JW Hunt Cup

Round 1

Tuesday 31st October 2017

Tividale 3-2 Bustleholme

Bustleholme provide a tricky test in treat of a game

Tividale came up against a feisty and spirited Bustleholme side, that on this Halloween thriller performance will feel unlucky to be bowing out of this season’s JW Hunt cup at the first hurdle.

Once again Tividale made a number of changes from the side that beat Dudley Sports on Saturday with Ryan Cheshire returning in goal. Also back in the starting line up were Freddie Watts, Bradley Welding, Chris Hill, Elliott Hartley, Jack Lee and Nathan Jones in for Tom Hurdman, Darragh Bustin, Karl Gardner, Dan Bryson, Joe Lawley and the injured Chris Bladen.

Before kick off their was a minutes applause for young Maddy Box Poole and it was good to see both her parents and many family and friends in the crowd.

The visitors started like a house on fire and their front two of Chris Brown and Michael Miller were all over the Tividale defence like a rash. They should have been ahead on 15 minutes when Brown decided to shoot when it may have been better to play in his partner, but his shot was saved by Cheshire. Two minutes later and Bustleholme were through again, this time though Jack Whittall fired over.

Tividale were struggling to keep the visitors at bay and completely against the run of play they were ahead on their first real attack. When young Jack Lee hammered the ball home on 25 minutes after the Bustleholme defence had blocked a couple of efforts. Four minutes later and Tividale had doubled their lead. Bustleholme keeper Rikki Danton was rushed into a clearance by Nathan Jones, the ball hit the striker and looped over the keeper and the Tividale striker was able to run on and tap the ball into an empty net.

If we thought Bustleholme were going to roll over after going two down we were mistaken and they poured forward again and Brown was unlucky with a free kick that skimmed the Tividale cross bar on 35 minutes. Two minutes later and they had reduced the deficit. Whittall fired in a low cross into the Tividale box and Miller applied the finishing touch.

Danton produced a great save to deny Hartley but it was Bustleholme who were doing all the pressing and on 45 minutes they were level with Daniel Wood ending a sweeping move with a decisive finish. Right on the stroke of half time Tividale lost Lee with an ankle injury and he was replaced by Lawley.

Half-time: Tividale 2-2 Bustleholme

Bustleholme had the first effort of the second half when Cheshire had to palm over a Miller effort. There was then a quite period and this gave Tividale the chance to get back into the game,. They were now much more comfortable on the ball and were beginning to be more of a threat on the Bustleholme defence. From one such attack Bradley Welding was also injured when he was caught on the ankle after playing the ball into the box and he was carried off with a nasty gash and replaced by club captain Gardner.

On 59 minutes Tividale were back ahead. Dan Smith was through and Danton was adjudged to have brought him down in the box. Joe Lawley stepped up and gave the keeper no chance from the spot.

The rest of the game never matched the excitement of the first hour and Tividale took a stranglehold of the game as the visitors tired which could have been expected as they had given everything up till then. In the end it was the home side who ran out winners as the Bustleholme threat was restricted to long range effort’s and the closest they got in the second half was right at the death when Cheshire produced a fine save to avoid extra time.

Tividale now face the winners of Highgate United and Paget Rangers in the 2nd round.

Full Time: Tividale 3-2 Bustleholme

Tividale:-1 Ryan Cheshire, 2. Elliott Hartley, 3. Brad Welding (15. Karl Gardner 56), 4. Chris Hill (12. Tom Hurdman 83), 5. Freddie Watts, 6. Liam Smith, 7. Joe Colley, 8. Curtis Cocking, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Nathan Jones, 11. Jack Lee (16. Joe Lawley 45).

Unused Subs:-14. Darragh Bustin, 17. Harvey Walker.