Midland Football League
League Cup
Tuesday 21st January 2020
Tividale 0-1 Worcester City

City much slicker

Tividale bowed out of their second cup competition in the space of 8 days and although the score line was a major improvement on last weeks demolition by the Wolves U23 side. There was not that much difference in the way visitors went about their business. If anything Worcester’s performance was better due to the heavy pitch that this game was played on.

Manager Dave King made a few changes from Saturday’s win with Matt Hunt, Lewis Probert and Jakob Burroughs (cup tied) making way for Jakob Barnes, Luke Carter and Tom Hurdman and they were under the cosh from the off. . After 6 minutes, when City’s Sam Hall’s header was well blocked on the Tividale line.

Tividale actually had the ball in the net after 11 minutes when Curtis Cocking turned the ball home but the referee had blown for a foul on a City defender. Josh Willis was next to test Harrison with a shot that he held comfortably. On 21 minutes City forward Sean Brain had his first threat on goal but he could not keep his shot down. Then on 23 minutes on loan keeper Adam Harrison made the first of a number of brilliant saves when from a Willis cross Craig Jones met it with a thumping point blank header and he just managed at full stretch to just push the ball up and round the angle of post and cross bar.

It was Dan Bryson’s turn to get in on the spectacular when on the half hour mark, Mooney broke into the box but after settling himself with a touch Bryson came from nowhere to slide in and block the shot. The home side had a great chance on 40 minutes when Darragh Bustin burst through on goal but he dragged his shot wide of City keeper Gabrial Bajrami’s far post

Half Time:-Tividale 0-0 Worcester City

City had the ball in the net after 48 minutes when Mooney lofted the ball into the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside. And the same player was foiled by Harrison in what to him was a pretty regular save 3 minutes later. On 54 minutes came the best Harrison save of the night. From a Luke English long throw, Joel Caines met it on the volley and must have thought he had opened the scoring, only to see Harrison get behind it and beat it away.

Worcester took the lead on 63 minutes, when referee Charlie Dickens gave City a penalty when Brad Welding was adjudged to have his arm up when the ball struck him on it in the penalty area. Brain stepped up and sent Harrison the wrong way.

It was City with the next chance also on 63 minutes when Brain had his shot charged down. with 15 minutes to go Tividale had a rare chance on goal when from a Bustin long throw, the ball fell nicely to Curtis Cocking but it was deflected for a corner. From the corner Jacob Barnes rose above everyone to head home but it was ruled out for a foul on the keeper Bajrami.

With 9 minutes to go referee Charlie Dickens had to be replaced when he could take no further part with what looked like some sort of strain. With 85 minutes on the clock from a ball into the box City’s Jordan Harrison let’s loose a shot but his namesake in the Tividale goal did brilliantly to turn it round the post.

As in the first half it was the home side who created the last decent chance, when in the 92nd minute Welding sent in a cross that Dan Smith just failed to get his foot to and Bajrami collected comfortably.

The following 6 minutes of injury time due to the stricken referee went by without incident and City ran out deserved winners.

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 18th January 2020
Haughmond 2-1 Tividale

The Monds snatch late winner

No one at Tividale thought that this season would be easy and after two relegations and a promotion it would be fair to say that we are a much more resilient club as a whole. This would be the sort of game that would test what we have achieved so far. Up against a club whose fortunes over the last couple of seasons have been similar to ours. A side that will battle until the final minute and beyond.

We went into this one with 2 debutants. Adam Harrison a loan signing from Bedworth in goal and Jakob Burroughs younger brother of our full back Joseph in a central midfield role.

From previous encounters between the teams Tividale must have known about the threat of Carl Rogers at throw in’s that are literally anywhere in our half and in the first few minutes a couple of those throws caused some dodgy moments in the Tividale penalty area, but somehow they survived and settled into the game. The first Tividale attack on 7 minutes could have produced a spectacular opener when Darragh Bustin volleyed a Brad Welding cross wide. Then Welding himself fired an effort goal wards but was deflected out for a corner.

Everyone in the ground will wonder how Tividale did not score in a first half were on two occasions either side of Haughmond’s 20th minute opener they peppered the home goal, but some inspired defending and goalkeeping by Sam Jones denied the visitors.

Haughmond did have their chances and with a bit more composure in their finishing could have worked Harrison. But they did score from their first shot on target when Matt Hunt was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. It did look a harsh decision considering how close the two players were together. Anyhow the prolific Steve Hole stepped up and gave Harrison no chance from the spot. Zac Hartley then tried an effort from distance but Harrison held it comfortably before half time.

Tividale would have felt that despite conceding the penalty the amount of chances that Bustin, Welding, Dan Smith amongst others had and not converted in that half they should have been at least level.

Half Time:- Haughmond 1-0 Tividale

Tividale started the second period with another flurry of strikes on goal. First a Smith shot was parried away by Jones. Then Bustin had an effort turned round the post and from the resulting corner skipper Matt Hunt’s header was well held by Jones. Tividale were level on 58 minutes when from a Haughmond corner, Jakob Burroughs won the ball on the edge of his penalty area and found Bustin with a pass sprayed out left. Bustin in turn fed in Smith who placed the ball past Jones and into the back of the net.

Both sides had chances to go ahead but both defences were surviving on a mixture of luck and determination. But with a couple of minutes left on the clock. Tividale gave away what can only be described as a soft free kick and young Luke Ward stepped up and placed the free kick beyond the diving Harrison and into the back of the net. There was no coming back from that for the visitors and Haughmond took the three points.

The winning goal just about summed up the game. In the previous 88 minutes Tividale must have had 5 or 6 free kicks around the edge of Haughmond’s penalty area but was only made to work for just one of them.

Full Time:- Haughmond 2-1 Tividale

Birmingham Senior Cup
Round Two
Tuesday 14th January 2020
Tividale 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 6
Tividale get mauled by Wolves

In our last few games in the Birmingham Senior Cup against League or Premier League opposition we have come up against predominately youth team players, with older lads mixed in. So although natural and technical wise they are that much better, you are able to even it out with our physical strength.

Not with this squad of opposition players. Wolves came with their Under23’s making our squad as young if not younger than theirs. So they were just as physical as us added to this was the fact that we were playing the game on Sporting Khalsa’s 3G Aspray Arena (as it had been postponed twice before) it had all the making’s of a very difficult evening.

In the end Wolves progressed with a Boubacar Hanne hat-trick as Wolves dominated. With the score at 4-0 at half time we feared the worse especially after three screamers, two from
Hanne, the other from regular first team squad member Dion Sanderson. The fourth was scored by Renat Dadashov which was his first goal in gold and black following his summer transfer from Estoril just before the half-time whistle was blown.

Half Time:- Tividale 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4

Wolves came out with the same intensity in the second-half and added two more goals, with Dadashov doubling his tally ten minutes into the second period, before Hanne added his third to confirm his hat-trick with 15 minutes of the game remaining. But take nothing away from Tividale they battled away in a much improved second half and although they were never going to get anything from the game they ensure the score line did not get too embarrassing considering the opposition.

With the six goals under their belt, Wolves earned their place in the quarter-finals, and another away tie, as they head to National League North outfit Leamington FC in the next round.

Full Time:- Tividale 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 6

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 11th January 2020
Tividale 1-2 Stourport Swifts

Stour take a swift 3 points

After going down to those two last minute goals a week ago. It would have been good to take something away from a team up their with the title challengers.But alas it wasn’t to be and despite the lad’s giving their all Stourport took the spoils.

Goalkeeper Louis Connor was made captain for the day, with this being his last appearance for Tividale before going off to pastures new and a job in the USA.

It was Swifts that started on the front foot and pressed the home side back and Nick |MacPherson saw his first effort flash wide after only 2 minutes. 5 minutes later and a Martin Slevin corner was also headed wide by Matt Hanson. Skipper, keeper Connor then had to make a great double save to keep the scores level. First he parried away a Drew Canavan scorcher straight to Jack Downing but again he was equal to it.

The visitors were threatening to run riot in these first 15 minutes but the Tividale defence stood firm as Downing headed wide an Aaron Brett cross and then Cross himself blazed over when Downing returned the compliment. Tividale did have half a chance in the 22nd minute but Darragh Bustin just failed to pick out Tyree Clarke in the box after doing well down the Tividale right. The home side possibly had the best chance of the half when Dan Smith was played through. Stourport keeper Dominic Richards did well to keep out his initial shot, the ball then fell for Clarke but with the keeper beaten defender James Timmins just got a block in.

Swifts ended the half as they began first Connor did well to turn a Slevin free kick on 38 minutes around the post and from the resulting corner taken by Slevin, MacPherson tried a near post header but could not find the target.

Half Time:- Tividale 0-0 Stourport Swifts 

Swifts started the second period as they did the first with MacPherson shooting wide and then Slevin tried one from distance on the hour that also cleared the bar. After being superb in defence for so long, Tividale would have been disappointed in how they conceded the first goal after 67 minutes. A ball across the box was not dealt with and there was MacPherson at the back post and 3 yards out with a simple tap in. Connor prevented Swifts from going 2-0 up a couple of minutes later when he did well to deny Downing.

Tividale’s tenacity paid off on 72 minutes when from a Bustin free kick Swifts failed to clear and Joe Burroughs turned the ball home. The game now was in the balance and though Swifts did the majority of the pressing the Tividale back line were looking comfortable until 8 minutes before the 90 when Swifts produced a carbon copy of their first goal. A ball across the home area no one dealing with it and this time Downing found the target.

Full Time:- Tividale 1-2 Stourport Swifts