West Midland Regional League
Premier Division
Saturday 22nd December 2018
Tividale 11-0 Smethwick

Smethwick Savaged

 
We maybe a little biased here, But if you love football and have never gone down to The Beeches and watched a Tividale game. You honestly don’t know what your missing. Tividale followed up on Wednesday night’s win with another stunning performance.

From the first minute to the last they never took their foot off the pedal and in the end Smethwick will feel they got off lightly with just the 11 conceded. With Ben Birch picking up an injury on Wednesday, Karl Gardner was back in defence. Dan Smith was also back from his three game suspension and he started up front.

Tividale were ahead after just 6 minutes when a wayward Smethwick pass went out to Demetri Brown and with Smethwick keeper Joshua Morgan off his line the forward calmly clipped the ball over him and into the back of the net. 2 minutes later it was 2-0. Again Tividale regain possession from the visitors and Curtis Cocking had time to set himself before smashing the ball home. Brown made it 3-0 on 10 minutes when he met a Welding corner at the near post and he headed the ball home.

Smethwick did have a couple of chances, the first a shot on 14 minutes from Shaikul Islam that lacked any real power and Cheshire took comfortably and then one on 18 minutes that Amari Shaw fired in on goal. This one had Cheshire having to use all his height to touch over the bar. Normal service was resumed on 32 minutes when Darragh Bustin cut in from the left flank after a Liam Wilkinson pass and fired past Morgan to make it 4-0 and three minutes later it was 5-0. Welding this time with the assist. His driven cross across the Smethwick penalty area was met by Bustin and there was only going to be one outcome when he hit it, leaving Morgan a mere spectator as it hit the back of the net. Reece Shilvock got on the score sheet on 40 minutes when after a neat little interchange with Brown he strokecd the ball home.

It was now beginning to get embarrassing as Tividale ruthlessly continued to  press and look for more goals and Smethwick were finding it difficult to get out of their own penalty area let alone half. Tividale did have time for a 7th before half time when a Brown cross into the box was met by an unmarked Dan Smith and he made no mistake.

Half Time:- Tividale 7-0 Smethwick

 
For the second half Smethwick matched up to Tividale’s 5-3-2 formation in an attempt to limit the second half damage. But the second half was only 4 minutes old when Brown and Smith linked up again to make it 8-0. A lovely floated ball into the box from Brown and Smith controlled, spun and clinically finished. Liam Wilkinson was denied a goal his display deserved when his shot from 25 yards looked to be arrowing into the top corner but Morgan just got his finger tips to it and touched it onto the bar and he recovered the rebound. The cross bar saved the visitors gain on 57 minutes when a Brown shot was deflected off Daniel Wright onto the bar and again dropped nicely into the arms of Morgan. Bustin then headed against the post on 66 minutes as Smethwick battled to restrict the damage.

But on 71 minutes it was 9-0. When Welding drilled home a free kick from the edge of the box and on 73 it was double figures and an hat trick for the returning Smith when he rounded Morgan and slotted the ball home. There was still time for one more Tividale goal when Bustin’s run down the left and cross was side footed home by substitute Alex Cameron in the 88th minute.

This was Tividale at their best and even though the boss Dave King was away for a well deserved Christmas break. Assistant Manager Keiron Bustin and the coaching staff made sure that although he was not in the dug out the Tividale philosophy remained the same. Keep pressing, keep playing and keep the foot on the gas throughout the 90 plus minutes

Full Time:- Tividale 11-0 Smethwick

Tividale Supporters Man of the Match – Liam Wilkinson

 
Tividale:-1. Ryan Cheshire, 2. Bradley Welding (17, Elliott Hartley 80), 3. Darragh Bustin, 4. Freddie Watts, 5. Karl Gardner (14. Lee Smith 22), 6. Dan Bryson, 7. Reece Shilvock, 8. Liam Wilkinson, 9. Dan Smith, 10. Demetri Brown (16. Alex Cameron 65). 11. Curtis Cocking

Unused Subs:-12. James Welch, 15. Jake Brigdale