Tividale FC

Report

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Tuesday 25th January 2022
Bewdley Town 1-2 Tividale

Tividale take it on the river

With the ex-Worcester Raiders management duo of Chris Corns and his assistant Ryan Rowe now in charge at Bewdley Town. We knew tonight’s opposition was going to be a completely different proposition to the team we beat 4-0 back in August. Backed up by reports that in the two league games since the duo came on board, they fully deserved their point against Racing Club Warwick and were unlucky not to get anything out of their last game against Lye Town.

Bewdley maybe picturesque in the spring and summer. But on a cold January night, a trip down by the river is not so appealing. Tividale only made the one change from the starting eleven that beat Shifnal Town at the weekend. Cameron Milne coming in midfield for the injured Luke Carter.

The first 15 minutes were possibly the most uneventful opening minutes witnessed for quite a while with both teams pressing and probing with no real end product until Tyler Smith blazed over after latching onto a long clearance from Bewdley keeper Joe Sidaway. Tividale’s first effort came in the 17rh minute when Ethan Muckley fired wide. He had another chance two minutes later when he was through on goal but this time his shot sailed over the bar.

The game was also littered with petty fouls and a fair bit of frustration from both teams as the game failed to flow. Bewdley had a very strong appeal for a penalty after half an hour when ex Tividale player Ryan Grosvenor went down under a challenge but the referee waived the appeals away. Brad Welding then forced Sidaway to tip his dipping free kick over the bar in the 39th minute. From the resulting corner taken by Darragh Bustin, Muckley’s header thundered back off the cross bar. The half ended with Grosvenor getting a first time shot off that whistled past Hawk’s far post. After it had gone wide the Tividale stopper had the look of a man that knew it was going wide. But the rest of us was not so sure.

Half Time: – Bewdley Town 0-0 Tividale 

Tividale went ahead 2 minutes into the second half when Bewdley failed to clear a long Welding throw and Bustin was the first to react swivelling and firing into the bottom corner of Skidmore’s net. There followed a spate of bookings that would have a major impact on the end of the game.

On 55 minutes Hawk was adjudged to have taken the ball outside his area. Kyle Belmonte took the resulting free kick but the Tividale wall did its job and deflected it for a corner. From the resulting corner the ball was cleared out to Bewdley’s full back Rio Bakala but his shot was bravely charged down by Tividale defender Tom Hurdman.

Eight minutes later and the first of those bookings came back to haunt the visitors. Welding on a booking received a second booking when he and Smith tangled at the front post. Referee Callum Johnson felt that Welding was doing the fouling and gave the penalty and showed Welding the second yellow. Belmonte stepped up to take it but Hawk was equal to his spot kick and saved it.

Even with a man short the visitors still looked comfortable switching to a 4-4-1 formation. With 20 minutes to go the 10 men of Tividale extended their lead. The ever-willing Muckley now on his own up front again took on the Bewdley centre backs, he got his shot off, Sidaway failed to hold on to it and Hartley tapped the ball home at the back post. Milne then tried a free kick from 25 yards out in the 76th minute but Sidaway collects comfortably. A minute later and Milne was through again from midfield but this time he tried to chip Sidaway but did not get enough on it and it sailed comfortably into the keeper’s hands.

Tividale were then down to 9 men in the 80th minute. From a Bustin clearance there was another coming together as the ball was cleared. The referee adjudged that Bustin who was filling in for Welding in the left back position had committed a foul in his follow through and handed him also a second yellow. It was now a back’s to the wall scenario as Tividale defended their two-goal lead while Bewdley were camped in the visitor’s half.

In the 83rd minute Bewdley pulled one back. From another free kick on the edge of the Tividale area, and a tired Tividale clearance the ball landed at the feet of Elliott Sumnall and his shot found it’s way through a crowd of bodies beat Hawk and cut the deficit in half. As the ball moved into injury time the home side had one last chance. But again, Hawk was equal to Belmonte’s effort and Tividale saw the game out for a hard-earned win.

Full Time:- Bewdley Town 1-2 Tividale 

Tividale: – 1. Peter Hawk, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Brad Welding, 4. Cameron Milne (14. Lewis McPike 84), 5. Dan Bryson 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Darragh Bustin, 8. Curtis Cocking, 9. Ethan Muckley (16. Joseph Burroughs 90), 10. Jason Wood (12. Hayden Reeve 71), 11. Elliott Hartley

Unused Subs: – 15. Jake Bram, 17. Dan Smith.