Alvechurch v Tamworth
Alvechurch
2-1
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Tamworth
Match Report
The Lambs returned to Southern League Premier Central action a week after the point away at Biggleswade, with a trip to face Church at Lye Meadow.
There were four changes to the side that ran out in the near three points at Langford Road, with Lucas Yeomans, Orrin Pendley, Chris Cox, and Charlie Shaw coming into the starting eleven.
There is an old saying that you should never trust the form book, but the hosts were in much better position having won 4 and drawn 1 (F10, A3) in the last five compared with The Lambs D2, L3 (F3 A10) record.
On the Lye Meadow bi-directional sloping pitch, and with only three floodlights shining until just before kick off, Tamworth, in the red and black kit, lined up against the home yellow and black who included former Lambs Claudio Dias and Dan Jezeph in their starting line up, before getting the game underway, attacking the car park end of the ground in the first half.
Creaney and Stenson lined up on opposite sides up front with Waite in between and the former two quickly switched around when a freekick from Cox was punted into the final third but came to nothing.
A deep freekick from Beswick on 3 took a touch behind for a corner on the left and Yeoman’s shot from outside the area was charged down and cleared.
Pendley had to think quickly to nip the ball off the feet of Skeen-Hamilton for a home corner on the left on 5 which The Lambs defended strongly for another corner on the right which went back to Singh and his long kick bounced for Jezeph to gather in his own box.
Jezeph then denied Stenson with a well timed close range block as the striker tried to get a shot on the angle from the left if the box on 7
On 11, Cox launched himself at a cross form the right by Cassidy and headed it behind for a right sided corner which home captain Willets did similarly with an equally acrobatic full length dive to connect with the ball, and he failed to hit the target with his powerful headed effort.
Cassidy thankfully left his shooting boots at home on 16 firing high and wide of target from 20 yards out when his position and space probably deserved an on target shot as a minimum.
Skeen-Hamilton’s ball from the left had to be dealt with at the near post on 19 but nothing could be done about the neat passing between Cassidy and Dias which allowed the former to drive home from 18 yards after a neat one two, into the bottom right past Singh (0-1, 19 mins)
The Lambs nearly released Stenson via a Shaw ball down the left wing on 22 but it was just too strong for him to latch onto before Jezeph could get to it in the area and a quick break by the home side resulted in a half chance blasted high and wide from distance.
Alvechurch continued to go in search of a second goal, and it took a number of bodies in the way to deny a powerful strike from Mclintlock on 25, before Waite eventually got the ball away from danger. However, The Lambs were quickly pressed back into the final third again and on the half hour Brown shot low but also wide of the left hand upright with a diagonal shot which drew Singh into a dive, more to protect the ball from clipping his post than going in the goal itself.
A good spell of possession out of midfield ended on 35 with Creaney rolling the ball down the right wing for Yeomans, but his cross curled over and out of play, but almost as if in response Alvechurch doubled their lead on 36 with a low finish from Burton from the left of the area after The Lambs defence had failed to clear their lines and it was a case of who would score, not when (0-2, 36 mins)
A freekick on the Alvechurch left ended with a booking for Beswick on 43 in the play after the deadball restart, and from the second attempt at the freekick ‘Church forced a corner on the left with a low blocked shot.
In added time a deep freekick bounced past Creaney and out for a goalkick before the referee
HT 2-0
Tamworth emerged from the changing rooms a minute or two before their hosts onto the blustery storm whipped pitch, while the food van did a brisk trade in hot goods, and The Lambs duly got the game back underway.
Alvechurch had the best chance in the early exchanges when Dias’ right sided angled shot took a deflection past the far post for a left sided corner on 47 which came to nothing when a foul in the area halted play.
A powerful clearance from Cox on the right on 52 gave Stenson the ball on the edge of the area but he was unable to get a shot past the covering defenders despite his best efforts,
At the other end, on 55, Church forced a couple of flagkicks on opposite sides in quick succession but the second was blocked and cleared with Creaney and Yeomans working hard to keep the ball up at the business end of the pitch and it fell well for Stenson on the edge of the area, but his right footed strike went wide of the mark and then Singh was called upon to bat away a right footed strike on target on 59 by Mclintlock from 18 yards.
Clement replaced Yeomans for the final half hour and a corner resulted on the right when Hart overlapped down the right and saw his cross blocked, but he had to leave the field to receive treatment for a nosebleed when the flagkick came into the box and Clement saw his shot denied by a defensive boot.
The Lambs did pull one back on 66 though, after Pendley had nodded a high ball down into the path of Stenson in the left of the area, and he fired home with a clean but half power shot that beat Jezeph at his near post. (1-2, 66 mins)
This gave Tamworth a renewed sense of purpose, and a forward push earned a left sided corner on 67 which was headed away and out past the far post to give Beswick another chance with the dead ball but this time it was cleared.
The home side did their best to get straight back down the other end and it took a brave last ditch tackle from Cox to deny a clean shot from Skeen-Hailton on 70, which resulted in the ball ballooning high and wide of the mark.
Creaney put his header from Hart’s right sided cross straight into the hands of a grateful Jezeph on 71 and knew that a yard either side would have seen him net the equaliser before McDonald and Jones replaced Waite and Shaw with 15 to play.
Creaney tripped Brown in the left channel on 77 and it set up Mclintlock with a chance of a free shot from 25 yards which he took and forced Singh to parry the on target strike, one handed, over the bar for a corner.
Turton sent the deadball onto the head of Beswick though and Stenson managed to get all the way into the opposition box before a pull on a defenders shirt, spotted by the linesman on his side of the field, halted his surging run.
When Hart and Brown clashed unwittingly in the middle of the park the Tamworth man was OK to continue, but even with the help of the physio, it took a while for Brown to get back to his feet and he had to be replaced for the final minutes of the game and Alvechurch forced a corner on the left from the restarted play and Turton again sent it short but The Lambs were able to break through Creaney and McDonald who found substitute Jones who headed wide of the mark.
Tamworth kept the ball in the home half and worked it through to Clement who struck low from 20 yards on 87, but Jezeph was equal to it as the minutes ticked down on hopes of rescuing an away point ahead of two vital home games against Biggleswade and Rushden and Diamonds before a trip to bottom club Hitchin.
Five minutes added time were shown at the end of the second half, and Creaney nearly set up McDonald in the area but it was nipped off the latter’s toes before he could get a shot away.
Hart saw his shot on the right charged down at the near post by the home defence but the final chance of the game fell from Hart’s cross from the right onto the head of Creaney and he just couldn’t get it to drop under the bar or inside the post and Alvechurch escaped a last minute equaliser.
Singh, Yeomans (Clement 60), Wilder, Beswick, Pendley, Cox, Waite (McDonald 75), Shaw (Jones 75), Creaney, Hart, Stenson
Subs: Concannon, Cross
YC: Beswick 43
Jezeph, Cassidy, Burton, Turton, Willets, Carter, Mclintlock, Brown (Dowd 83), Waldrum, Dias (Hallahan 75), Skeen-Hamilton (Patterson 91)
Subs: Ezwele, Phillips
Referee: Mr. L. Corbett
Attendance: 224
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