Midland Football League

Premier Division
Saturday 17th October 2020
Heather St John 0-2 Tividale

Heather Harried to Defeat

For one of the few times this season Tividale put together excellent back to back performances and got their just rewards.

Following on from the beating they gave Boldmere in the week. They harried and pressed Heather into submission and came away from the picturesque St John’s Ground with 3 valuable points.

The defensive injury curse continued with Tom Hurdman not recovering from the hamstring pull that saw him replaced on Tuesday night. But Jacob Barnes who came off the bench and replaced him was deemed fit enough to start in this one. So that was the only change from the mid-week win.

Both sides started the game very tentatively. With Heather having a lot of the ball but not really causing Tividale any problems and were prone to overplay and lose the ball in dangerous positions but Tividale themselves could not make them pay.

The first shot in anger came in the 18th minute when Cameron Collins tried a shot from well outside the area that Tividale keeper Adam Harrison had no problems with.

In Tividale’s first sortie on 20 minutes Adam Garmson found Dan Smith with a neat pass. He went down under a challenge from Jack Dance on the edge of the box. Smith and a number of the Tividale players appealed for a penalty but referee Benjamin Stott waived play on

Heather’s Edilson Panzo-Antonio then tried his luck from around the same distance as Collins’s effort 4 minutes later with the same result.

in the 26th minute Luke Carter hit the perfect chip over the head of Heather centre back Joe McNulty and into the path of Smith but he tried a first-time volley when he had more time than he realised and Heather keeper James Beeson saved it.

Beeson had to be alert when from a poor clearance on 29 minutes Garmson put the cross in that Dance toe poked for a corner with Smith ready to pounce. But there was no reprieve a minute later on the half hour when Carter found Garmson with a cross field ball out on the left wing and his cross was met by Smith who out jumped Dance and he gave Beeson no chance with a thumping header to put the visitors 1-0 up.

Tividale then allowed Heather right back Chris Hayden way too much room a minute before the break but he also tried a shot from distance but once again Harrison fielded the shot comfortably.

Half Time: Heather St John 0-1 Tividale

Heather had the first chance of the second period on 47 minutes when Jake McLeary failed to get an Antonio cross on target. 5 minutes later and they should have equalised when from a Mitchell Mollison cross Harrison did well to turn away a Daniel Hanson shot but it fell at the feet of Collins but he blasted his shot wide.

Tividale doubled their lead on 67 minutes with a goal that summed up their play all afternoon. it started with a back pass to Besson that Elliott Hartley immediately ran to close down the keeper’s clearance. This forced Beeson to play a ball to his full back Yahiya Todd who himself was under pressure from Garmson. This forced the error with Todd’s attempted pass up field being intercepted by Garmson and the striker blasted the ball past Beeson and into the far bottom corner from 8 yards out.

Eight minutes after the goal, Tividale were down to 10 men when after taking a few petty kicks around his ankles Garmson flicked his leg out at a defender and although he did not connect the referee saw intent and showed the striker a straight red.

Even with the man advantage for the last 15 minutes Heather never really caused the visitors many problems and Tividale closed out the game and earned another clean sheet.

Full Time: Heather St John 0-2 Tividale

 

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Tuesday 6th October 2020
Racing Club Warwick 1-1 Tividale

 Racers dead heat

Tividale travelled to Racing Club Warwick for the first time in recent history and played their part in an entertaining game against a very good home side.

Dave King made just the one change from Saturdays defeat, swapping Elliott Hartley for Ryan Grosvenor and once again Tividale got off to a flyer.

In just the 3rd minute a Matt Hunt clearance caused the Racer’s defence all sort of problems and Dan Smith latched onto the ball and forced a fine save from Racer’s keeper Brandon Ganley.

In the 5th minute again the Racer’s failed to deal with a ball into the box. The ball found its way too Will Rawlins but he failed to find the target with his shot.

Rawlins turned provider in the 7th minute when his ball into the inside left area again caused hesitancy in the Racers defence. This time Elliott Hartley cashed in and this time he made the home side pay. taking the ball wide of Ganley before slotting it home.

The racers had their first effort in the 9th minute but Tory Herbert shot over the bar.

After looking like they were going to be overrun in the first 15 minutes the home side were now getting into the game and on 18 minutes a Reece Ford cross was headed wide by Nick Seabourne. Then Dean Purvin tried one from distance that Adam Harrison collected at the second attempt.

Tividale had to make a change in the 27th minute when Curtis Cocking had to be replaced by Ryan Grosvenor. Curtis had received a knock earlier and “could not run it off”, 6 minutes later and the Racers were level. Liam Wilkinson conceded a free kick some 25 yards out from his goal line and Seabourne stepped up and despite Harrison getting a hand to it could not keep out the free kick.

The home side had a great chance to take the lead on 39 minutes as Tividale started to defend a lot deeper when Seabourne failed to get a Purvin cross on target screwing the chance wide. Then on 40 minutes Tividale almost took the lead in bizarre fashion. A Hartley cross was headed against his own post by a Racer’s defender

Half Time: Racing Club Warwick 1-1 Tividale

Both sides had cancelled each other out at the start of the second half before Dan Smith was played through by Hartley and Purvin brought him down in the Racer’s area. With no one racing for the ball. Up stepped keeper Harrison but his spot kick was saved by Ganley.

Racer’s Samuel Jackson then had two efforts in as many minutes. First on 65 minutes he hit the base of the post with a shot. Then his second effort just cleared the crossbar.

After that, chances were at a minimum and it was in the 82nd minute before the next one. Lewis McPike finding substitute Jelson Antonio in the area. But his shot was deflected wide.

The home sides captain Mason Rowley had two good chances to grab the winner but both his headers in the last 5 minutes the first from a Riley Kearsey free kick and the second a Jackson corner could not find the target.

Full Time: Racing Club Warwick 1-1 Tividale

To download the teamsheet for this game, click HERE.

For match images by Tividale FC, click HERE

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 3rd October 2020
Tividale 1-2 Romulus

Ref makes Rom’s day

Tividale lost all 3 points due to two unlucky pieces of play. One of which could not have been avoided but the other most definitely could have. With Jacob Barnes now fit. He came in for Freddie Watts as the only change to the side that won at Highgate in midweek.

Tividale again got off to a dream start when after just 5 minutes, Lewis McPike cashed in on a Romulus defender’s error, he rounded keeper Stuart Parsons and rolled the ball into an empty net.

For the next 30 minutes of the half Romulus had the majority of the possession but apart from a Chad Degville-Cross effort that cleared the Tividale bar, the home side were quite comfortable.

With the half petering out, the game burst into life with 10 minutes to the break.  On 35 minutes another Romulus error and Dan Smith was through onto Parsons, the keeper did well to block the shot but Will Rawlins couldn’t find the target with the rebound.

Tividale will wonder how they did not extend the lead after 38 minutes when Smith, Ryan Grosvenor and Tom Hurdman all had shots blocked as the ball pinged about like a pinball in the Romulus area but somehow the visitors cleared the ball and kept the deficit to one.

Romulus themselves had a couple of late chances, the first when Kieron Clarke played in Kory Burns but his shot was blocked. Then a minute later Callum Rudd brought an easy save out of Tividale keeper Adam Harrison.

Half Time: Tividale 1-0 Romulus

Tividale could have started the half with another goal. After 48 minutes Grosvenor broke forward but Parsons was equal to his shot with a very good save. Then on 50 minutes Romulus midfielder Brett Fellows produced a piece of magic on the edge of the Tividale box to make himself some space but dragged his shot wide. A minute later and Romulus was awarded a free kick. Up stepped Fellows but his kick crashed back off the Tividale crossbar.

Tividale then gave the ball away in the 55th minute to Clarke, who beat his marker but shot wide. The home side had another great chance to wrap things up in the 57th minute when Smith found Rawlins in space but the wingback screwed his shot wide.

There then came another period of Romulus possession but no real threat until the 78th minute. For some unimaginable reason, if the ball is smashed against your hand from 3 yards, the fact that it is attached to your body is all that is needed now to concede a penalty. TJ Munthali the unfortunate player and Clarke scored from the spot.

Romulus substitute Mark Williams had a shot palmed away by Harrison in the 88th minute and from the resulting corner Degville-Cross’s shot was blocked by the keeper.

With the game looking to head for a draw, a Williams shot heading straight to Harrison was deflected by a Tividale defender and into the net leaving the keeper with no chance.

In the end you don’t always get what you deserve and this was one of those games.

Full Time: Tividale 1-2 Romulus