Rosary End Dene Play-off Hopes!

The sun shone down gloriously at the Dene Arena on Tuesday afternoon as Mapledene looked to reinforce their play-off ambitions against Colebourne and Rosary. However, it was not to be their night as Rosary would spring a surprise and end 'dene's top three dream.
Mapledene opened proceedings with a comfortable 7-1 win over an always valiant Colebourne. Dene were three up at the break and though Colebourne pulled a goal back from a well-struck free-kick, the home side responded, firing four more times to seal that 7-1 advantage. The Coles then had to go again against a fresher Rosary and with a hat-trick from their striker along with two from a midfielder-cum-striker, the Rosarians sailed to a 5-0 win. Buoyed by that win, Rosary then looked to stymie Mapledene's drive to the top three. Dene had most of the possession early on but struggled to fashion a chance of any note but against the run of play, found themselves a goal down. A quick passing move was superbly finished by their striker who struck low into the corner of the net. From that point on, Rosary defended stoutly. They rode their luck at times with 'dene hitting a post a missing a couple of guilt-edged chances, but the Light Blues resolutely held on to seal a first win at the Arena since 2017 and at the same time curtailed Mapledene's play-off charge.
Meanwhile, over in Erdington, Short Heath were reclaiming top spot as they concluded their regular season with victories over St Barnabas, 3-0, and a walkover win over St Bernadette's (who failed to attend).
Heath then lead the way with the only issue to now be settled is the title itself - Paget need to win at Mapledene on 29th April to take the crown, any other result will mean Heath are divisional champions. Mapledene's defeat to Rosary means that Lyndon Green will finish third and will have a play-off eliminator against Premier division second-placed side, St Thomas More's.