Tividale FC

Report

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 19th October 2019
Tividale 1-1 Coventry United

Tividale are United in the points

In the end a point a piece was a fair result as both sides struggled too break down two well organised defences.

With a depleted squad Manager Dave King really had to dig into the depth of his squad for this game. With Luke Carter and Dan Smith suspended. Tom Hurdman added to the injury list with Darragh Bustin and Lewis Probert also unavailable. So from last week in came Cameron Milne, Jake Webb, Jacob Barnes, Matt Hunt and Tyree Clarke. In a 4-3-3 line up and young youth team player Sean Rowley was added to the bench.

Tividale were immediately on the front foot and Brad Welding had the first chance when he cut in from the left hand side but curled his shot over the bar after 2 minutes. Jake Webb then was put through on 7 minutes but Coventry keeper Reece Francis came out to him closed him down and saved his shot. Coventry’s first effort was in the 12th minute when from a free kick Matthew Gardner headed over the bar. In the 24th minute Tividale keeper Louis Connor failed to hold onto a ball into the Tividale area and Chris Camwell tried to turn the ball home but Connor was able to grab it at the second attempt. Two minutes later and Francis held onto a crisp shot from Welding.

In the 34th minute Coventry’s McCauley Manning was given way too much room and he laid the ball off to Camwell but he shot wide. Jake Holt then headed over a Camwell free kick and that was the end of the first half action.

Half Time: Tividale 0-0 Coventry United

Coventry had the first decent chance of the second half when Holt got onto the end of a long throw in the 49th minute but the header lacked any power and Connor saved comfortably. In the second half the game was lacking in real goal mouth incidents and it was on the hour mark when the next one came and again it was from the visitors. Connor had to be at full stretch to turn a Manning free kick around his left hand post.

Coventry were now turning up the pressure and it took an incredible piece of defending from Watts to deny them on 66 minutes. Coventry striker Kyle Carey was through one on one with Connor and although he rounded the keeper Connor did enough to push the striker out wide and narrow the angle for his shot. When he did shoot towards Connor’s near post Watts was just about able to get back, dive at the foot of the post and divert the ball out for a corner injuring himself in the process and he had to be replaced.

The game was now stretched with both teams going for it and with 3 minutes remaining Tividale went ahead. From a Tividale throw it looked like Emile Beckford who got a knock on, the ball fell for Lee Smith and he lashed it into the back of the net. It must have been a body blow to the visitors but their heads never dropped and with the game well into injury time a long ball into the Tividale area and although Barnes played the ball he was adjudged to have brought down Gardner also and a penalty was awarded. Connor did well to save Holt’s original spot kick but could do nothing to prevent Holt from getting to the rebound first and steering it past Connor.

In the end it was tough to get pegged back in injury time especially as we had defended so well at times but as reported earlier it would have been harsh on Coventry United if they had come away with nothing as they played their part in a pulsating game.

Full Time: Tividale 1-1 Coventry United

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Freddie Watts (14. Emile Beckford 68) , 3. Brad Welding, 4. Dan Bryson, 5. Jacob Barnes, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Jake Webb, 8. Liam Wilkinson, 9. Tyree Clarke, 10. Lee Smith, 11. Cameron Milne (12. Kyle Bramley 58).

Unused Subs:- 15. Tom Garratt, 16. Sean Rowley 17. Lewis Probert