Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 23rd November 2019
Highgate 3-1 Tividale

This was Tividale’s first game since the 4-1 win against FC Stratford in the League Cup on Bonfire Night and it showed as we put on a performance that can be summed up as below par. But the management team were not too disappointed as the obvious lack of match sharpness against a side that had played twice in the last 7 days is something that hopefully will remedy itself in the weeks to come.

Tividale started disastrously, conceding in the very first minute, when Ryan Conlon headed home Harry Reece’s cross. The good thing about conceding early is that you have a long time to get back into the game and Tividale only needed 6 minutes to do so. Some neat play around the edge of the home box ended with Dan Smith finding Tyree Clarke 12 yards out and he turned and fired into the bottom right hand corner of Highgate’s keeper James Beeson’s goal. Two minutes later and Beeson denied Tividale a second. Darragh Bustin’s free kick from the edge of the box was initially spilled by the keeper but he was quick enough to dive onto the loose ball.

Highgate went close in the 13th minute when a well worked short corner by Cameron Collins found full back Trevor Edwards and his shot was turned around the post by Tividale keeper Louis Connor. Liam Wilkinson making his 100th appearance then had an effort comfortably saved by Beeson on 21 minutes. Then in the space of two minutes the officials turned down two Tividale appeals for handball. The first a hand ball in the penalty area and the second although outside the penalty area a blatant handball. With the first they could argue with the distant the ball travelled. But the second one there was no excuse. Clarke then curled an effort on 30 minutes that drifted just past Beeson’s far post.

On 38 minutes, after an obvious disagreement between Connor and the assistant in his half, the referee was called over and the keeper was sin binned. Lee Smith was handed the gloves, but he never touched the ball in the closing 7 minutes and 3 minutes of injury time.

Half Time:- Highgate United 1 v 1 Tividale

Due to the 3 minutes injury time on top of the final 7 minutes, Connor had done the 10 minutes required and was able to take back the gloves at the start of the second half.

Highgate’s Miracle Okafor had the first decent chance of the second period when his glancing header went wide. In the 56th minute Bustin then tried to lob Beeson but he missed the target. The highlight of the next 15 minutes or so was Highgate’s Correy Currithers being sin binned for another conversation with the same official. It was the 70th minute before a chance worthy of reporting was fashioned. Beeson diving full length to turn a Clarke effort around the post.

With the game meandering to a draw, Highgate substitute Seegu Sebbeh’s punt into the Tividale area was completely misjudged by Connor who found himself way underneath it and the ball just floated over his head and into the net.

So from looking fairly comfortable, Tividale were now chasing the game, but despite the possession they were held at bay by a disciplined Highgate defence. With the game well into injury time a Highgate counter attack led by Conlon who’s through ball had both striker Okafor and keeper Connor racing for the ball, a race that the striker won and he was able to slide the ball past the keeper and into the back of the empty net.

Full Time:- Highgate United 3 v 1 Tividale

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Joe Burroughs (14. Tom Hurdman 60), 3. Lewis Probert, 4.Jacob Barnes, 5. Luke Carter (15. Jake Webb 75), 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Darragh Bustin, 8. Liam Wilkinson (c), 9. Dan Smith (12. Brad Welding 72), 10. Tyrone Clarke, 11. Lee Smith

Unused Subs:- 16. Cameron Milne, 17. Dan Bryson

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 19th October 2019
Tividale 1-1 Coventry United

Tividale are United in the points

In the end a point a piece was a fair result as both sides struggled too break down two well organised defences.

With a depleted squad Manager Dave King really had to dig into the depth of his squad for this game. With Luke Carter and Dan Smith suspended. Tom Hurdman added to the injury list with Darragh Bustin and Lewis Probert also unavailable. So from last week in came Cameron Milne, Jake Webb, Jacob Barnes, Matt Hunt and Tyree Clarke. In a 4-3-3 line up and young youth team player Sean Rowley was added to the bench.

Tividale were immediately on the front foot and Brad Welding had the first chance when he cut in from the left hand side but curled his shot over the bar after 2 minutes. Jake Webb then was put through on 7 minutes but Coventry keeper Reece Francis came out to him closed him down and saved his shot. Coventry’s first effort was in the 12th minute when from a free kick Matthew Gardner headed over the bar. In the 24th minute Tividale keeper Louis Connor failed to hold onto a ball into the Tividale area and Chris Camwell tried to turn the ball home but Connor was able to grab it at the second attempt. Two minutes later and Francis held onto a crisp shot from Welding.

In the 34th minute Coventry’s McCauley Manning was given way too much room and he laid the ball off to Camwell but he shot wide. Jake Holt then headed over a Camwell free kick and that was the end of the first half action.

Half Time: Tividale 0-0 Coventry United

Coventry had the first decent chance of the second half when Holt got onto the end of a long throw in the 49th minute but the header lacked any power and Connor saved comfortably. In the second half the game was lacking in real goal mouth incidents and it was on the hour mark when the next one came and again it was from the visitors. Connor had to be at full stretch to turn a Manning free kick around his left hand post.

Coventry were now turning up the pressure and it took an incredible piece of defending from Watts to deny them on 66 minutes. Coventry striker Kyle Carey was through one on one with Connor and although he rounded the keeper Connor did enough to push the striker out wide and narrow the angle for his shot. When he did shoot towards Connor’s near post Watts was just about able to get back, dive at the foot of the post and divert the ball out for a corner injuring himself in the process and he had to be replaced.

The game was now stretched with both teams going for it and with 3 minutes remaining Tividale went ahead. From a Tividale throw it looked like Emile Beckford who got a knock on, the ball fell for Lee Smith and he lashed it into the back of the net. It must have been a body blow to the visitors but their heads never dropped and with the game well into injury time a long ball into the Tividale area and although Barnes played the ball he was adjudged to have brought down Gardner also and a penalty was awarded. Connor did well to save Holt’s original spot kick but could do nothing to prevent Holt from getting to the rebound first and steering it past Connor.

In the end it was tough to get pegged back in injury time especially as we had defended so well at times but as reported earlier it would have been harsh on Coventry United if they had come away with nothing as they played their part in a pulsating game.

Full Time: Tividale 1-1 Coventry United

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Freddie Watts (14. Emile Beckford 68) , 3. Brad Welding, 4. Dan Bryson, 5. Jacob Barnes, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Jake Webb, 8. Liam Wilkinson, 9. Tyree Clarke, 10. Lee Smith, 11. Cameron Milne (12. Kyle Bramley 58).

Unused Subs:- 15. Tom Garratt, 16. Sean Rowley 17. Lewis Probert

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 11th October 2019
Romulus 3-0 Tividale

This being the third tough game in a week was always going to be a stern test for Dave King’s squad. However there was no excuse for the performance and manner of this defeat. Too many of the squad had a bad day and the team as a whole just could not get going.

Yet Tividale started the game fairly well. Dan Smith having the first chance but putting the ball wide after just 2 minutes. But from then on it was literally all Rom’s. The first warning of Simeone Colbourne’s pace (not that we did not know about it before the game) came in the 4th minute were he raced onto a through ball cut the ball back into the path of Dean Rathbone but he fired his shot wide. A Dan Bryson mistake a minute later and again Colbourne was in behind the Tividale back four. This time Tividale keeper Louis Connor beat away his shot. The rebound fell nicely for Alex Tomkinson but he put his shot over the bar.

Tividale had their second chance of the game on 25 minutes when Liam Wilkinson found Darragh Bustin with a neat pass but Bustin’s shot found Rom’s keeper Billy Spink’s midriff. Three minutes later a Bustin long throw was only cleared as far as Lewis Probert on the edge of the box but his shot had all the power taken out of it after a deflection and it floated into Spinx’s arms. Those two goal threats only led to the Rom’s lifting their game another level and on 35 minutes they took the lead. A long throw from the home side into the Tividale area and the attempted clearing header from Freddie Watts hit a player landed nicely for Tomkinson and this time he made no mistake placing the ball past Connor and into the bottom right hand corner.

Five minutes later and the Rom’s were 2-0 up. Again Colbourne’s turn of foot, outpacing the Tividale defence as he motored onto another long searching ball. Connor again did brilliantly to get anything on his initial shot but he had no chance as the striker was first to the rebound and turned the ball home.

Half Time:- Romulus 2-0 Tividale

A minute after the restart and after some neat passing Rathbone is able to just waltz into the Tividale area but again he lifts his shot over the Tividale bar. But it was only a slight reprieve as a minute later Colbourne was through one on one with Connor and again the forward was the winner as he slid the ball past the keeper.

As a Tividale fan it was now beginning to look worrying as Romulus were literally cutting through the Tividale line at will. With their forwards Colbourne and Jordan Nadat at times playing shot’s in and Rathbone and Tom Weale orchestrating the proceedings. It should have been 4-0 on the hour when a Rathbone free kick found an unmarked Colbourne but he shot over the bar. Keiron Donnolly then headed over a Nadat cross with the goal at his mercy.
Dan Smith did have a good chance on 65 minutes when he found some space but he could not find the target. Nadat then put his shot over the bar from a great position after great work from Colbourne.

Tividale’s afternoon went from bad to worse with 10 minutes to go. Dan Smith who had been booked a couple of minutes earlier then from a Jake Webb cross, raised his arm and knocked the ball into the net Maradona style and he received his second yellow and his marching orders. In the last 5 minutes Romulus could have scored another 5 or 6 and Nadat must have missed at least 3 of those. Rathbone was also denied by Connor. Colbourne then saw his shot beat Connor but it came back off the post.

Full Time:- Romulus 3-0 Tividale

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Tom Hurdman (14, Cameron Milne 61), 3. Lewis Probert, 4. Dan Bryson, 5. Lee Smith, 6. Freddie Watts, 7. Kyle Bramley (12. Jake Webb 61), 8. Liam Wilkinson (15. Richard Hanson 80), 9. Dan Smith, 10. Darragh Bustin, 11. Brad Welding
Unused Subs:-

Midland Football League
Premier Division
Saturday 5th October 2019
Walsall Wood 2-1 Tividale

Tividale left Oak Park with no points but were happy in the fact that they matched last seasons runners up and one of this seasons title favourites for the majority of the game but just came up short.

With Manager Dave King on a well earned break, Assistant Kieran Bustin took charge in the dug out, but it was the Boss’s team. With Liam Wilkinson unavailable and Brad Welding injured. It was a 4-3-3 line up that Tividale went into this game with.

The home side had the first real chance after 5 minutes when full back Phil McKerdy played in Harry Harris but his shot sailed over the bar. Darragh Bustin had Tividale’s first chance on 16 minutes when after a slip by Walsall skipper Cameron Lee it let in Bustin but his shot was well held by Wood keeper Lloyd Ransome’s low down to his right.

Tividale had another terrific chance in the 23rd minute when Lewis Probert cashed in on a loose pass, found Tyree Clarke but his shot went across the face of Ransome’s goal and the wrong side of the post. Wood nearly went ahead 3 minutes later when Tividale keeper Louis Connor spilt a speculative shot from a Harris. He was able to clear the ball at the second attempt but it landed again to Harris and the keeper with the help of his back line did well to get the ball away for a corner.

Unfortunately for Tividale Wood went ahead from the resulting corner in the 26th minute. The Harris corner cleared everyone in the area and fell to Joey Butlin who swung the ball back into the box. This time it was met by Kris Taylor and his crisp header beat Connor to put the home side 1-0 up. Tividale were immediately back on the front foot and after some good work from Jake Webb who found Dan Smith but he dragged his shot wide. Tividale then gave away a needless free kick on the edge of their box but Butler shot wide.

Tividale had two good chances to draw level within 5 minutes. First on 35 minutes a Bustin long throw was headed on by Freddie Watts to Clarke but his instinctive header was turned over by Ransome. Then another well worked passage of play resulted in a Luke Carter header that had Ransome scrambling across his goal line to collect. Connor then did well to keep the deficit at 1-0 going into half time when saving a Jack Till shot with his legs

Half Time:- Walsall Wood 1-0 Tividale

The beginning of the second half was a quite affair and the first piece of goal mouth action resulted in the home side going 2-0 up in the 51st minute. Harris’s neat ball out to Chad Degville-Cross found the winger with time and space to find an unmarked Till in the 6 yard box and despite Connor getting a hand to his shot he could not keep the ball out.

With the buffer of the second goal Wood were now look a little more comfortable in possession and should have increased their lead in the 62nd minute when from a throw Tividale failed to clear their lines and the ball fell for Max Loveridge but he blazed his shot over the bar.

The introduction of Kyle Bramley in the 67th minute with his direct running and harassing of defenders gave the home defence something different to think about and Tividale were now going for broke and in the 70th minute Ransome had to be quick off his line to foil Smith with a smart save with his feet and putting the ball out for a corner.

On 79 minutes Tividale halved the deficit with a goal from nowhere. A Bustin cross to the far post looked to have evaded everyone and looked a certain goal kick, but Smith never gave it up. He kept the ball in play chipped the ball to Bramley on the penalty spot, whose first touch was to control the ball with his instep and his second was to volley the ball into the top right hand corner of Ransome’s net.

Straight from the kick off Tividale won back the ball and Tividale sub Cameron Milne put the ball into the Walsall Wood danger area for the full of running Smith who although got to the ball he was adjudged to have been clipped by McKerdy on the edge of the box. Once referee Jamie Howe had given the foul it was inevitable that the full back was going to receive a straight red card. From the resulting free kick Ransome pulled of the save of the game when he came from nowhere to get to Luke Carter’s free kick that looked for all money to be heading for the bottom right hand corner of the net.

That was Carter’s last but one piece of action because three minutes later and with the game going into the dying minutes his last was a rash challenge on Wood’s substitute Garfield Robinson and again referee Howe had no choice but to also show him a straight red. In what was the last of the afternoon’s action

Tividale:- 1. Louis Connor, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Lewis Probert (12. Cameron Milne 67), 4. Freddie Watts, 5.Dan Bryson, 6. Matt Hunt, 7. Jake Webb (14, Kyle Bramley 67), 8. Luke Carter, 9. Tyree Clarke, 10. Darragh Bustin, 11. Dan Smith.

Unused Subs:- 15. Jacob Barnes, 16. Richard Hanson, 17. Luke Brookes