Emirates Sponsored FA Cup

Extra Preliminary Round

Saturday 11th August 2018

Sporting Khalsa 2-1 Tividale

Tividale suffer Khalsa  heartbreak

Tividale had good cause to curse their bad luck after hitting the woodwork on no less than four occasions.

But it was higher ranked Midland League Premier side Sporting Khalsa that prevailed over their West Midland League rivals following a pulsating contest.

Tividale could have taken the lead on eight minutes when striker Dan Smith prodded against the post in a crowded goalmouth only for the ball to add insult to injury by rebounding back out and hitting the marksman in the face!

Three minutes later, Sporting went in front, wide man Garfield Robinson racing round defender Darragh Bustin and squaring the ball across goal, which was only half cleared into the path of perfectly placed Josh Thomas who thumped home.

Robinson continued to prove a real threat down the right. Again he cut inside full back Bustin just after the half hour mark, but this time he shot against the underside of the crossbar and the ball rebounded back out.

Sporting missed another glorious opportunity on 38 minutes, when full back  Alex Melbourne picked out the lingering David Meese  at the far post, but  he somehow aimed his shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Undeterred, Tividale raced straight back upfield to level when the dangerous Demetri Brown latched onto possession and strode forward before unleashing an unstoppable shot which flew into the top corner of Sporting’s net from 20 yards out leaving shotstopper Sam Arnold totally beaten.

Half Time:- Sporting Khalsa 1-1 Tividale

Twice Tividale went close to taking the lead when Brown was denied by a tremendous  last-gasp Jamie Oliver tackle when about to press the trigger on 56 minutes. Moments later, Brown was out of luck again when kept out by a great Arnold save.

But Tividale were rocked on 64 minutes when Jay Holdcroft, who’d only come on a couple of minutes earlier, kept his cool to slot home a sublimely taken goal.

Tividale tried everything to repair the damage. Arnold tipped a thunderous shot from Brown against the crossbar on 71 minutes before saving at the second attempt.

Smith then smashed an effort into the Sporting side-netting two minutes later before Liam Wilkinson lashed a long range effort against the Sporting crossbar on 83 minutes.

Right at the death, Tividale looked set to level matters when substitute Tyree Clarke burst through the middle, outpacing the defence and drew goalkeeper Arnold off his line before stroking the ball past him  – only to watch in disbelief as the ball struck the inside of the post  and rolled back out again

Full Time:- Sporting Khalsa 2-1 Tividale

Tividale:-1. Ryan Cheshire, 2. Tom Hurdman (14. Elliott Hartley 90), 3. Darragh Bustin, 4. Ben Birch, 5. Matt Hunt; 6. Lee Smith (18. Tyree Clarke 71), 7. Francis-Mills (17. Bradley Welding 67), 8. Liam Wilkinson, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Demetri Brown. 11. Curtis Cocking

Unused Subs:-12. Karl Gardner, 13. Lewis Hadley, 15. TJ Munthali, 16. Liam Smith