Monday 4th May 2026 ko 15:00

Midland League Division 2

WAKE GREEN AMATEUR 1 (Kelly 56)

Kelly penalty saved 29

NORTHFIELD TOWN 6 (Halpin 8 32 73 Ward 31 Forbes 54 Parker 84og)

Att 71

Entry £5

I know why I found myself in Solihull’s environs- local football at the lower divisions is a lot of fun and there”s plenty of it. So much so that I’ve been heading to this part of the world for the best part of twenty years, and I’m still turning up interesting grounds, Wake Green being a case in point.

The club were formed in September 1925 in a house on Wake Green Road, Moseley, hence the name, and after a spell playing friendlies entered the Birmingham & District League. The club led a fairly nomadic existance, and after the Second World War the club more or less had to be revived from scratch. That was on no small part to the efforts of chairman Max Holloway and when the club moved into the its current ground in 1975 it was only fitting the ground should be named “The Holloway” in his honour. The club won promotion to the Midland League in 2022.

I’m sure most visitors will consider the memorable part of visiting The Holloway is the way the ground is usually accessed by a drawbridge. The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal runs past one end of the ground so the bridge is raised every time a boat goes by. It’s slow, dare I say sleepy, but what was going on next door was anything but!

The tie was always likely to be tough on the hosts. Northfield had already won the league at a canter and were destined to score 106 goals and win the championship by 14 points. They looked like the champions they were, and won this at a canter. I felt for friendly Wake Green, but made for the drawbridge.