Tividale FC

Midland Football League

Premier Division
Saturday 20th November 2021
Tividale 5-1 Wolverhampton Casuals

Good to be back home

After a well-publicised difficult couple of weeks, and although we have a decent away following for this level. It was great to be back at The Beeches and in front of our home fans.

Once again manager Dave King had to amend the side that started last week’s game. With Peter Hawk coming in for Niall Maher in goal. Other changes were Brad Welding, Luke Carter and Lewis McPike coming in for TJ Munthali, Elliott Hartley, and Ethan Muckley.

It was the home side that started the brighter and at times Casuals had trouble in getting out of their own half. But when they did, they looked fairly threatening on the counterattack. But Tividale made their early pressure tell when in the 12th minute a deep Darragh Bustin corner was headed back across goal by Matt Hunt and Eshan Greer flicked the ball past Joe Williams in the Casual’s goal.

Casuals were still carrying a threat and on 15 minutes were unlucky not to have levelled when a Josh Parker shot was blocked by Hawk, the ball then hit Tividale defender Dan Bryson and rolled agonisingly the wrong side of the post for Casuals. Brad Welding then skied a free kick on 17 minutes after a mistimed Romehl Seranto challenge on Curtis Cocking. Cocking then saw his shot turned around the post by Williams on 22 minutes and a minute later Williams denied Bustin after he cut in from the right and unleashed a shot that the keeper did well to hold.

With 26 minutes played Casuals produced their best move of the half, when Mo Conteh played in Josh Parker and his deft touch into the path of Ross Evans could not have been better weighted, but the striker could not keep his shot down. Cocking then made a neat run in between Casual’s centre back’s and tucked the ball home but the referee’s assistant ruled that he had gone too early and flagged him offside.

Tividale doubled their lead on the stroke of half time with a trademark Bustin goal. The midfield man collected the ball just inside the Casuals half, strolled forward and from twenty-five yards unleashed a thunderbolt that rocketed over Williams and into the back of the net.

Half Time: – Tividale 2-0 Wolverhampton Casuals

Tividale were immediately at Casuals from the start of the second period when Bustin fired over the Casuals bar after great build up play by Jason Wood and Greer. 10 minutes in and Tividale were three up. Another Bustin corner to the back post and Hunt again rose above everyone else, but this time instead of heading it back into the danger zone he powered this header over Williams and into the roof of the net.

Tividale were a lot closer with Welding’s next free kick attempt on 52 minutes. This time he whipped into Hunt, but this time Williams was able to parry away his shot and Casual’s defence completed the clearance.

With Tividale now completely dominant Casuals did not help themselves with two second half sin bins. First skipper Joe Clarke and then striker Conteh.

Bustin then cut inside his marker on 54 minutes but from an acute angle he could only hit the side netting. Then a minute later from a Welding free kick a Bustin header struck the base of the post. Casuals Finn Howell had their first chance of the half on 57 minutes when he latched onto a long ball, but he put his shot over the bar. Then in one movement Welding controlled a cross field pass and shot, but he also could not keep his down.

Tividale made it four nil through substitute Ethan Muckley in the 71st minute providing a cool finish passing the ball wide of Williams and into the bottom corner of the net after a lovely ball played through to him from the midfield. Casuals to their credit kept working and trying to make something happen and Evans tried to catch Hawk off his line in the 74th minute with a speculative effort from twenty yards out, but the young keeper had it covered.

Casuals did get on the score sheet in the 82nd minute when Hawk did well to push away a blistering low shot, but it fell nicely to Casual’s substitute Harry Rogers, and he made no mistake from six yards out. Tividale substitute Cameron Milne tried his luck from distance on 84 minutes, but that effort went wide. With three minutes to go Milne was on target from a great deal closer when he met a low Bustin cross at the back post and slotted the ball past Williams to make it 5-1.

Full Time: – Tividale 5-1 Wolverhampton Casuals

1. Peter Hawk, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Brad Welding,4. Luke Carter, Dan Bryson, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Lewis McPike (15. Daniel Greatrex 76), 8. Jason Wood (12. Cameron Milne 67), 9. Eshan Greer (14. Ethan Muckley 65), 10. Darragh Bustin, 11. Curtis Cocking

Unused Subs: – 13. Niall Maher