West Midland Regional League

Premier Division

Saturday 22nd March 2018

Tividale 6-2 Dudley Sports

Bustin Tividale rout Sports

Tividale possibly produced some of their best football of the season as they put Dudley Sports to the sword.
To be fair to Sports, they were not that bad but not many teams at this level would have been able to live with some of the football the home side played.
In the end had it not been for an outstanding performance from Sport’s keeper Ryan Pratt, this could have easily been double figures.
Tividale reverted back to their familiar 5-3-2 line up for this one and brought in Dan Bryson, Liam Smith, Curtis Cocking, Lee Smith and Demetri Brown. Resting Bradley Welding, Freddie Watts, TJ Munthali, Chris Bladen and the injured Nathan Jones from the side that beat Ellesmere Rangers on Thursday night
Tividale were on the front foot from the off but it was Sports who had the first shot of any meaning when former Tividale midfielder Jack Lee played in Richard Nicholson but he dragged his shot wide of the target. A minute later and the home side first threatened. Dan Smith raced onto a Demetri Brown through ball but his shot was comfortably saved by Pratt.
Three minutes later they were ahead, this time Dan Smith with the deep cross, Darragh Bustin headed back across goal for Brown to hammer the ball home. On 22 minutes Dan Smith thought he had got Tividale’s second but his shot was cleared off the line with Pratt beaten. Bustin then got in on the act but could only again watch as his shot was drilled just wide.
27 minutes again Tividale go though the Sports defence like a knife through butter. This time Liam Smith plays an inch perfect ball down the line for his namesake Dan but again he is foiled by Pratt.
On the half hour Tividale doubled their lead after been awarded a free kick on the edge of the area. Dan Smith stepped up and his shot took a deflection leaving Pratt stranded and the ball in the back of the net. Sports were awarded their own free kick 2 minutes later and Tividale keeper Ryan Cheshire had to dive full length to turn a Ronnee Hendricks effort around the post.
Tividale were denied again by Pratt when he palmed away a Lee Smith header on 36 minutes and 5 minutes later he again foiled Dan Smith in a one on one situation.

With 2 minutes to go from half time it was obvious that the home side wanted to keep their two goal lead intact and no better way to do that but to keep the ball. This also produced the goal of the game. It was a move that started as just keep ball. Passing from one side of the pitch to the next with short passes and all the outfield players involved and not looking to force the ball. After about 15 passes the tempo became much quicker and the passes more crisper as they worked to create an opening. Then on about the 20th pass Lee Smith rolled in Bustin who came in off the left flank and in one movement he swept the ball past Pratt and into the roof of the net.
That goal was the talking point of the half time break

Half-time:-Tividale 3-0 Dudley Sports

For the second game in succession Tividale wrapped up the win within two minutes of the second half. Bustin causing mayhem down the left flank and forced an error when Dudley’s keeper and centre back left the ball for each other and the wing back stole the ball rounded the stranded keeper and rolled it into an empty net. Four minutes later and Bustin was denied an hat trick when his shot was parried away by the Sports keeper but Dan Smith was on hand to fire the rebound home and make it 4-0.
It was now beginning to look desperate for the visitors and on 53 minutes they should have been 5-0 down. The troublesome Dan Smith was left sprawling in the area after a Mathew Hanson foul. The ball was handed to Bustin for his hat trick. But he sent the ball wide of Pratt’s right hand post.

Sports pulled one back on 64 minutes when Tividale were undone by a well worked short corner routine. The ball was played into the feet of a Hendrick’s and in his hurry to get out to him Tom Hurdman brought him down and Keiron Price scored from the spot at the second attempt after Cheshire had saved the initial shot.

Things got distinctly worse for the visitors when on 70 minutes Hanson picked up his second yellow card and Sports were now down to 10 men. From then on it was like the Alamo, as Sports fended off attack after attack and Ryan Pratt was in inspirational form denying Bustin, Brown, Wilkinson, Chris Bladen and Elliott Hartley with at times some unbelievable saves.
The young keeper was finally beaten for the 6th time on 90 minutes when Brown played a neat ball into Hartley and he nonchalantly guided the ball past Pratt and into the bottom right hand corner of his net.
Sports still had time to get another goal with the last kick of the game. Some casual play on the edge of the Tividale penalty area allowed Hendricks to beat Cheshire with a crisp shot.

Full Time:-Tividale 6-2 Dudley Sports

Tividale:-1.Ryan Cheshire, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Darragh Bustin, 4. Karl Gardner 5. Dan Bryson 6. Liam Smith (12. Bradley Welding 68) 7. Liam Wilkinson, 8. Curtis Cocking (15. Elliott Hartley 80), 9. Dan Smith (16. Chris Bladen 75), 10. Demetri Brown, 11. Lee Smith.

Unused Subs:-.12. Freddie Watts, 17. Harvey Walker.