fell to Luckie who completed his hat-trick.

Holtham now hopes his new-look and vibrant young team can continue this excellent form as they look to make inroads into the top half of the table, starting with tomorrow's visit of Coleshill Town to Lye Meadow.

Alvechurch then have a Polymac Packaging League Cup first round tie at home to Westfields on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Alvechurch have announced the appointment of Richard Thorndike and Dougie Griffiths to the club's board of directors.

Griffiths has been appointed as director of football and will form a close working relationship with manager Holtham.

He has a wealth of non-league experience and will continue to look at players and opposition on behalf of the management to provide a working relationship between the management and the board.

Thorndike has been appointed chief executive on the board of directors. He is the club's main sponsor this season and will also be working as the club's commercial manager.

IT WAS not such a good day for Studley who were beaten 2-0 at home by Boldmere St Michaels, who sit second in the table.

The Bees fell behind to a goal from Stuart Capaldi in the 26th minute and Simeon Maye made sure of the visitors' victory with a 90th minute effort.

Studley visit Dunkirk tomorrow before hosting Halesowen Town in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup on Tuesday.

Regional sport »