Tividale FC

Report

JW Hunt Cup
Semi Final
Tuesday 2^nd May 2023
Tividale 1-1 Wednesfield

(Tividale win on penalties 7-6)

The Penalty Lottery

After the disappointment of missing out on two semi-finals. The first the Walsall Senior Cup due to playing an ineligible player and then the Birmingham Senior Cup after a penalty shoot-out defeat against Aston Villa’s Under-21s.This was a happier ending and Tividale will compete in the JW Hunt Cup Final at The Molineux on Tuesday 30^th May after defeating a gallant Wednesfield side after a penalty shoot-out.

With Joe Hawkins now available and Arman Khoshkhoo and Cody Mullan cup tied. Boss Dave King switched to a back three with Hawkins replacing Harry Lewis and Reinaldo Forbes in for Khoshkhoo from the defeat at Darlaston 11 days ago.

Tividale and the better of the early exchanges, but Wednesfield were making sure that their opposition from a higher level were not going to have an easy ride. On 8 minutes Jack Fletcher fired over the bar but Wednesfield’s Dimitri Dunkley tested Tividale keeper Louis Connor with a shot that he collected comfortably on 11 minutes. In the 16^th minute Louis Ezewele then strode forward for Tividale and unleashed a shot that Wednesfield keeper Craig Pain pouched.

Wednesfield went ahead in the 20^th minute when Tividale gave away a needless free kick on the edge of their box and Harry Cunningham stepped up and found the back of Connor’s net via a deflection.

The lead lasted just 4 minutes when in the 24^th minute Dan Smith was pushed in the back in the penalty area and were awarded a penalty. Jason Wood stepped up and although Pain went the right way, he could not stop Wood levelling the scores.

Smith then tried an audacious scissor kick that went straight at Pain in the 29^th minute and on 32 minutes Dunkley headed over a James Griffiths cross as the game became an end-to-end affair.

Kourouyianni then whipped in a wonderful cross that Smith just failed to get on the end of and then in the last action of the half Wednesfield’s Jack Dew caught a volley perfectly from about 25 yards out and Connor had to be at his best diving full length to turn the ball over the bar.

Half Time :-Tividale 1-1 Wednesfield

Dunkley had two great chances to put Wednesfield ahead in the 48^th minute. First his shot was deflected for a corner and from the resulting corner his shot struck the cross bar.

On 58 minutes Tividale themselves had a chance to take the lead. This time Forbes was brought down by Sam Paddock in the area, but this time Pain guessed right and saved Wood’s penalty.

Dunkley again tested Connor in the 67^th minute but again Connor was equal to his effort. Kamol Campbell then made Pain work as he struck a Forbes cross, but the keeper was never troubled by it. Fisher then played in Smith, but he blasted over.

The last few minutes of the 90 was littered with chance after chance as both teams looked to win the game before the lottery of penalties. But in the end the two teams could not be separated

Full Time :-Tividale 1-1 Wednesfield

And so on to penalties

Harry Lewis (Tividale) – Missed – Saved 0-0
Harry Cunningham (Wednesfield) – Missed – Over 0-0
Louis Ezewele (Tividale) – Scores 1-0
Jake Sharman (Wednesfield) – Scores 1-1
Zac Kourouyianni  (Tividale) – Missed – Over 1-1
Aaron Handley (Wednesfield) – Missed -Wide 1-1
Joe Hawkins (Tividale) – Scores 2-1
Dimitri Dunkley (Wednesfield) – Scores 2-2
Ryan Snape (Tividale) – Scores 3-2
Jack Dew (Wednesfield) – Scores 3-3
Dan Smith (Tividale) – Scores 4-3
Connor Parker (Wednesfield) – Scores 4-4
Jakob Burroughs (Tividale) – Scores 5-4
Sam Bennett (Wednesfield) – Scores 5-5
Kamol Campbell (Tividale) – Scores 6-5
Ashley Billingham (Wednesfield) – Scores 6-6
Jason Wood (Tividale) – Scores 7-6
Sam Paddock (Wednesfield) – Missed – Saved 7-6 (Connor the hero)

Penalties Result:- Tividale 7-6 Wednesfield

Tividale: – 1. Louis Connor, 2. Zac Kourouyianni, 3. Kamol Campbell, 4. Joe Burroughs (16. Ryan Snape 83), 5. Louis Ezewele, 6. Joe Hawkins, 7. Malcolm Melvin (15. Jakob Burroughs 58), 8. Jason Wood, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Reinaldo Forbes (12. Harry Lewis 78), 11. Jack Fletcher.

Unused Subs:– 13. Peter Hawk, 14. David Solademi