Saturday 8th February
Capelli Sport Midland Football League Premier Division
Brocton 8 Tividale 3
Brocton made two changes from the side that won at 1874 Northwich two weeks ago. With Dan Evans and Morgan Payne unavailable, there was a welcome return to the starting line-up for both Ben Haddaway and Jake Thomas. Tividale came into the game mired in the relegation battle and were without a goal for five games.
Inside the first minute, Christian Blanchette reached the byline and won a corner which came to nothing. The early stages were bogged down in midfield with Tividale harrying and putting pressure on the ball. With their first attack of any real purpose, Brocton opened the scoring in the 9th minute. Will Whieldon played a ball into the box from the right. It fell invitingly for skipper Connor Haddaway who placed his shot into the corner. Tividale continued to cause Brocton problems in the middle of the park. In the 17th minute Kenny Devoir received a yellow card for a wild challenge on Eddie Rann, on the edge of the Brocton penalty area. Tividale levelled two minutes later, A shot from Jason Wood was saved by the feet of Tony Allsopp. The rebound came back out to Jordon Sangha and his shot flew past Allsopp into the net. Tividale should have taken the lead moments later. A free-kick from Lewis Derrick was headed wide by Callum Lloyd with Allsopp off his line having not reached the free-kick. In the 24th minute, a free kick from Whieldon was struck well but cleared with a superb defensive header. Brocton re-took the lead in the 25th minute. Excellent approach play saw Reg Smith play the ball into the path of Whieldon and his finish was clinical. Tividale did not lie down and they were level again in the 28th minute. A long ball forward caught Devoir and Tom Vaughan backpedalling. Devoir’s header back to Allsopp was too short and Ezekiel Agyemang reacted quickest to lift the ball over Allsopp. The goalfest continued with Brocton taking the lead for the third time in the 34th minute. The ball was played back to Ethan Hawk, and he was closed down by Reg Smith. The goalkeeper’s clearance was blocked by Brocton’s leading scorer, and he picked up the loose ball and rolled it into the net for his 150th goal in Brocton colours. Five minutes before the break, Wood took aim but hit his shot was straight at Allsopp. Brocton doubled their lead in the 42nd minute. A cross field ball from Blanchette picked out Whieldon who cut inside and buried his shot into the far corner.
Half-Time: Brocton 4 Tividale 2
After a breathless first half could the second half see more of the same? Three minutes into the half, Brocton again turned on the style. Reg Smith played the ball outside to Blanchette. His cross to the far post was met on the volley by Whieldon but this time the connection was a poor one and the chance came to nothing. Tividale were still in this game and a shot from Agyemang was deflected for a corner. From the corner, Matt Holland had a free header which found its way into the corner of the net to close the gap to a solitary goal. Agyemang had a chance to level the scores, but his shot was wide of the post. In the 55th minute, Brocton made it five. The ball was played in to the feet of Reg Smith who turned and shot in one motion, the shot being too firm for Hawk as it nestled in the corner. Two minutes later and it was six. Connor Haddaway played the ball out to Whieldon on the right. His first time cross evaded Hawk and Blanchette was on hand to finish off from close in. Goal number seven soon followed. A ball was played inside the Tividale skipper Sam Bratt-Wyton who was left on the deck as Whieldon drove forward and placed the ball inside the far post for an excellent hat-trick. Tividale, to their credit, attempted to fight back and Sangha hit a shot straight at Allsopp. Brocton were in the mood for more and their eight goal came in the 71st minute. 16 year-old Jude King again displayed his burgeoning talent as he picked up the ball on the left, picked his spot, and curled a shot over Hawk and into the top corner. Brocton continued to drive forward. In the 73rd minute, a run and shot from Whieldon was inches wide of the far post. In the 86th minute, Lucas Green-Birch found space in the area and his shot was well saved by Hawk. The final chance of the game fell to King as his shot beat Hawk but scraped the outside of the post.
Full-Time: Brocton 8 Tividale 3 Attendance:123
Brocton: Tony Allsopp, Cooper Marsh (Liam Prendergast 73), Josh Simcox, Kenny Devoir (Jude King 62), Tom Vaughan, Ben Haddaway, Will Whieldon, Jake Thomas (Lucas Green-Birch 62), Reg Smith (Cam Osborne 73), Connor Haddaway, Christian Blanchette (Toby Smith 73)
Tividale: Ethan Hawk, Tom Rann, Sam Bratt-Wyton (Jevani Robinson 64), Jason Wood, Callum Lloyd, Matt Holland, Jordon Sangha, Eddie Rann (Raheem Akhtar 67), Ezekiel Agyemang (Aon Mohammed Abbas 80), Lewis Derrick (Ryan Piggott 63), Alfie Higgs (Myles Durham 72)
Yellow Card: Devoir (Brocton)
Comments