Tag: Erdington United

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FEATURE: League champions Erdington United bring home a double trophy haul

Words and pics by Liam Smith

Erdington United are celebrating another successful season in the Sutton & District League, bringing home a double trophy haul, finishing as champions of both Division One and the George Cup.

The league season has been a massive success, with United topping the table by four points. In the 16-game season, 12 wins and two draws saw the local side pick-up 38 points. Promotion from Division One will see them enter the Sutton & District Premier Division, the highest tier of the league ladder.

The league was sealed with a game to spare, with Erdington United only needing to win one of their remaining two games, after a tight 1-0 victory to league runners-up Romulus FC. This secures a trophy double for the season as well as back-to-back league titles.

Earlier in the season Erdington United claimed the George Cup. In February at Cole’s Lane, Erdington United took on Rosey Macs, another local club, in a fiercely contested final in front of a strong crowd. It was a hard-fought victory for Erdington which saw a late goal secure the cup winning 3-2.

It was not the only cup final Erdington United reached this season; a defeat at the Birmingham FA headquarters in the County Cup final to Trooper FC was disappointing for the players and supporters, however the bad result had a tough task of putting any dampeners on the season overall.

Erdington Local spoke with Tyler Ward, the club’s manager, who said: “Overall, the season has been very positive. The league and cup double is not something to be sniffed at. I said from the start that the league was a minimum for this season.”

Tyler added: “We wanted to win the County Cup, so obviously it was disappointing to lose in that final. However, it was a good learning experience for the lads.”

Oran Grigg, defender for Erdington United, told Erdington Local: “It was a good season, we had a lot of up and down results; had more have gone our way we could have secured the league earlier. Injuries, illnesses etc made this difficult also.

“The success we had in the George Cup final beating Rosey Macs coupled with the league win overall has made it a very successful season for us.”

In terms of their aspirations for next season, Erdington United will need to be playing at the top of their game, as the Premier Division will boast new difficult challenges.

Tyler continued: “We don’t want to just take part in the Premier Division next season. I think we’re good enough to mount a challenge and we will give it a good go.”

Thomas Gardiner, midfielder for Erdington United, added: “In terms of next season we are aware of the quality that is in that league.

“We know we will need to be at our best week in week out to compete with the step up in quality. Hopefully the core group of players sticking around for next season will support us in doing that.”

Erdington United will have a friendly pre-season tournament against several local rival teams in the summer, before beginning their Premier Division campaign in September. Home games are played at Holly Lane and information on their fixtures can be found on both their social media pages and the Fulltime FA website.

For more on Erdington United visit www.erdingtonunited.org

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NEWS: Erdington United still “odds on to win the league” despite losing 5-1 to Trooper FC in County Cup final

Words & pics by Liam Smith

Heartbreak for Erdington United after suffering defeat in the County Cup final on Sunday 23 April, in a match which saw them lose 5-1 to Chelmsley Wood side Trooper FC.

The tournament finale took place at the Birmingham Country Football Association Headquarters in Great Barr, with a sizeable crowd present to watch the two clubs battle it out for the County Cup prize.

The game started evenly, with both teams sizing each other up in the early stages. The deadlock was broken in the 20th minute with Erdington being unable to clear their lines.

Another goal seven minutes later, and a few chances from Erdington Utd late in the first half, saw the half time whistle blow with Erdington 2-0 down but far from out of it.

Sadly for the local team from there it went downhill, as a third from the Trooper left winger, who had been a persistent threat all game, meant heads began to drop.

A 90th minute penalty smartly tucked away served very little in terms of consolation for Erdington, with Trooper FC finishing 5-1 up.

Erdington Local spoke with Tyler Ward, Erdington United’s manager after the match.

He told: “I’m obviously disappointed with the result, but the better team did win on the day. We didn’t really start to play until the match became an uphill battle, which is always difficult.

“It was a competition we had earmarked from the start of the season that we wanted to get far in. There were far more nerves heading into this one, as we knew how good a side Trooper are.”

Tyler added: “Once we started to play and create chances, we caused problems. It’s always a tough ask to claw back a 2-0 deficit in a final.”

Erdington United are still happy with their season, having earned silverware in the George Cup, and are eager to not let Sunday’s defeat deflate them.

The manager added: “we’re still odds on to win the league, and it was a good test for us to play against decent opposition.

“Full credit to Trooper FC who managed their game well and took their chances when they got them.”

For more on Erdington United visit www.erdingtonunited.org

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NEWS: A strong start to a long awaited season for Erdington United FC

Words by Liam Smith / Pics by Ultimate Kingz & Erdington United

Sunday League football is back in full flow with the ending of lockdowns and the easing of Covid restrictions this year.

Excitement has been building over the summer for the players at Erdington United FC (EUFC), who are now getting back on the pitch for some long awaited fixtures.

Erdington United FC are off to a strong start in their current season, securing a 3-0 victory away from home for their season opener, followed by a 4-1 home victory against Hundred Acre Streetly.

In their most recent fixture Erdington United again came out worthy winners, giving Castle Vale Olympic a thrashing with a 9-1 win.

The club have moved to the Sutton League from the Festival League in search of a new challenge, after a comfortable title win in their first season. EUFC have been placed into Division One, after some pre-season and cup success.

Erdington Local caught up with their manager, Tyler Ward, who is optimistic about the season ahead – as well as giving an insight into the club’s beginnings.

“We’re a club who have most of our players from and based in Erdington,” told Ward. “We’re a young side with many of us having known each other for the past 10+ years, having gone to school together etc.”

EUFC’s manager is confident on his team’s success this season, after their first season title wins. At the point of being confirmed as league champions last season, Erdington United had a 100% record in the league – something which Tyler believes can help them push on with their aims this season.

“Our priority for the season is to get promoted into the Premier Division, and to get as far as possible in the four cup competitions we’re in. We know the quality we have amongst the players. We are confident that come summer we’ll be exactly where we need to be.”

Erdington United are always on the lookout for players to further improve and develop their squad; information on specific player profiles they are looking to fill can be found on their social media.

The club play their home games at Holly Lane on Sundays and always welcome people to go along and watch.

Regular updates on fixtures and results are also posted on their social media platforms – with all links available via the Erdington United FC website.

For more on Erdington United FC visit www.erdingtonunited.org

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NEWS: Erdington United – local football heading for the big leagues

Words by Adam Smith / Pics courtesy of Erdington United

Erdington United could be a semi-professional club playing in its own stadium and hosting FA Cup ties within 15 years, under ambitious plans unveiled by its chairman this week.

The club is hoping to create a shining beacon of non-league football in a desolate North Birmingham for semi-professional teams.

Unlike the Black Country, which has a host of non-league football clubs including Stourbridge Town, Halesowen Town, Lye Town, and Sporting Khalsa – Birmingham is chronically underrepresented in the footballing pyramid.

However, chairman of Erdington United – Luke Caulfield – told Erdington Local everyone at the club is determined to put Erdington on the footballing map.

He said: “North Birmingham is crying out for a decent non-league team to get behind and we believe Erdington has got the community to create a thriving football club.

“And we have recently found out that we have the history because there was an Erdington United which played from the 1950s until the 1980s.

“We formed in 2014, then had a break but came back stronger last season and we have got our place in the Festival League for next season.”

The 30-year-old added: “I told our annual general meeting last week that in 15 years I want Erdington United to be playing semi-professional football on a Saturday, which would mean we would qualify for the FA Cup.”

“There is a site on Spring Lane that would be perfect for a clubhouse and our long term plan has to be to have a stadium of our own, I know it will take years and years for this to be a reality but it is something we can all work towards.”

The club is currently finalising where they will be playing next season but one thing is for sure, after each game the team will all be heading to The Kingstanding Inn, Warren Farm Road.

Luke said: “We are really fostering a family feel for the club and the owners at the Kingstanding Inn, near where we played by last season, really looked after us, they put a spread of food on every week and it’s great to all get together after a game.”

Last season, using a squad of local players mostly under 25-years-old, the team qualified for a cup final but their day in the sun was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, due to an innovative and relentless social media strategy Erdington United used the lockdown to increase the profile of the club.

Two Facebook posts about limited edition specially designed kids, Support the NHS and Black Lives Matter, went viral leading to orders from across the country for the strips.

Luke said: “As soon as one batch of kits are delivered they are sold out, people liked our Support the NHS kits but the demand for Black Lives Matter strip has been insane.

“We have had orders from Newcastle, Leeds, London, Rugeley and random other places. I spoke to our manager about a Black Lives Matter kit and he was up for it, we have a mixed squad of players and growing up in Erdington I’ve obviously got black friends and family members so we wanted to make a statement.

“We asked GB Kits if they could make them for us and they cannot make them quick enough because of the demand. It has been a brilliant way of introducing people to Erdington United.”

Whereas Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City’s social media accounts all attracted racist and abusive comments under Black Lives Matter posts – Erdington United fans on Facebook were totally positive.

Luke, who went to Edmund Campion School, added: “We want to reflect Erdington as a club so obviously I was really proud how everyone reacted to our Black Lives Matter posts.”

To follow Erdington United on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/ErdingtonU

To find Erdington United on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/erdington.utd.7