Albion’s academy graduates enjoyed a busy Easter weekend for their respective loan clubs.
Forward Dan Chimeziri wasn’t involved in Rushall Olympic’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Ashton United on Good Friday, but soon returned with a positive impact during his 78-minute outing when they hosted Ilkeston Town on Monday afternoon.
The Pics took the lead in the 53rd minute, as Chimeziri held off his defender before laying on the assist for Liam McAlinden, who calmly stroked home for the opener, and Ian Long’s men sealed a pivotal result in their battle for Northern Premier League safety when Anthony Dwyer notched in the dying seconds to make it 2-0.
Rushall remain 16th in the division, two points and three places above the drop zone with just three league matches to play.
53’ - GOALLLLL!
Brilliant goal from Macca!
Ball comes into the box from the right and held off by Dan, who sets Macca for a beautiful finish on the edge of the box#ShareThePicsPassion pic.twitter.com/hkESUJqZQu— Rushall Olympic FC (@ROFCOfficial) April 6, 2026
A tier above, Evan Humphries enjoyed a fruitful weekend as his Oxford City side took a huge stride and four more crucial points towards Enterprise National League North survival.
The 20-year-old bolstered his development by racking up 90 minutes of action on both Friday and Monday.
The Hoops went a goal behind after six minutes of Friday’s trip to Merthyr Town, but turned their fortunes around and struck in reply through Jack Bearne to collect an important 1-1 draw in the South Wales Valleys.
Next up, just 72 hours later, was a visit from Peterborough Sports at The MGroup Stadium. City opened the scoring through Matt Taylor just after the hour mark, before Ewan Clark scored in second-half added time to secure a vital 2-0 victory, and another crucial clean sheet for Humphries’ defensive unit.
The win makes it six unbeaten for Ross Jenkins’ side, who now have a steady five-point gap between themselves and the bottom four.
Midfielder Cole Deeming came off the bench for both of Cheltenham Town’s Sky Bet League Two encounters.
The 19-year-old joined former Baggie and fellow academy graduate Mo Faal in being brought on with 10 minutes to play in their 1-0 defeat away at Chesterfield on Friday afternoon.
He then entered the fray for the final six minutes at the EV Charger Points Stadium on Monday, where the Robins earned a late 1-1 draw with promotion-chasing Cambridge United. An own-goal in the 91st minute from opposition goalkeeper Jake Eastwood was enough to seal a point.
That draw keeps Steve Cotterill's men at arm’s length (10 points) from the drop zone, with Deeming taking his total appearances in Gloucestershire to 13.
There was also another full match on the cards for Jamal Mohammed as he continued to aid Gloucester City’s Southern Premier Division South promotion bid.
Despite going a goal behind after three minutes on Good Friday, Daf Williams’ men replied with two efforts of their own to beat Hanwell Town 2-1.
Elis Watts and Kieran Phillips got on the scoresheet to turn the match around, sealing another vital victory for the Tigers and one further outing for Mohammed’s development.
Finally, Akeel Higgins joined in for added time of Exeter City’s relegation six-pointer against Blackpool on Easter Monday.
The 20-year-old wasn’t able to impact proceedings, though, as Matt Taylor’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Seasiders - leaving them two points behind Monday’s opponents, and now in the League Two relegation zone.
Cover image: Rushall Olympic/Martin Hill
