Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 7th December 2019
Tividale 1-1 South Normanton Athletic

South take a point North

For the third time this season Tividale failed to hold onto a one goal advantage and ended up with a point to show for a real shift put in by the lads.

Even with the injury list beginning to clear Manager Dave King was still unable to have a full quota on the bench. But a bench of Joe Burroughs, Tyree Clarke, Lee Smith and Jake Webb was as impressive as we was likely to get.

A Dan Smith’s header from a Darragh Bustin corner was the first piece of goalmouth action in the game but it was comfortably saved by South Normanton keeper Curtis Hall. Visiting forward Richard Hanslow then had Tividale keeper Louis Connor diving at full stretch to turn his shot around the post.

There was a distinct lack of goalmouth action as the half went by but although Tividale had the majority of the possession, it was the visitors who had the better chances. The best of them being Keenan Layton blazing over the Tividale bar from a David Leigh cross.

Tividale took the lead on 32 minutes when after some good work from Bustin he found Smith who fired his shot into the roof of Hall’s net. Chances from then on were at a premium although Garnett did get a save out of Connor from a free kick.

Half Time:- Tividale 1-0 South Normanton

The second half was in it’s opening seconds when Tividale had a chance cleared off the line. From then on the game settled into a familiar pattern with neither side looking threatening. If anything it was the visitors who were now getting the upper hand and on 70 minutes they duly equalised when a ball whipped into the box was not dealt with by the home defence and Jack Tyson was on hand to nod the ball home. The visitors had a great chance to win it deep into injury time but full back John Guy’s shot just cleared the cross bar.

Full Time:- Tividale 1-1 South Normanton

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 23rd November 2019
Highgate 3-1 Tividale

This was Tividale’s first game since the 4-1 win against FC Stratford in the League Cup on Bonfire Night and it showed as we put on a performance that can be summed up as below par. But the management team were not too disappointed as the obvious lack of match sharpness against a side that had played twice in the last 7 days is something that hopefully will remedy itself in the weeks to come.

Tividale started disastrously, conceding in the very first minute, when Ryan Conlon headed home Harry Reece’s cross. The good thing about conceding early is that you have a long time to get back into the game and Tividale only needed 6 minutes to do so. Some neat play around the edge of the home box ended with Dan Smith finding Tyree Clarke 12 yards out and he turned and fired into the bottom right hand corner of Highgate’s keeper James Beeson’s goal. Two minutes later and Beeson denied Tividale a second. Darragh Bustin’s free kick from the edge of the box was initially spilled by the keeper but he was quick enough to dive onto the loose ball.

Highgate went close in the 13th minute when a well worked short corner by Cameron Collins found full back Trevor Edwards and his shot was turned around the post by Tividale keeper Louis Connor. Liam Wilkinson making his 100th appearance then had an effort comfortably saved by Beeson on 21 minutes. Then in the space of two minutes the officials turned down two Tividale appeals for handball. The first a hand ball in the penalty area and the second although outside the penalty area a blatant handball. With the first they could argue with the distant the ball travelled. But the second one there was no excuse. Clarke then curled an effort on 30 minutes that drifted just past Beeson’s far post.

On 38 minutes, after an obvious disagreement between Connor and the assistant in his half, the referee was called over and the keeper was sin binned. Lee Smith was handed the gloves, but he never touched the ball in the closing 7 minutes and 3 minutes of injury time.

Half Time:- Highgate United 1 v 1 Tividale

Due to the 3 minutes injury time on top of the final 7 minutes, Connor had done the 10 minutes required and was able to take back the gloves at the start of the second half.

Highgate’s Miracle Okafor had the first decent chance of the second period when his glancing header went wide. In the 56th minute Bustin then tried to lob Beeson but he missed the target. The highlight of the next 15 minutes or so was Highgate’s Correy Currithers being sin binned for another conversation with the same official. It was the 70th minute before a chance worthy of reporting was fashioned. Beeson diving full length to turn a Clarke effort around the post.

With the game meandering to a draw, Highgate substitute Seegu Sebbeh’s punt into the Tividale area was completely misjudged by Connor who found himself way underneath it and the ball just floated over his head and into the net.

So from looking fairly comfortable, Tividale were now chasing the game, but despite the possession they were held at bay by a disciplined Highgate defence. With the game well into injury time a Highgate counter attack led by Conlon who’s through ball had both striker Okafor and keeper Connor racing for the ball, a race that the striker won and he was able to slide the ball past the keeper and into the back of the empty net.

Full Time:- Highgate United 3 v 1 Tividale

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Joe Burroughs (14. Tom Hurdman 60), 3. Lewis Probert, 4.Jacob Barnes, 5. Luke Carter (15. Jake Webb 75), 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Darragh Bustin, 8. Liam Wilkinson (c), 9. Dan Smith (12. Brad Welding 72), 10. Tyrone Clarke, 11. Lee Smith

Unused Subs:- 16. Cameron Milne, 17. Dan Bryson