Tividale FC

Report

Midland Football League

Premier Division
Saturday 9th October 2021
Worcester City 1-2 Tividale

Bouncebackability

It has been said a few times this season. If we stop mentioning any cup competition, we will be ok as we produce our worse displays in them.

It has also been proved many times with this squad of players that when the chips are down, and the odds are against them they come back out fighting and here at Worcester in front of over 500 supporters they pulled it out the bag again. It was not the most fluid and eye-catching performance but this one was never going to be.

With Dan Smith out for at least two months with the unfortunate broken ankle against Warstones Wanderers. Eshan Greer made his first team debut. Tom Hurdman and Luke Carter both unavailable in midweek, returned to the starting eleven at the expense of Brad Welding and Lewis McPike were the other changes.

Away from the football. Today’s game was dedicated to the friends and families of Worcester City that had lost loved ones in the pandemic and in the two minutes silence before the game, the names of those that had passed away were read out. In an amazing gesture in which we at Tividale FC will never forget we were also asked to name the loved ones lost that were close to Tividale and they were also read out.

The game started with City looking much the stronger side, but it was Tividale who had the first chance in the fifth minutes from a corner, but the Birch header went wide. City’s first major chance came after 11 minutes. A long ball forward from goalkeeper Adam Harrison found Bailey Fuller but his shot was blocked before being cleared. Chris Sterling then had a long-range effort which was easily saved by Niall Maher the Tividale keeper. On 13 minutes City had a great chance a Billy Shaw cross found Sterling in the middle of the six-yard box but another Tividale block by Matt Hunt defies him.

City were still exerting the pressure, but Tividale’s defence stood firm. They then had two good chances halfway through the first half. Both from free kicks. The first went into the wall but the referee adjudged Curtis Cocking had committed a foul in racing out for the ball, exactly where the first one had been committed. The second one going out off the back of Sterling and out for a corner. Shaw then had an effort on 27 minutes that cleared the bar. A good interchange between Cocking and Greer who in turn laid the ball off to Bustin but it was a comfortable save for Harrison on the half hour.

City took the lead on 38 minutes when after some persistent pressure a Fuller corner found skipper Aaron Roberts on the back post who beat Hunt to the ball and headed home. Three minutes later and the visitors were straight back in the game. A Cameron Milne free kick was played into Bustin on the edge of the City penalty area. He took one touch and then lashed it home on the half volley with Harrison stationary.

Half Time: – Worcester City 1-1 Tividale

City had the first chance of the second period on 47 minutes when another City corner found Fuller on the edge of the box, his shot was eventually cleared and deflected off a City player for a goal kick. Dimitri Dunkley then chased down a long clearance on 52 minutes, played the ball to Brown but Hunt blocks his shot. Birch then went close in the 56th minute when from a Hartley corner his header was blocked by a City defender and eventually cleared. Then a Bustin free kick was again headed just wide by Hunt at the back post.

Tividale where a whisker from going ahead on 67 minutes when from a Shaw part clearance the ball came out to Luke Carter 25 yards out, who controlled the ball on his thigh before unleashing a shot that beat Harrison all ends up but the ball crashed off the underside of the bar, bounced off the back of Harrison’s head before the clearance was completed by Fortune Maphosa.

Tividale did go ahead in the 73rd minute. A Hurdman ball found Bustin out on the left and his ball around the corner into the penalty area found Maphosa on the wrong side of Greer and in his attempt to get back in position brought down the forward. Referee Sam Dods had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Carter placed the resulting spot kick high above the dive of Harrison and into the roof of the net.

The City dangerman Fuller was again at the heart of anything they had going forward when his 85th minute free kick cleared the crossbar and landed on top of the net.Tividale had the final chance of the game when Cocking found himself an opening to get his shot off but it never troubled Harrison.

Full Time: – Worcester City 1-2 Tividale

Tividale: – 1. Niall Maher, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Hayden Reeves, 4. Luke Carter, 5. Ben Birch, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Darragh Bustin, 8. Curtis Cocking, 9. Ethan Greer, 10. Cameron Milne, 11. Elliott Hartley

Unused Subs: – 12. Lewis McPike, 13. Peter Hawk, 14. Jordan Edwards, 15. Dan Bryson, 16. TJ Munthali