After last weeks poor turn out and a few regulars not able to play it was a nightmare just to field a side .Des was called from his bed at 9.45 to make up the numbers and enjoyed taking part in one of the best games of the year against a very strong Droitwich A side. Goals from Danny (2) ,Tony ,a penalty from Mudgie on his debut and just to round it off a volley from Shaun after coming on for the last 15 mins sealed the win and made us uncatchable in the table.

Sunday May 6th v Bredon Won 4-2
A bare 11 travelled to Bredon to face a team that has been short of players in every match so far only to find them with a glut of subs on the sideline. Cookie picked up an injury early on and we were forced to play the majority of the match with 10 men.However our form continued and we ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Sunday April 29th v Old Norts Won 7-3

An excellent performance against a very useful Old Norts side who despite being short of a regular keeper and having to borrow cookie to make up their 11 still had some very good players on view. Tony Higgins hit a fine hat-trick and led the line superbly throughout. Derek, Napper , Dave and Mark completed the scoring and although we took our foot off the pedal late on the result was never in doubt. After a few late withdrawals we were grateful to Dunc Taylor and Stevie Dorrell for helping us out at the last minute.Cookie turned up full of flu and agreed to play up front for Old Norts, then duly created several chances for himself before netting late in the second half.

Tues April 15th v Pershore 1-1

A useful away point against our main rivals for the league .After taking the lead with a header from Squirrel a couple of injuries left us struggling towards the end and Pershore equalised late in the game ensuring we are still neck and neck with them at the top of the table.

Sunday Feb 25th v Droitwich A (cup)lost 2-3

A disappointing end to an even game played on a very poor surface. After reaching halftime at 0-0 we restarted brightly and were soon 2 goals up and looking to put the match out of reach.Droitwich pushed on in numbers and after loosing the initial impetus we conceded 3 poor goals to finish our cup run at the first hurdle.
Napper was sorely missed but the pitch was the winner against our many ball players.

Sunday Feb 11th v Droitwich B Won 7-1

A comfortable win against one of our oldest rivals gave Shaun a chance to make a few subs and give everyone a run out . A score of 5-0 at halftime ensured the result was never in doubt and it should see us nicely in tune for the cup game against Droitwich' A team next week.

Sunday Jan 28th v Enville 3-1

This is usually one of our more difficult fixtures and with one or two lads unavailable and a couple struggling with injuries it was no surprise to go a goal down. The turning point was the loss of their centre midfield player and after Charlie had managed to emulate Rooney's goal from the previous evening and lob the keeper it was left to Napper to seal the win with 2 close range efforts.

We now enter our busy spell with 6 games in 8 weeks so player availability is crucial, please let Shaun know well in advance of any dates you cannot fulfil.

Sunday Jan 7th v Stourbridge 4-0

Another soaking wet day with the match in doubt up until one hour before kickoff. We were already short of 3 regulars before losing another on the morning of the game, but Tony Higgins used his contacts to the full and we were able to twist an arm or two and persuade a couple that they would be much better off in the rain at Stourbridge than sat by the fire watching Villa lose. Stourbridge had not lost a game this season and sit at the top of conference A whilst our own form has been inconsistent at best. However, right from the start we attacked their defence with Danny creating havoc down the right and it was no surprise that we turned round at half-time 3 up after goals from Charlie, Derek and Lee. Stourbridge poured forward after the restart and the midfield and defence superbly marshalled by Martin were excellent. Rather than concede a goal we had more chances on the break and Danny sealed a fine performance after netting our 4th.

Sunday Dec 10th v Tividale 1-6

It was touch and go whether the game would get played after days of heavy rain and in hindsight a postponement would have suited us. Tividale have a very strong and youthful (for over 40s)side and looked full of goals from the off. However after falling behind we pulled a goal back and only trailed 2-1 at halftime and had created by far the better chances.After losing Kevin we were handicapped by lack of variety on the bench and poor defending and a few basic errors gifted Tividale a flattering 6-1 scoreline.

Sunday Nov 12th.
Crown Sports 2 Pershore 2

Lack of games is proving a handicap at the moment with players not really getting the chance to adjust to each others play and more obviously not able to reach the required fitness levels.With a couple of regulars missing we still fielded a useful side and should have made more of our possesion. Pershore defended in numbers and we were forced to come from behind twice to earn a deserved point. The first goal was certainly scored by Shaun, the second he claims was deftly flicked in by what used to his quiff but squirrel disputes this, anyway at least it was credited to a Parker.

Sunday Oct 15th.

Droitwich B 3 Crown Sports 5

According to Shaun we should have won this game at a gallop after missing a penalty and several easy chances, but at least we secured the points thanks mostly to 4 goals from Squirrel.(thats now 7 in 2 games).

Ssunday 1st October 2006

Crown Vets 2 Bredon Vets 2

After dominating the first 35 minutes of the match we went a goal down to a spirited Bredon side shortly before half-time. We had already hit the bar and upright as well as missing several half chances. Our efforts to get back in the game were made even harder when Bredon made it 2-0 early in the second half. The remainder of the game saw almost total Crown pressure with chance after chance being wasted. With a little under 15 minutes remaining Lilly replaced Kevin and his appearance on the pitch at the ripe old age of 51 somehow inspired the team to continue the onslaught. Tony Higgins pulled one back before several more goal bound shots were either saved or deflected wide, he then secured our second and equalising goal with literally seconds remaining. A fast and furious game without one bit of malice from either side.

Sunday 17th September 2006

Crown Vets 4 Brerton Vets 1

After only completing our one and only training session/friendly 6 days before, we opened our account with a fine win against Brerton Vets. With at least 7 of last years regulars missing we still managed to field a strong side plus 4 subs. The partnership between Tony and Squirrel up front was key to winning the match with the 4 goals shared between the two. Squirrel deservedly achieved the first hat-trick of the season and Tony had enough chances to do the same. With only Andy Turner remaining from last years defence Graham C., Cookie and Cheeser played their part in keeping Brerton out until the final few minutes. Sean was able to give everybody a rest and all the subs were used to good effect.

Next match Home to Bredon FC Oct 1st k.o. 11.00am

Dave Gwinnell of Tividale Old Boys has very kindly set up a website for all the clubs in the West Mids Veterans to use.
The link is http://westmidlandvets.leaguerepublic.com

WELCOME TO SEASON 2006/2007

It is with much sadness that we have to record the passing away of 2 local footballers. Phil Green only appeared for the Crown in a few friendly matches but has played against us dozens of times over the years both in Kidderminster League and veterans football.

Martin Yarranton (Macca) on the other hand was like his brothers a Crown player for several years and will be sorely missed. We send our condolences to John and Pauline and all the lads and will ensure that Macca's spirit lives on in some part of the Crown.

League formation 2006/2007.

Our spell in the conference A was short-lived and we will play the coming season in conference B against Pershore, Brerton, Bredon and Droitwich B. We will play all the conference A sides at least once during the year and possibly more during the cup draw.

For the first time in several years we struggled with player availability last season and it seems the majority would prefer to play Sunday mornings.
This gives a chance to those involved in junior football to play in the vets and still organise their activities in the afternoon. With matches kicking off at 11.00 most games should finish round about 12.20 and no side is further than 40 minutes away so this should enable us to keep a few players in the squad that would otherwise be unavailable.