Week Ending 27th January by Mason Norton

Ramble Round starts this week by passing on its condolences to Cottesmore AFC, after the death this week of former coach Bruce Poynter, a part of the coaching set-up that made Cottesmore one of the LSL's best sides at the end of the 2010s and early 2020s which went on to win the Everards Beacon Bitter League Cup in 2020 and went on a FA Cup run in 2019.

There was a minute's silence at Westray Park on Saturday before Cottesmore's game with Burbage & Huncote in the Everards Brewery Premier Division, which then started badly for Cottesmore when B&H took the lead within the opening minute after Alex Mugglestone's shot from the edge of the box took a deflection and looped past the keeper. The visitors could have doubled their advantage, but missed chances, before Cottesmore got back into the game. It still looked as though Burbage might just hang on, but with less than 10 minutes on the clock, Brenden Parker produced a little bit of magic, picking up the ball 30 yards out, beating no less than four men on a mazy run into the box and finishing confidently into the bottom corner to score the equaliser, the game finishing 1-1.

There was an even more dramatic installment of the Late Late Show at Pasture Lane, where Magna 73 came tantalisingly close to upsetting Hathern. Jake Smith gave Magna the lead early on after the Hathern defence misplaced a pass and he drilled the ball past the keeper, and Matt Richmond scored just after the hour mark to make it 2-0 to Magna. That woke Hathern up, and referee Mr Jarvis awarded Hathern a penalty midway through the half; however, Magna keeper Harry Johnson saved Lee Ward's effort. With Hathern seemingly out of ideas, that seemed to be that. But a cross into the box took a bounce off the ground which struck Ward's knee to glide past the wrong-footed Johnson on 84 minutes, and Magna then went into their shell, before in the last minute, Ward beat the offside trap, got to the ball a split-secord before Johnson, and slid the ball past him, with sub Lewis Edwards getting the final touch to tap in for the equaliser. Both sides went searching for the winner, but it was not to be, Magna disappointed about letting the win slip through the fingers, Hathern missing out on the chance to move into third and left to rue a poor start.

Everards Brewery Division One saw just two fixtures, with Kirby Muxloe Reserves beating Sporting Markfield 4-0 thanks to goals from Joe Kerins (2), Finn Chaplin and Hassan Ismail, whilst a hat-trick from Micah Lawrence and a strike from Louis Clarke gave Ingles Development a 4-1 win over Holwell Sports Reserves, Brook Isherwood scoring from Holwell. Both of the winners move up a place in the mid-table spots, whilst both Holwell and Markfield stay where they were in relation to each other in the relegation race.

There was just one game played in Everards Brewery Division Two, after Desford Reserves' tie at home to Melton Town Academy was postponed. The game sets up nicely a Div2 title showdown, after Loughborough Students Development maintained their unbeaten record with a 8-0 trouncing of Rothley Imperial at Holywell Park, Jordan Addo-Antoine scoring a hat-trick, Henry Hazell a brace, Dom Forbes, Owen James and sub Joseph Barnes scoring the other goals. So the title race looks like it will be settled on 24 February, when the Students host St Patricks, the current difference between the sides is Pats two points in front, but the unbeaten Students have a game in hand.