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.

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 4th March 2023
Tividale 1-1 Shifnal Town

In a result’s-based sport. It is great to get win’s with the playing of attractive football. But playing attractive or not so attractive football and not winning week after week can be heart-breaking. So it is time’s like this that the old adage “grinding out results” comes in handy.

With Jason Wood suspended and Jakob Burroughs moving onto pastures new, manager Dave King tried a change in formation going to a 4-4-2 line up and pushing Louis Ezewele into a holding midfield role. There was also a debut for new midweek signing  Reinaldo Forbes

The first 45 minutes of this game was pretty even with neither side really offering much goalmouth action. It was the 17th minute when a Jez Abbey shot posed no problem for Tividale keeper Louis Connor and with both teams cancelling each other out, Tividale’s first and only real chance of the half came on 31 minutes. A great ball into the Shifnal box by Malcolm Melvin and striker Dan Smith’s header on goal was brilliantly saved by Shifnal stopper Adam Whitehouse.

The rest of the half was not the greatest as both teams found clear cut chances hard to come by.

Half Time:-Tividale 0-0 Shifnal Town

Tividale had a wonderful chance to open the scoring in the first minute of the second period when after some good work from Forbes, he found Smith but again he was denied by Whitehouse, who blocked his shot and palmed it away for a corner and from the resulting Melvin corner Smith headed over the bar.

After that, the game went back into a type of trench warfare as both teams battled away with little if any territorial gain and chances even sparser. Smith volleyed a David Solademi long throw wide on the hour and 4 minutes later Whitehouse failed to hold onto a stinging Harry Lewis free kick but it was cleared by a Shifnal defender.

Shifnal’s Mikey Nelson then tried his luck from distance in the 65th minute but it went well wide. Nelson had another chance 5 minutes later when he shot on the turn but this time he cleared the crossbar. Lewis Jarman shot over the bar on 74 minutes after  being played in by Keanu Cooper. As the game moved into the last 10 minutes Smith again shot over the bar from a Arman Khoshkhoo pass.

With the game heading for a 0-0 draw. Shifnal struck in the 87th minute. A ball into the Tividale area and  Abbey gets a run on his marker and his glancing header is steered past Connor to put the visitors 1-0 up.

The goal so late must have been a sickener for the Tividale lads on the field who had held a side looking to possibly go second in the league for 87 minutes. But fair play to them they were immediately on the attack and in the 88th minute they won a corner. Melvin’s ball in was right on the money as Joe Hawkins beat Whitehouse with a thumping header.

That is how the game ended. Not a classic but on the balance of play a point well deserved and another game that Tividale earned themselves something from the game.

Full Time:-Tividale 1-1 Shifnal Town

Tividale: – 1. Louis Connor, 2. Zac Kourouyianni , 3. David Solademi, 4. Joe Burroughs, 5. Louis Ezewele, 6. Joe Hawkins, 17. Harry Lewis, 8. Malcolm Melvin, 9. Dan Smith 10. Reinaldo Forbes (12. Kamol Campbell 65), 11. Arman Khoshkhoo,

Unused Subs:- 13. Peter Hawk, 14. Alfie Higgs, 15. Ashley Oliver, 16. Callum Powell

Midland Football League
Premier División
Saturday 25th February 2023
Lye Town 6-0 Tividale

Lye hands out a Hesson 

There are many times when we have been down, but we always say. Well that’s gone we dust ourselves down and move onto the next game. And after the Stone Old Alleynians defeat in midweek, that’s what we were looking for, whatever the result against our neighbours. Who although are on a roll at the moment. You never know in local derbies.

We welcomed back Louis Ezewele back into the starting line-up after nearly 5 months out after dislocating his shoulder against Market Drayton Town. Joe Burroughs also returned to the starting line-up. With Kamol Campbell and Arman Khoshkhoo on the bench.

As bad starts went this was one of the worse. Lye were at the visitors from the off and there pressure told after just 2 minutes, when Josh Hesson pounced after Tividale failed to clear their lines and put Lye 1-0 up.

Although the Tividale defence were working overtime to cope with the Lye threat. It was the visitors who created the next chance in the 10th minute. Zac Kourouyianni finding Jason Wood, but he shot wide. Lye were now getting a succession of corners that Tividale were defending well and on the counter attack Tividale were looking dangerous and may have drawn level when a Harry Lewis cross was headed wide by Kourouyianni.

In the 30th minute a great run by Lye full back Jamie Ashmore ended when he played in Joe Palmer but Peter Hawk pushed the forwards. Lye’s Sam Hall then tried his luck from distance in the 37th minute, but it never bothered Hawk.

Hawk had to have his wits about him and Hesson will feel he should have cashed in on a dreadful Tividale pass across their own box but Hawk saved his effort and despite Lye having the upper hand in the game, with only a one goal deficit at half time gave Tividale something to work on.

Half Time :-Lye Town 1-0 Tividale

It may have been all so different if after 5 minutes of the second period Dan Smith had not missed Tividale’s best chance of the game so far. But Lye through palmer broke with pace and he crossed the ball to his strike partner Hesson who gave Hawk no chance.

All through the first half the challenges had been close and some times over the legal threshold of the officials. But the game now descended into an irritational level as the referee’s whistle was constantly heard.

Through all this Lye was still exposing a weak Tividale defence and on the hour mark it became 3-0. Again Tividale fail to pick up the Lye runners and this time Hesson turned provider when he cut a ball back to Ben Billingham and his first time shot, beat Hawk and nestled into the bottom left hand corner of his goal. a minute later and Hawk did well to deny Hesson his hat trick with a smart save that he parried away. On 65 minutes a mistimed Wood tackle was met by a straight red card from the referee and for the second successive game Tividale would finish the game with 10 men.

But there was no let up from the home side and on 75 minutes Hesson scored his 3rd and Lye’s 4th when he was given the freedom of Tividale’s penalty area to place his shot past Hawk. Substitute Zidan Sutherland then rubbed salt in the Tividale wounds with a sublime chip to make it 5-0. Before Hesson rounded of the scoring in the 90th minute with a smart finish for his 4th and Lye’s 6th.

In the end an awful result yes but we cannot give away the ball and not mark players this many times in a game and not expect to concede and ultimately get beat. Do it against decent sides and it will end like this.

Full Time :-Lye Town 6-0 Tividale

Tividale: – 1. Peter Hawk, 2. Zac Kourouyianni, 3. Jack Fletcher, 4. Joe Burroughs, 5. Louis Ezewele (15. David Solademi 75), 6. Joe Hawkins, 7. Harry Lewis (12. Arman Khoshkhoo 53), 8. Jason Wood, 9. Dan Smith (17. Kamol Devlin 75), 10. Jakob Burroughs, 11. Malcolm Melvin

Unused Subs:- 13. Louis Connor, 16. Kamol Campbell

 

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 11th February 2023
Tividale 0-1 Whitchurch Alport

Injury time woe

It is getting a bit like an old record after every performance lately. Tividale produced another decent display but again failed in the final third and the opposition took the chance that counted.

Tividale made just the one change to the side that grabbed a point against AFC Wulfrunians. In came David Solademi in place of Kamol Campbell.

The opening session was dominated by Whitchurch and Tividale did well to defend a succession of corners in the opening few minutes. One of which a Joe Care shot was well blocked by Joe Burroughs. Dan Skelton then had a shot that went wide, and a James Rowlands free kick was met by Junior Brown, but his header from point blank range was somehow kept out by a reaction save from Tividale keeper Peter Hawk all this in the first 17 minutes.

The game then settled down as Tividale grew into the game and on 30 minutes a Arman Khoshkhoo ball found Jason Wood and his cross was headed high and wide by Dan Smith. In what was the last piece of action of the half as both teams cancelled each other out in a midfield battle,

Half Time :-Tividale 0-0 Whitchurch Alport

The second half started as the first did with Whitchurch in the ascendancy. As Sam Yeardley fired wide of Hawk’s post on 50 minutes. a minute later from a Tividale corner Whitchurch broke but centre forward Ollie Pope shot wide.

Tividale had a great chance in the 57th minute when a neat Harry Lewis head down was met by Jack Fletcher but his half volley was deflected over the bar for a corner. Then on 62 minutes a great ball from Khoshkhoo put in Ryan Snape but his shot lacked enough power to worry Whitchurch keeper Jack Sheward. Seven minutes later and Smith failed to hit the target after a being found by a Kourouyianni cross.

With 15 minutes to go Snape burst into the Whitchurch box and may well have claimed a penalty had he not tried to keep on his feet after a heavy challenge but eventually he lost his balance, and the ball was cleared.

Hawk then pushed an Alex Hughes header over the bar on 80 minutes and a Nashawn Blake shot had the power taken out of it when it took a deflection on the way to Sheward. A Jordan Evans shot in the 84th minute from a full 25 yards was easily taken by Hawk and on 87 minutes Hawk pulled off another brilliant save to deny Evans.

As the clock moved into the 91st minute Blake’s shot was parried by Sheward and cleared. But on 94 minutes Brown collected the ball on the edge of the box. Held off his marker and fired past an unsighted Hawk and into the back of the net to break Tividale hearts.

The home side did have one last chance when wood found Kourouyianni, but he shot wide.

Full Time :-Tividale 0-1 Whitchurch Alport

Tividale: – 1. Peter Hawk, 2. Zac Kourouyianni, 3. David Solademi (12, Ryan Snape 60), 4. Jakob Burroughs, 5. Joe Hawkins, 6. Joe Burroughs, 17. Jack Fletcher, 8. Jason Wood, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Harry Lewis, (15.Nashawn Blake), 11. Arman Khoshkhoo