West Midland Regional League

Premier Division

Tuesday 17th April 2018

Tividale 3-2 Hereford Lads Club

Lad’s lament on late loss

After 75 minutes, Tividale were 2-0 down, dead and buried and deservedly so. But the introduction of a bit more “pace up top” for those final 15 minutes turned this game completely on it’s head.

Tividale gave deadline day signing Ben Birch his first home start and after the poor performance against Dudley Town and the first 75 minutes of this one. He must have wondered what he had let himself in for.

Hereford were at it from the off and took the lead with the first attack of note from either side when striker Kiea Cowley slipped Tividale defender Freddie Watts down the left side of the penalty box, cut the ball back to Adam Hockley and his rising shot took a slight deflection leaving Tividale keeper Ryan Cheshire with no chance as it hit the roof of the net.

The rest of the half saw Tividale with their usual majority of possession but not throughout the half did they even threaten the visitors goal. Whilst at the other end Messrs Cowley, Hockley and Kallum Wildig were causing the Tividale defence all sorts of problems.

Half-time:-Tividale 0-1 Hereford Lads Club

The second half was a minute old when Hereford had the second shot on target, this through a Jordan Burke free kick that Cheshire fielded comfortably. Tividale’s first effort of the game came on 49 minutes when Darragh Bustin found Lee Smith in the Hereford box with a cross, unmarked and in space but Smith’s shot failed to hit the target.

On 52 minutes the visitors doubled their lead. The troublesome Cowley had his shot brilliantly parried by Cheshire but Ashley Lear was the first to react and he side footed the loose ball into an empty net.

Tividale were now under severe pressure and had it not been for another great Cheshire save and Birch clearing the ball off the Tividale goal line on the hour mark, it could have been game over. On 64 minutes Curtis Cocking had a chance to reduce the arrears when substitute Elliott Hartley found him with a pass after some good work down the left flank, but Cocking’s shot cleared the crossbar.

After a fairly comfortable evening for the Hereford defence, the introduction of Hartley with his trickery and pace was now a worry and on 73 minutes he was the supplier again for a great Demetri Brown volley that cannoned back off the cross bar. A minute later and Tividale had pulled one back again Hartley was causing all sorts of problems and this time he picked out Tyree Street with a neat pass and the frontman found the bottom corner with a crisp finish. On 76 minutes Tividale were level. From a ball into the box Lee Smith’s header took a deflection that was enough to clear Hereford keeper Jason Davies and end up in the far corner of his goal.

Tividale were now on a charge and on 83 minutes the comeback was complete. Brown raced from the halfway line, down the right wing with defender’s in his wake, he then found Dan Smith on the edge of the Hereford 6 yard box and Smith on the stretch met his cross on the volley smacking the ball into the roof of the net.

Tividale almost had a 4th with the last kick of the game. The Hereford defence misjudged the flight of a long ball and Brown ghosted in behind him and clipped it on the volley and although the ball beat the onrushing Davies it just fell agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

Full Time:-Tividale 3-2 Hereford Lads Club

On a sad note 48 hours after this game Hereford Lads Club goalkeeper Jason Davies suffered a broken leg in a game against Malvern Town. All of us at Tividale FC wish Jason a full and speedy recovery.

 
Tividale:-1.Ryan Cheshire, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Darragh Bustin, 4. Freddie Watts 5. Ben Birch, 6. Liam Smith (12. Demetri Brown 51), 7. Karl Gardner (15. Elliott Hartley 61), 8. Curtis Cocking, 9. Chris Bladen (16. Tyree Clarke 72), 10. Dan Smith, 11. Lee Smith.

Unused Subs:-.15. Harvey Walker, 17. Joe Lawley