JW Hunt Cup
3rd round
Tuesday 25th March 2025
Tividale 3-4 Brocton
We lose out in 7 goal thriller
It would seem that we are back in another run of bad results’ The difference this time round is that we are creating chances, scoring from chances but every defensive mistake we make 90% of the times means we concede and this game was no difference.
Tividale rang the changes from the side that went down 3-1 at Romulus on Saturday. Nathan Guest was cup tied with Raheem Akhtar and Matt Holland missing through injury (although Raheem did make up the bench) and Jordon Sangha, Lewis Derrick and Ethan Delaney all unavailable at kick off. Jordon and Lewis were added to the bench. In came Eddie Rann, Jason Wood, Callum Lloyd and teenagers Tom Cottam (19), Joe Garrington (17) and Myles Durham (17)
Brocton started quickly with leading scorer Reg Smith hitting the side netting inside the first minute. An inviting cross from Connor Haddaway flew across the face of goal with no-one on hand to finish. In the seventh minute, Smith set-up Will Whieldon but his shot was high over the bar.
Tividale’s first attempt came from Alfie Higgs and his shot was deflected for a corner. From the corner from the Tividale right, Durham had a free header to put Tividale in front. The lead lasted less than a minute. A header back to Ethan Hawk was missed by the Tividale keeper, and Whieldon was on hand to run the ball into the net.
Tividale were causing Brocton problems with dead balls and from a good delivery, there was pinball in the area with a defender hacking the ball off the line. In the 21st minute, Sam Bratt-Wyton was off target for the home side. Brocton took the lead in the 24th minute and it was another defensive howler. The impressive Jude King played the ball inside to Smith. His low shot was met by Bratt-Wyton and the keeper Hawkes at the same time. The ball squirmed to Whieldon who tapped in. A minute later and it was three. An excellent cross from Smith was met by King in front of the keeper and the ball looped into the net.
Brocton were well and truly on the front foot and their fourth goal was scored in the 33rd minute. A superb ball from Smith played in Whieldon and his shot on the run beat Hawk at his near post. Brocton continued to look for goals with Smith having a free kick blocked by the Tividale wall. Tividale pulled a goal back, 5 minutes before the break. Brocton failed to clear a corner and a Wood shot from the edge of the area flew into the corner.
Half Time: Tividale 2-4 Brocton
Brocton had the first chance of the second half. Connor Haddaway’s corner was met at the far post by Kenny Devoir and Hawk gathered the ball under pressure. In the 52nd minute, an Ezekiel Agyemang shot was turned behind for a corner. On the hour, Whieldon found Smith and his volley flashed wide of the far post. The game was more end to end now with Wood off target for Tividale before Whieldon saw two shots in quick succession blocked by the defence.
In the 68th minute, Morgan Payne picked up the ball on the left, cut inside to create an opening and saw his shot well blocked. In the 71st minute, Tividale were given a chance to get back into the game. The ball was played into the edge of the penalty area and the onrushing keeper Kyle Langston was always going to be second to Agyemang to the ball and completely wiped out the striker and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Langston could also count himself fortunate that the card was yellow and not red.
Cottam stepped up and found the bottom right hand corner. In the 81st minute, a free kick from Whieldon was straight into the midriff of Hawk. With four minutes left, Brocton breathed a sigh of relief as Lewis Derrick’s free kick skimmed the outside of the post. Brocton hung on to move to a semi-final against Dudley Town.
Full-Time: Tividale 3 Brocton 4
Tividale:- 1. Ethan Hawk, 2. Tom Rann (15. Nashawn Blake 66), 3. Sam Bratt-Wyton, 4. Jason Wood (14. Lewis Derrick 62), 5. Callum Lloyd, 6. Joe Garrington, 7. Myles Durham, 8. Eddie Rann (17. Callum McKenna 69), 9. Ezekiel Agyemang, 10. Alfie Higgs (16. Jordon Sangha 56), 11. Tom Cottam.
Unused Sub:-: 12. Matt Holland
Brocton
Wyrley
