I want to start by sending my deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Max Bode. A great player and person that will be sorely missed by everyone. 

It was fantastic opening weekend for WBA Throstles who made a superb stake at bettering last year’s sixth-place finish. The West-Midlands side who are currently joint top on 13 points, did incredibly in their first five 2019/20 Premiership fixtures. Goals from Richard George, Lewis Harris, Dave Lewis and Luca Wickens helped them secure an empathic 6-1 win over the recently promoted Manchester United. In their second game of the new season, a sole Richard George goal sealed a consecutive three points in a close game against a very defensive Sale United side. The first of their three Sunday games fell against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Throstles seemed to take the momentum from the previous day’s action, winning the tie 3-0. Summer recruits Richard George and Lewis Harris made instant impacts in the side fixtures, seeming to strengthen them considerably. Strikes from Luca Wickens and Dave Lewis either side of a Lizzie Tullet Villa goal gave Throstles their fourth consecutive win of the weekend. Their closely competed fifth and final game with St George’s Knights ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Some interesting challenges await WBA Throstles in week two of the Premiership; An early derby against the Champions, West Bromwich Albion PFC before an easier game on paper against AFC Bournemouth Warriors. On Sunday a difficult 13:00 kick-off against Aspire is followed by a meeting with an in-form Nottingham side.

Sevenoaks PFC kickstarted their 2019/20 Premiership campaign off in impressive fashion; goals from Kyle Alexander, Harry Bestwick and Myles Miller aided the sides brilliant 3-0 win over last season’s closely matched rivals Sale United in their first fixture. Adopting newfound confidence and attacking threat in their game against Northern Thunder, Sevenoaks impressed with Kyle Alexander breaking the deadlock, giving the side an impressive 1-0 lead. Despite a Harry Boddy equaliser following closely after, Sevenoaks held on to secure a monumental point; their first against any of the top-three sides. A solid display against Brighton on Saturday afternoon secured them their second win and respective three points of the day. Considering Sunday’s opposition, the seven points obtained marked a crucial haul. Despite a brilliant first-half display against West Bromwich Albion, five second-half goals from the Champions dealt Sevenoaks their first defeat of the new campaign. Although the side fell to a consecutive loss against Aspire shortly after, Sevenoaks will be delighted with their points and performances from week one. Week two presents an easier task on paper of Adam McEvoy’s side. On Saturday they play Nottingham PFC and Manchester United PFC, with games against Villa Rockets and St George’s Knights on Sunday.

Following on from last years fantastic Premiership campaign, St George’s Knights once again proved incredibly hard to break down in the first weekend of the new season. Despite being unable to score in their opening two matchups against Nottingham PFC and Villa Rockets, St George’s where defensively sound, keeping clean sheets in both. On Sunday morning a Rosie Hodgson hattrick dealt SGK their first defeat of the new season. Eager to bounce back, they began to exhibit glimpses of their quality in their fourth game against AFC Bournemouth, with goals from Lucas Christer and Daniel Ball (2) handing St George’s Knights their first win and respective three points of the new season. Considering the overall form of WBA Throstles in week one, their 0-0 draw with the West Midlands side will be seen as a very respectable point gained. Despite their current placement, SGK will be delighted with their extremely impressive defensive ability displayed throughout the first weekend of fixtures. Four clean sheets from five fixtures is no easy feat to achieve in the country’s most competitive Powerchair Football division! St George’s will be eager to replicate week one’s defensive display when they face West Bromwich Albion in week two’s first fixture. From there they will want to secure six points in fixtures against Sale United and Sevenoaks before facing current table-toppers Northern Thunder.

It was a frustrating opening weekend for last season’s Championship winners, Manchester United PFC who were given a stark reminder to the overall step up in quality that the Premiership possesses. The side was unfortunate to catch WBA Throstles in such fine form in their first game back in the top flight, losing 6-1. United struggled to contain Amir Ali in their game against Villa Rockets losing the tie 3-0. On Sunday, United caught Nottinghamshire PFC in fine form losing 3-1 and in their last game against Premiership Champions, West Bromwich Albion, United lost 5-1. A massive fixture kickstarts week two of the MDUK Premiership; United take on last season’s closely matched Championship rivals, AFC Bournemouth Warriors in what is being touted by many as a six-point affair. Followed closely after, United take on current table-toppers Northern Thunder before facing Sevenoaks PFC. On Sunday the side has a very credible opportunity of securing points from fixtures against Sale Utd and Brighton & Hove Albion. Jordan Duke will want to adopt a similar level of performance that saw him scoop the Championship Player of the Year award in June, with Patrick Kelly and Lewis Marshall also being key for any potential United success.

Opening their 2019/20 Premiership account against bitter rivals and fellow title challengers, Aspire PFC, West Bromwich Albion PFC were incredibly unlucky not to come away with three points. A flurry of missed chances and two disallowed goals denied the Champions early bragging rights. Following on from this, Chris Gordon did well to rally his troops for their following fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion in which a Marcus Harrison strike and debut goal from Baris Inel helped the Baggies secure their first three points of the new campaign. The Champions secured impressive, back-to-back 5-1 wins over both Sevenoaks PFC and Manchester United before earning a hard-fought three points against a tough Villa Rockets side. Some notable performances from England-international Matt Francis, who was superb across the weekend. Joint top on 13 points, West Brom will now be fully focused on week two’s fixtures; the side faces WBA Throstles in a local derby on Saturday morning before a challenging game against St George’s Knights side. On Sunday they play AFC Bournemouth Warriors before a cracking matchup with Northern Thunder that will be sure to draw a crowd with both currently locked on 13 points at the top of the table.

Local side Nottingham PFC had a brilliant first weekend in the MDUK Premiership, recording ten impressive points from their five-fixture weekend. The side was organised and disciplined against St George’s Knights. The sides respective 0-0 draw in no way reflects the entertaining and exciting fixture that kicked off the season. Single strikes from Nottingham duo Joe Kerrison and Adam Langley helped them secure their first three points of the new season against AFC Bournemouth Warriors. Despite defeat to Northern Thunder in their following game, Nottingham did brilliantly to contain the potent attack for large parts of the game; two second-half goals from Harry Boddy and Ed Common their eventual undoing. The side returned on Sunday refreshed, adopting the massive positives and confidence from the previous day’s action. Nottingham secured brilliant back to back wins against Manchester United PFC and Sale Utd to cap one of their best weekends in the National League. Adam Langley was in fine form, scoring 4 goals in the sides 5 fixtures. A tough start to week two against Aspire is followed by some very credible chances to climb the table even further; Nottingham PFC face Sevenoaks, Brighton & Hove Albion and WBA Throstles.

Keen to mount an early stake at the MDUK Premiership crown, Northern Thunder got their season off to a flying start securing an empathic 6-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. A slight set back in their second fixture, where the side had to come from behind to secure a draw against a very competitive Sevenoaks side. From there the side picked up some real momentum; goals from Harry Boddy and Ed Common secured their 2-0 win over Nottingham, Sam Smith and Harry Boddy (2) goals aiding their 3-0 win over Villa Rockets, and Ed Common, Matty Harrison and Harry Boddy (2) strikes sealing a 4-0 win over Sale United. Four wins from five, 15 goals scored and only one conceded marked a fantastic weekend for the Newcastle-based side. On his return to the top tier of Powerchair Football, Harry Boddy was fantastic, recording seven goals in Thunder’s five fixtures. In week two Northern Thunder will have an aim of securing maximum points in their fixtures against AFC Bournemouth Warriors, Manchester United and St George’s Knights, before an exciting matchup with the reigning Champions, West Bromwich Albion on Sunday afternoon.

In the absence of several key players, it was a tough opening weekend for Brighton & Hove Albion PFC, who battled hard in their five fixtures on the 2019/20 Premiership season. In the absence of Sam Elliot and England international Gregg Baxter, the Seagulls sensibly recruited Nicky Baker from Evergreen in the off-season to provide some experience and help with capacity. An extremely tough opening day saw them lose each of their respective three fixtures against Northern Thunder (6-0), West Bromwich Albion (2-0) and Sevenoaks (1-0). The side was defensively solid in their opening game on Sunday against AFC Bournemouth Warriors, with a sole Freddie Strachan goal helping to seal the sides first win, and points of the weekend. Their disappointing 3-0 defeat to WBA Throstles shortly meant The Seagulls took three points from fifteen in week one’s action. Some tough fixtures this weekend will once again test the side; on Saturday they play Sale Utd, Aspire and Villa Rockets, with Nottingham PFC and Manchester United PFC to face on Sunday. 

The opening weekend of the 2019/20 Premiership season was one to forget for Sale United. The Greater Manchester side lost each of their four fixtures placing them in the table’s danger zone. All things considered, Sale United were extremely unfortunate to catch Sevenoaks, WBA Throstles, Northern Thunder and Nottingham all in such fine. Looking forward, Sale United have several credible chances of climbing from the lower placements of the league table towards safety. Liam Fitzpatrick and Joshua Slack will be keen to rediscover the scoring form that saw them net 14 league goals collectively last season. The side will want to secure wins against Brighton, Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth Warriors to take the pressure off their tougher fixtures against St George’s Knights and Villa Rockets.

It was a positive start to the Premiership for Villa Rockets; a cagey 0-0 draw with last year’s closely matched rivals, St George’s Knights marked a respectable start, before a producing a brilliant one-sided 3-0 win over Manchester United. Two early goals for Northern Thunder in Villa’s first Sunday game proved too great to reverse, finishing 3-0. Despite consecutive 2-1 defeats to West Bromwich Albion and WBA Throstles, the side played fantastically. Summer signing Lizzie Tullett netted against her former side WBA Throstles, with the single goal against West Brom being scored by Daniel Kay. The side will be sure to rally together in what must be a difficult period for the club. The side have a fantastic opportunity to climb from their current eighth position placement in week two’s fixtures. Villa Rockets play Sale United and Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, two sides struggling for points so far this season on Saturday. A tough opening game on Sunday against Aspire PFC is followed with an exciting game against an inform Sevenoaks side. 

Like Manchester United PFC, AFC Bournemouth Warriors were given a stark reminder to the overall step up in quality from the Championship. In their first fixture, the side were extremely competitive against Ricky Stevenson’s Nottingham team, displaying impressive defensive ability. Unfortunately, a single strike from Regan Kemp was not enough to cancel out two Nottingham goals, 2-1 it finished. A tough following game against title contenders and 2018/19 WFA Cup Champions, Aspire PFC, ended in a 7-0 defeat. On Sunday morning the side was bitterly unlucky to not come away with anything from an extremely close matchup with Brighton & Hove Albion PFC (1-0). In their final game of the weekend, Bournemouth did well to contain the attack of St George’s Knights in the first half, but three second-half goals handed them with their fourth consecutive defeat. Looking forward, an extremely tough week two sees the Warriors play the leagues first, second and third place sides, Northern Thunder, West Bromwich Albion and WBA Throstles. Considering this, the sides fixtures against Manchester United PFC and Sale United will be seen as crucial chances to pick up points. Following a tremendous 18/19 Championship campaign, the South Coast side will want to forget about the unfortunate results of week one and focus fully on the weekend ahead.

Despite not creating a huge number of chances against West Bromwich Albion in their first fixture, Aspire PFC seemed comfortable both on the back foot defensively and going toe to toe with the Champions. It wasn’t ideal that both were chucked straight into the league’s biggest fixture without prior fixtures to sharpen their tools, so the 0-0 draw was probably the fairest result. From then on Aspire went from strength to strength. Following his recent transfer from Muscle Warriors, Tom Kelly marked his presence in the side with an impressive haul of four goals in their 7-0 thrashing of newly promoted AFC Bournemouth. Rosie Hodgson stole the show against a tough St George’s Knights side, scoring a hat-trick in their 3-1 win. And in their last game against Sevenoaks, it was the captain, Jon Bolding’s time to shine in a comfortable 4-1 win. Keen to dethrone close rivals, West Bromwich Albion, Aspire will be quietly confident of achieving maximum points in approaching fixtures this weekend. The side play Nottingham and Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, and Villa Rockets and WBA Throstles on Sunday.