Pre Season Friendly
Saturday 1st August 2020
Dudley Sports 0-0 Tividale
With the lifting of coronavirus restrictions to allow for pre-season friendlies to take place on the 1st August, manager Dave King took the chance to continue preparations for the eventual start of the 2020-21 campaign.
After 6 weeks of one to one training, then small groups of 6 and finally full training sessions. A proper 11 a side game was most welcome by not only the players but staff also. In fact the only people who were possibly not looking forward to it was all the new Covid 19 officers. But Leanne and Kath at Dudley Sports were superb and had done a great job.
The match itself was an entertaining 0-0 draw with a much changed home squad who on this showing will be challenging at the right end of the table this week with experienced players of the quality of Matthew Vaughan, Nick Turton, Matthew hearsay and Ian Meese amongst others in their ranks.
Tividale started with a number of trialist in the first half and they linked up well with the players from last season in a fairly even first half. Tividale keeper Adam Harrison made the first save of the game denying Turton and Tividale’s Jelson Antonio produced a fine save by the Dudley keeper and then captain for the day Curtis Cocking (pictured) struck the crossbar with a speculative effort.
With the normal mass substitutions at half time and regularly throught the half, Tividale were the stronger in the second period and the visitors created the majority of the chances with Dan Smith and Luke Sidaway going close but a well disciplined Sport’s defence ensured they kept a clean sheet and a deserved draw.