Midland Football League

Premier Division
Tuesday 14th September 2021
Boldmere St Michaels 3-1 Tividale

The Saints March On

After Saturday’s no show, Tividale had the chance to immediately forget about the performance and the result with an away fixture at table topping Boldmere St Michaels.

First of all we have to mention the new changing room and hospitality facilities at The Boldmere St Michaels Football & Athletic Club. We had heard a bit about it but as due to Covid we have not played there for 2 seasons. So we never really had chance to see it. Well all we can say is. It was worth the wait.

Anyway back to the football. With Manager Dave King taking a well earned break. Assistant manager Kieran Bustin was in charge for the night and he made four changes. Tom Hurdman had recoveered from the injury that kept him out of Saturday’s game. Curtis Cocking, Hayden Reeves and Lewis McPike all returned to the starting line up. All in place of the injured Brogan Halpin and Jordan Edwards and the rested Ben Birch and Cameron Milne.

The first half started at a frenetic pace with both sides on the attack. Boldmere were at Tividale’s goal in the 2nd minute but the visitors just managed to clear their lines. Then on 10 minutes a spate of Tividale pressure ended with Elliott Hartley firing wide. On 20 minutes there was a break in play after Boldmere full back Ben George was on the end of a crunching tackle. (He eventually had to go off 15 minutes later). Tividale skipper Matt Hunt then just got in the way of a Alex McSkeane effort to divert it wide as the full throttle action continued.

There was no relenting to the speed and high tempo of the game and Darragh Bustin will feel he should have done better in the 32nd minute when he put his free kick way over Dan Crane’s bar. Boldmere came the closest to opening the scoring on 38 minutes when a Danny O’Sullivan cross fell to McSkeane but his snap shot was straight at Harrison.

Tividale took the lead in the 41st minute when a Bustin long throw caused all sorts of chaos in the home defence and after a scramble Dan Smith rifled the ball into the back of the net. In the 43rd minute Boldmere’s O’Sullivan with great work again down the right but he could not match it with his cross come shot and it flew past Harrison’s far post. Tividale could have doubled their lead on the stroke of half time but Hayden Reeves headed a Hartley corner wide.

Half Time : Boldmere St Michaels 0-1 Tividale

Within nine minutes of the second half,  the game had been turned on it’s head. In the 53rd minute, the flying O’Sullivan got to the bye line and his cross was met by an unmarked McSkeane and his downward header beat Harrison to put Boldmere level. A minute later and the home side were in front. For the second game running an unforced Tividale defensive error, this time a short back pass left the alert McSkeane one on one with Harrison and he rolled the ball past the onrushing keeper.

Tividale now had to chase the game and Huint just failed to get on the end of a Bustin free kick. While the visitors were pressing for the equaliser there was always the chance that they would get punished on the counter and on 67 minutes Harrison pulled of a fine save to deny Kyle Byrne. Then a minute later O’Connor broke away again but his shot was comfortably saved by Harrison. A minute later and Smith was sent to the Sin Bin a culmination of frustration of the little if any protection he was getting from the officials and the epic battle between him and Boldmere’s centre back Pedro Lima.

The game went into a bit of a lull at that point with Boldmere seemingly happy with the 2-1 lead while the visitors with a man short could not raise the momentum to trouble the Boldmere back line. As the game went into the last 5 minutes there came a moment of brilliance.  Boldmere won a free kick, outside the box and to the right of Harrison’s goal.

Up stepped O’Sullivan and his screamer of a shot beat Harrison all ends up and into the top left hand corner. An effort I doubt 2 keepers would have saved.

Click here for that Danny O’sullivan free kick

Full Time : Boldmere St Michaels 3-1 Tividale

Tividale: – 1. Adam Harrison, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Elliott Hartley, 4. Hayden Reeves, 5. Dan Bryson, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Curtis Cocking (12.  Cameron Milne 84), 8. Luke Carter, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Darragh Bustin (14. Corey Howe 58), 11. Lewis McPike (15. Tyree Clarke 65)

Unused Subs: – 14. Ben Birch, 16. Corey Howe

Midland Football League

Premier Division
Tuesday 7th September 2021
Tividale 2-2 Lye Town

Draw but no Bore

After a tough to take FA Cup defeat against Spalding United. Maybe a local derby clash against Lye Town 3 days later is just what the doctor ordered. No time to mope or lament on what could have been as this will be one of the toughest games of our season.

Manager Dave King made 4 changes to Saturday’s starting lineup. With Tom Hurdman out injured, Hayden Reeves returned to the centre of defence. Both Jordan Edwards and Lewis McPike had started sgainst Spalding after long term injuries and so were rested and replaced by the returning Dan Smith and the re-signing Darragh Bustin. The 4th change saw the first start for new signing Brogan Halpin who came in for the rested Cameron Milne.

As probably expected, the opening minutes were a case of the two teams cancelling each other out in the middle of the park with neither side able to create a clear-cut chance and both defences dealing with whatever little threat there was. It also did not help with the temperature touching a ridiculous 30 degrees C at 7:45pm on the 7th September

The first bit of action came on 16 minutes. A poor Lye corner was missed at the front post by Brad Welding, but it caught Lye forward Jayden Owusu Nepaul by surprise and it came off him and out for a goal kick. On 18 minutes a Tividale long throw from Bustin fell to Luke Carter, but he could not keep his shot down and he put it over the bar.

The first piece of quality produced the opening goal on 22 minutes. A quick Lye throw down their left found ex Tividale player Shaquille Whittingham who had been kept quiet up until now. He proceeded then to beat two Tividale defenders and then curled the ball past Harrison and in off his far post.

Whittingham was now causing Tividale all sorts of problems on both flanks, especially with his ability to go either side of his marker and on 25 minutes Lye should have gone 2-0 up. Whittingham now on the right flank was able to whip in a cross that Nepaul managed to head over the Tividale bar.

With the temperature still in the mid 20s. The game was halted for mid-half drinks break. Despite the break Lye were soon back into their stride and twice had Tividale scrambling to clear Joe Lawley corners. On his third corner in the 36th minute Nepaul again headed over.

With a minute of the half remaining Tividale had their first real sight of goal. Elliott Hartley broke on the counter, but young Lye keeper Alfie Brooks did well in blocking the initial shot. It fell to McPike (who had replaced the injured Welding) but he could only find the side netting from an acute angle. As the half came to a close. both sides had chances. First Brooks was again forced to save from Hartley.  Then from Brooks’s clearance Whittingham found Nepaul but again the front man failed to hit the target.

HALF TIME Tividale 0-1 Lye Town

Once again, we don’t know what was said at half time, but it made an immediate impact. From a Bustin corner from the left, Lye cleared behind for another from the other side. Hartley stepped up to take this one and he found Carter unmarked in the box on 47 minutes and his header gave Brooks no chance. On 52 minutes Smith literally mirrored Wittingham’s glide past defenders 30 minutes earlier but while the former ended his run with a sublime finish. Smith tried to tee up McPike and the Lye defence intervened and cleared.

On 59 minutes came another touch of brilliance and after thinking Lye’s opener may not be bettered at The Beeches this season Bustin proved us all wrong. He collected the ball in his own half outpaced 3 Lye players and from about 30 yards unleashed a thunderbolt that flew past Brooks into the top right-hand corner clipping the inside of the post on the way into the back of the net.

Bustin went close to extending the lead in the 65th minute. When from a free kick from a mere 25 yards he left Brooks rooted but the ball just went wide of his far post. Tividale were now in the ascendancy and really needed that third goal and it almost came in the 69th minute when a McPike shot was blocked by Brooks.

With the home side not getting that two-goal cushion. This Lye side were always capable of getting back on level terms and in the 73rd minute Whittingham found himself in about the same position as he did when he scored the opener, but this time he pushed the ball wide. But 6 minutes later the visitors were on level terms. Tividale failing to clear their lines on a couple of occasions, the ball fell to Wittingham who found Ben Billingham who lashed the ball into the back of the net.

Tividale sub Jordan Edwards was denied by the alert Brooks in the 88th minute just a couple of minutes after coming on. And in injury time a Bustin long throw had Lye’s Musa Ceesay in all sorts of trouble and somehow, he shanked the ball over his own bar and that was the last action of the game

FULL TIME Tividale 2-2 Lye Town

Tividale: – 1. Adam Harrison, 2. Hayden Reeves, 3. Brad Welding (15. Lewis McPike 27), 4. Luke Carter, 5. Ben Birch, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Darragh Bustin, 8. Curtis Cocking, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Brogan Halpin (12. Cameron Milne 79), 11. Elliott Hartley (14. Jordan Edwards 84)

Unused Subs: – 16. TJ Munthali.

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 28th August 2021
Highgate United 0-1 Tividale

The High’s and Low’s

There are times when football just doesn’t seem to matter and this was one of those day’s. On the morning of the game the news came that Highgate United Captain, Leader and Legend Samuel Oji had lost his toughest challenge and had sadly passed away.  Absolutely awful news. Our thoughts and condolences are with Sam’s wife, children, family, friends and everyone at Highgate United.

Tividale went into this game with just the one change from the side that beat AFC Wulfruniuns in the FA Cup last Saturday. Cameron Milne coming in for the unavailable Ryan Grosvenor.

Tividale had the first chance when a ball over the top in the 2nd minute from Curtis Cocking sent Dan Smith away but his shot was blocked by Highate defender Aaron Brown. Brown came to the rescue again in the 7th minute when Cocking found Elliott Hartley but the defender did just enough to ensure the striker could not get his shot away.

Highgate’s first chance came on 8 minutes when after good work from Connor Doyle he fired a cross come shot across the face of the Tividale goal. On 12 minutes Highgate had a penalty appeal when Tividale defender Ben Birch tangled with Highate’s Ryan Boothe in the area but the referee waived play on. 3 minutes later and Tividale were awarded one. Again some tenacious tackling by Luke Carter won the ball back from Highgate’s Basit Mandey. His little chip split the home defence and left Smith one on one with Highgate keeper Brad Catlow. Catlow came out  to meet Smith but only ended up bringing him down, and though the keeper guesed the right way for Carters spot kick into the bottom left hand corner, he could not get near it.

On 25 minutes a slalom of a run by Highgate left back Kieran Westwood ended witrh an effort that Brad Welding had to head out for a corner. From the corner Kyle Batchelor’s header was touched over by Harrison. Tividale were close to going 2-0 up on 28 minutes when Hartley met a Milne near post corner with a glancing header that went just the wrong side of the post. The dangerous Doyle then tried to clip one in the top right hand corner of Harrison’s goal but it went wide. Highgate then looked to have got behind the Tividale defence but Harrison was quick off his line to smother the ball. On 36 minutes Doyle is again through but again he fails to hit the target.

It’s now end to end as Hartley had a good chance on 38 minutes to double Tividale’s lead when Smith puts him through but he does not put enough on his chip and Catlow collects comfortably. On 40 minutes from a Carter free kick Birch flashes a header across the face of the Highgate goal.

HALF TIME: Highgate United 0-1 Tividale

Highgate made a change at half time bringing on the journey man Lee Chilton for Mandey and they were immediately on the front foot. But as much as they pressed they never really troubled the visitors back line and it was Tividale who had the first chance of the second half on 53 minutes when a well worked short corner between Hartley and Hurdman ended with the latter’s cross headed over the bar by Smith. Straight from the goal kick Tividale concede a free kick. Corey Currithur’s free kick is headed partly clear by Matt Hunt straight to Doyle on the edge of the box and his shot is turned away by Harrison. The ball is kept alive by Boothe but Tividale defend well and clear the danger.

Big chance for Tividale on the hour as Dan Smith wriggles his way through the Highgate defence then has all the goal to aim at, as Catlow goes down early but he can’t get enough whip on his shot and it goes wide of the mark. Welding then has an effort well wide after a spell of Tividale pressure on 70 minutes. Highgate then break and Harrison pulls off a great save to deny Chilton in the 77th minute.

Highgate although throwing caution to the wind never looked like out maoevering the Tividale back line and when they did Harrison was there and to round off his decent day. Deep into injury time he again denied Chilton with another fine save

FULL TIME:- Highgate United 0-1 Tividale

Tividale: – 1. Adam Harrison, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Brad Welding, 4. Ben Birch, 5. Dan Bryson, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Curtis Cocking 8. Cameron Milne, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Luke Carter, 11. Elliott Hartley (12. Hayden Reeves 89)

Unused Subs: – 13. Peter Hawk, 14. Tj Munthali