Midland Football League

Premier Division

Tuesday 7th March 2017

Tividale FC 1-3 Coventry Shinx FC

No luck against the Sphinx

Tividale were unrecognisable to the team that went down 10 days ago in a poor home display against fellow strugglers Boldmere. No one could fault the effort in this game but the football god’s were just not with the home side as they put on a display that made the last one all the more frustrating.

Tividale were at the visitors from the off and for the first 20 minutes Sphinx struggled to get the ball out of their own half as Tividale piled on the pressure but without really working Sphinx keeper Scott Dutton. They had their first chance after 12 minutes when after some neat passing Nathan Jones fired a cross across the box to Lewis Probert but he fired his shot over the bar. On 23 minutes Tividale had a great chance to have something to show for their pressure when they  were awarded a penalty after Probert had attacked the Sphinx box and was brought down.

Chris Bladen stepped up to take the spot kick, and although it was to the bottom right hand corner Dutton got down well to palm it away and complete a fine save.

The penalty save proved to be a double whammy because a minute later from missing  the golden chance of going a goal up, they were a goal down.  From a long ball deep into the Tividale area Sphinx striker Ryan Harkin was the first onto it and although Tividale keeper Luke Kriskinans beat away Harkins first shot, he could do nothing to stop Harkin firing home the rebound. It could have been even worse a minute later when Sphinx wide man Pierce Kiembi saw his effort whistle past Kriskinans far post. Tividale were soon back in the ascendancy and on 37 minutes Jones cut in from the right but shot wide and then some neat work between Bladen and Probert ended with the latter shooting but again not forcing Dutton into a save.

Tividale ended the half with a couple of efforts. First Dutton did well to put a Probert shot out for a corner and from the resulting corner the ball fell to full back Tom Hurdman, but again Dutton was equal to his shot.

Half Time:- Tividale FC 0-1 Coventry Sphinx FC

Tividale started the second half as they ended the first with the majority of the possession but with no real goal threat and were nearly punished two minutes in but Kriskinans pushed away a Sphinx header. Again Tividale had the chance to get on the sheet on 48 minutes through Jones but again the ball was put wide without the midfielder working Dutton.

On the hour came a major talking and turning point in the game. With Sphinx clearing a Tividale corner, referee Mr Dickens spotted an incident on the edge of the Sphinx box. He pulled back play awarded a free kick to the home side and gave Sphinx midfielder Reece Blackmore a straight red card to the players astonishment. Blackmore pleaded that he was stamped on and retaliated but the referee said he did not see the stamping but did see the player kick out at a Tividale player. The dismissal was possibly the worse thing to happen to the home side because now they were down to 10 men had a goal lead to defend and felt an injustice had been done against them. So the last thing Tividale needed against a fired up Sphinx side was to give a soft free kick on the edge of their box a minute later.

But that they did and Harkin made no mistake with a curling free kick into Kriskinans top left hand corner. The goal gave the visitors clear water and they added a third on 80 minutes when another unnecessary free kick was headed home by Jamie Towers.

Tividale did get on the score sheet with a consolation goal on 84 minutes when Jones was put through and placed the ball past a oncoming Dutton and into the back of the net.

Full Time:- Tividale FC 1-3 Coventry Sphinx FC

Tividale FC:- 1. Luke Kriskinans, 2. Tom Hurdman, 3. Darragh Bustin, 4. Andre Edwards, 5. .Chris Hill, 6. James Douglas (16. Elliott Harvey 85), 7. Lewis Probert, 8. Craig Stevens,  9. Chris Bladen, 10 Nathan Jones, 11. Charles Wilson (17. Natalys Joao 67).

Unused Subs:-:-12. Karl Gardner, 14. Liam Smith 15. Shane Grainger