Tividale FC

Report

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Tuesday 14th March 2023
Tividale 0-3 Lye Town

Much better, but still not there..

Tividale came across the side that put 6 past them17 days ago and although they were beaten again that was just about the only similarity to the previous game.

In this game Tividale at times matched their high flying neighbours but a terrible decision, a superb strike and an unfortunate deflection when chasing the game meant that Lye took the points.

Tividale made just the one change from the side that beat Paget Rangers a week ago in the JW Hunt Cup with the returning Cody Mullan in for the suspended Malcolm Melvin.

In the early exchanges  the game was pretty even as Tividale held their own against the visitors and the first clear cut chance did not arrive until the 15th minute when a Jack Fletcher clearing header landed at the feet of Lye’s Kieron Northwood and his shot from 25 yards cleared Louis Connor’s cross bar. A minute later and Tividale’s Harry Lewis tried his luck from the edge of the box, but Lye keeper Ben Newey saved it comfortably.

Lye went close again in the 27^th minute when from a Ben Billingham free kick Sam Hall headed wide.

Then came an unbelievable decision on the half hour mark. A Lye cross from the right and Connor gets a touch to it and in the scramble, it falls to Josh Hesson (who is falling). The ball hits his hand and with the momentum of the striker falling he scoops the ball over the line. It had to be one of the most blatant hand balls you will ever see. And everyone on the side-line around the penalty area could see it apart from the officials. Now considering the assistant had already missed at least 2 off sides and was nowhere near level with play when the incident happened. It did not come as a great surprise.

If there was controversy over the first goal, there was none with the second 5 minutes later when Billingham played in Nathan Scott on the edge of the box and his thunderbolt flashed into the back of the net despite Connor getting a hand to it.

Billingham put in another free kick on 40 minutes but this time it was Adam Meacham who headed it wide.

Half Time:- Tividale 0-2 Lye Town

The second period was again a tight affair with neither side producing any clear-cut chances. Tividale’s Dan Smith forced Newey into a sharp save in the 54^th minute and  Sam Tye tested Connor after being put in by Jamie Ashmore.

Lye wrapped up the points with 15 minutes to go when they broke through Joe Palmer. His run down the left was pretty much unchallenged and his shot took a deflection giving Connor no chance.

Tividale continued to make the visitors work and went close to a consolation goal with 5 minutes to go when a Fletcher ball into the Lye penalty area  but Mullan’s deft flick did not have enough on it to beat Newey.

So, 0-3 was the final result. Another defeat yes but the all-round performance was a million miles away from the effort 17 days before.

Full Time:- Tividale 0-3 Lye Town

Tividale: – 1. Louis Connor, 2. Zac Kourouyianni, 3. David Solademi (15. Kamol Campbell 82), 4. Joe Burroughs, 5. Louis Ezewele, 6. Joe Hawkins, 17. Harry Lewis (14. Reinaldo Forbes 56), 8. Cody Mullan, 9. Dan Smith (16. Callum Devlin 78),10. Arman Khoshkhoo, 11. Jack Fletcher.

Unused Subs:- 12. Nashawn Blake, 18. Alfie Higgs.