Lye Town 3 (Saunders 13, 34 Sidaway 63) vs Wolves 2 (Holman 50, 57)
Wolves were beaten 3-2 by Lye Town in their first game of the Birmingham Senior Cup at the Sport’s Ground, bringing an end to their campaign.
Wolves started brightly with Fletcher Holman coming close inside two minutes before being flagged offside as he looked to break through. Lye responded quickly, taking the lead after 13 minutes when Matt Saunders guided a loose ball into the bottom corner after a free kick was only partially cleared.
While Wolves pushed for a reply with Ashton Williams being denied and Josh Esen's follow-up blocked, Lye continued to control much of the possession. Alfie Brooks kept Wolves in it with key stops, first tipping away Alfie Steward’s powerful effort and later reacting smartly to step out and claim the ball before Saunders could get a shot away.
As Wolves grew into the half, Leo Lopes threatened twice - shooting narrowly wide before picking up a booking while defending a free kick. The Old Gold’s best chance came after 32 minutes when neat play between Finn Ashworth and Dani Angel sent Angel through on goal, but Gael Mfuamba pulled off an excellent save.
Lye doubled their lead shortly after, with Saunders striking a superb effort from the edge of the box after 34 minutes. Wolves held strong in the closing stages, with Brooks punching clear a dangerous corner to prevent further damage before the interval.
Half-Time | Lye Town 2-0 Wolves
Wolves started the second half stronger than the first and were quickly rewarded as Fletcher Holman picked up an outside of the boot ball from Lopes before placing a tidy finish past Mfuamba at 50 minutes.
Angel soon had a chance to level but fired over, before Holman won a penalty seven minutes later following a defensive mistake from Lye. The forward stepped up and calmly converted to bring Wolves level.
Lye reacted with Alfie Didlock’s header flying over, and regained the lead when Brooks’ initial save from Steward fell kindly for Luke Sidaway to tap in.
Wolves pushed back, with Esen forcing another impressive stop from Mfuamba from a free kick.
Wolves continued to create moments, with Angel almost reaching a loose ball with 20 minutes left, and several corners being cleared by a resilient Lye defence. Didlock then went close for the hosts, dragging it wide.
Wanderers pressed late on, with Holman seeing a 90th-minute free kick blocked and the follow-up saved. A final scramble in the box deep into stoppage time caused chaos, but the ball ultimately fell into Mfuamba’s hands before the whistle blew, denying Wolves a late equaliser.
Full-Time | Lye Town 3-2 Wolves
LINEUPS
Wolves | Brooks, Ford, Saba (Thomas 84), Stafford, Williams, White, Esen, Ashworth (Senyah 62), Holman, Lopes, Angel
Unused Subs | Arnold, Osifo, Aneke
Lye Town | Mfuamba, Ball, Cartwright, Saunders, Slevin, Hall (Collins 59), Steward (Garner 70), Dixon, Sidaway (Shaw 68), Moran (Gouveia 62), Didlock
Unused Subs | Diallo
By Scarlett Lester
