Midland Football League
Premier Cup
Round One
Tuesday 29th October 2024
Tividale 1-3 Dudley Town

Can’t score. Go out.

With two decent results behind them, the Premier League Cup gave Phil Rann a chance to start with some of his squad players. In came Jason Wood, Jamie Hunt, Lewis Derrick, and Taylor Homer. Replacing the injured Alfie Higgs, Jordon Sangha, Eddie Rann, and Luke Postle.

Dudley made the more positive start getting on the front foot and were close to scoring when five minutes into the game Tividale keeper Ethan Hawkes misjudged the bounce of a back pass and Matthew Funge nipped infront of him and tried to lift the ball over Hawkes but the ball bounced off the cross bar.

Tividale’s first chance fell to Ryan Piggott but he fired wide on 13 minutes. The game then went into a lull were neither side could take a stronghold in the game. Then on 33minutes a Homer free kick crashed off the cross bar.

Dudley broke the deadlock in the 45th minute when a deep corner was headed back across goal into the 6 yard box and Bekir Halil was alert enough to stab the ball over the line.

.Half Time: Tividale 0-1 Dudley Town

Dudley doubled their lead 3 minutes into the second period when Harry Crook was allowed to cut in from the left wing, beat three Tividale defender’s and slot the ball home. Four minutes later and its 3-0 and it’s great work from Funge before he tees up Jordan Davies, who strokes the ball home.

With Dudley now looking comfortable, they then decided to try and shoot themselves in the foot. In the 67th minute Dudley keeper Alex Graham brings down Ezekiel Agyemang in the area. Graham is booked and Agyemang picked himself up and hammered the ball down the middle of the goal to make it 3-1. Two minutes later and Graham repeats the foul. This time on Etan Delaney, luckily it is outside the box. Unluckily it is a second yellow for the keeper and to make it worse skipper Alex Perry is sent to the sin bin in the aftermath.

Ashley Smith replaced Graham in goal and his first bit of action is a brilliant save low down to his right, to deny Homer. Tividale could not provide the grandstand finish in the closing minutes as Dudley defended well with 9 men and then with 10. Smith had the last word, denying Derrick with another flying save but he could only watch as a Sangha shot fizzed past his left hand post.

In the end Dudley move into the second round courtesy of the 3 goal rush in the 8

Full Time: Tividale 3-1 Dudley Town 

Tividale: 1. Ethan Hawkes, 2. Tom Rann (15. Luke Postle 80), 3. Jevani Robinson, 4. Ethan Delaney, 5. Callum Lloyd (14. Raheem Akhtar 65), 6. Harry Higginson, 7. Jason Wood, 8. Jamie Hunt (16. Jordon Sangha 60), 9. Ryan Piggott (12, Ezekiel Agyemang 60) 10. Lewis Derrick, 11. Taylor Homer

Unused Subs: 17. Aon Mohammed Abbas