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 

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 4th January 2020
South Normanton Athletic FC 3-1 Tividale

Normanton allowed to Shine 

With another 9 day break between games Tividale made what was going to be a difficult trip to South Normanton Athletic.

With Dave King on holiday assistant Kieran Bustin was in charge of team affairs and his first act was to assess the fitness of son Darragh before naming the side. In the end Darragh was fit enough to start and played the whole game. So the only changes to the starting line up that beat Lye Town last time out was Brad Welding in for the now departed Jake Webb and Tyree Clarke replacing the suspended Luke Carter.

Just as in the Boxing Day win, Tividale had the better of the early chances but this time they were unable to capitalise on them. With Dan Smith and Bustin both going close in the opening 10 minutes. Normanton’s first attempt was in the 13th minute when a Ben Robinson shot arrowed straight at Tividale keeper’s Louis Connor who gathered comfortably. Tividale had a glorious chance to open the scoring on 22 minutes when Matt Hunt just failed to turn home a Brad Welding shot come cross at the back post. Connor then had to be at his best 5 minutes later when he somehow got down to palm one handed around the post an Eric Graves shot after he created the shooting chance for himself with some neat work. Jake Dodds then cleared Connor’s bar with a free kick before Graves again made himself an opening but this time shot wide. Tividale had the final chance of the half when from a Bustin cross, Liam Wilkinson fired over the bar.

Half Time:- South Normanton Athletic 0-0 Tividale

Again Tividale started the half the brighter and 2 minutes in Normanton keeper Curtis Hall did well to save a Smith effort after he was put through from a Bustin flick on. Then on the hour Smith again failed to beat Hall, this time with a header from a Tom Hurdman free kick.Tividale broke the deadlock on 62 minutes when from a defensive error, Smith latched onto a loose pass and cashed in by sliding the ball under Hall and into the back of the net.

The home side then pushed onto the visitors defence who had held their own against a decent side, but on 80 minutes the defence was breached when Robinson was first to react to a Normanton shot that came back off the bar and he found the back of the net despite Connor getting something on his shot. A minute later and Normanton’s sub Kenan Layton struck Connor’s post as they now pressed for a winner.

The home side took the lead through a lapse in concentration on Tividale’s behalf in the 88th minute. After the ball hit the referee, he picked the ball up and awarded the drop ball to Normanton. With Tividale not happy with the decision and not realising the danger, the ball found it’s way to another home substitute Richard Hanslow and he made no mistake in lashing the ball past Connor. In the aftermath of the goal, Tividale’s Hunt was sent to the sin bin and while they were still sorting themselves out in defence, Hanslow was put through again in injury time and again he gave Connor no chance.

Full Time:- South Normanton Athletic 3-1 Tividale

 

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Thursday 26th December 2019
Lye Town 0-5 Tividale

Derby Day Demolition

With their stop start season Tividale had not played since the 1-0 defeat at Coventry United but were still looking for their first league double win of the season.

Manager Dave King was delighted to welcome a number of the players who had missed the Coventry defeat 12 days ago including club captain Dan Bryson, Jake Webb, Joe Burroughs, Liam Wilkinson and Cameron Milne but were missing Jacob Barnes man of the match against Coventry

Tividale were a threat from the kick off and were ahead after just 9 minutes when from a Dan Bryson ball Dan Smith was able to just get there before Lye keeper Ben Newey who brought him down and Darragh Bustin scored from the spot despite Newey getting a hand to it and it seemed to roll under him and in. Lye looked to have a penalty shout themselves when Bryson challenged the lively Jordan Davies but there was no real appeal from the home side.

Lye never threatened the Tividale back line who was winning just about every ball into their half and ex Tividale forward Chris Sterling was getting no service at all. Curtis Cocking and Luke Carter both had efforts comfortably saved by Newey before Tividale went 2-0 up on 32 minutes. Bustin for the umpteenth time in the game left Lye full back Joe Colley for dead, fired in a cross that Newey could only parry to Dan Smith who side footed the ball home. 6 minutes later it was 3-0 and game over. A Bustin ball into the Lye Box was headed down into the path of Smith by Lye skipper Leigh Pardoe and the forward blasted the ball into the roof of the net.

Half Time:- Lye Town 0-3 Tividale

Respect to Lye although they never looked like pulling back all the deficit they did start the half on the front foot and for the first time in the game gave the Tividale back line a few problems and Jack Pearlman actually brought a save out of Tividale keeper Louis Connor. But after 67 minutes normal service was resumed when Smith was brought down by Lye defender Haydyn Reeves in the penalty area and this time Newey got nowhere near Bustin’s spot kick.

Lye were now a deflated side and Tividale should have added a few more to their tally but in the end they only added Brad Welding’s curling effort that went in off the base of the post on 78 minutes.

So we rounded off the year and an eventful decade in the history of Tividale Football Club. A decade that produced 3 Championships, 3 Cup wins and 2 relegations. Not bad for a little club in the Black Country.

Full Time:- Lye Town 0-5 Tividale

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 14th December 2019
Coventry United 1-0 Tividale

Williams Wonder strike settles it

With a depleted squad including two youth team players on a bench of three, a trip to the league leaders was possibly the worst place you would want to be and so the game plan was with what we had available to make ourselves as difficult to break down as possible.

The plan worked for 82 minutes as we frustrated a Coventry United side who although had a lot of the possession only really troubled Tividale keeper Louis Connor with a couple of shots. The goal is not included as the keeper could only watch as it bent into his top right hand corner and it would have beat most goalkeepers. United completely dominated the first half and Ben Vallance from the left flank was the main threat with his run’s and crosses that the Tividale defence did well to deal with, of which Jacob Barnes seemed to be every where blocking and tackling everything, leaving Connor with just the one save to make in the half, when he turned a Michael Quirke shot around the post.

Half Time:- Coventry United 0-0 Tividale

The second half was much the same but Tividale did pose a little more of a threat when they brought on Dan Smith to partner Clarke up front. The visitors seemed to have weathered the United storm as they seemed to run out of ideas of how to break them down when on 82 minutes up stepped Aaron Williams to curl a beauty from 25 yards past Connor .

Credit to the visitors they kept battling away but as the home side had got the vital goal they were quite content to see out the game with a 1-0 win

Full Time:- Coventry United 1-0 Tividale