Tamworth
V
Wealdstone
Tamworth v Scarborough Athletic
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Tamworth
2-0
Scarborough Athletic
Match Report
The seadogs of Scarborough Athletic visited The Lamb for the first time in their history, hoping to upset Tamworth’s top of the table form which stood at nine league games without defeat (7 wins, 2 draws) and had seen the Andy Peaks’ side go four points clear with a game in hand on Tuesday night thanks for Ty Deacon’s last minute headed winner over Gloucester City.
Peaks made one change to the side that worked to the end to secure the three points in midweek with Luke Fairlamb coming in for the injured Callum Cockerill-Mollett.
After the crowd had applauded Lambs goalkeeper Jas Singh for making his 200th appearance for the club a couple of weeks previously and also celebrated the life of recently departed football legend Bobby Charlton in a similar manner, Tamworth got the game underway with Athletic facing their segregated fans in the Meadow Street end of the ground.
An early corner was flicked on by Deacon on 3 and he found Milnes on the edge of the box via Jellis’ touch but his shot was blocked and Tear tried his luck on 9 but also found his way congested and Maloney’s follow up from distance bounced into Singh’s grateful grasp.
Finn wriggled through to get a shot away from the edge of Cracknell’s box on 13 but couldn’t get the angle on target, and Finn was involved again on 14, in-swinging a right sided cross which curled away from Deacon ‘s possible attention and also around the far post.
Tear made light work of the Lambs back line on 15 to drill the ball into the danger area, but Willet’s was on hand to get it clear and Cullinane-Liburd relieved the pressure with a hefty boot from the resulting throw.
Deacon rose highest to head a Willet’s headed centre straight at the Seadogs keeper on 17 then Milnes released Deacon into the box with an incisive through ball and he pulled it back for Tshikuna who found Cracknell in no mood to be beaten with his low shot from the left of the box.
Milnes’ corner was hoofed away by Purver but Tamworth kept up the pressure and were duly rewarded when Finn powerfully side footed home his fifth of the season from 8 yards into the far corner after Scarborough failed to deal with a long Cullinane-Liburd throw. (1-0, 21 mins)
A neat 1-2 with Jellis set up Tshikuna with a long range effort on 32 which didn’t really trouble Cracknell, and Purver was booked for a challenge on the Lambs midfielder on 35 but only after the referee had allowed play to continue and Deacon has chased down the loose ball into the box, with Cracknell taking a knock in the process.
Weledji was the next in the book, for a similar foul on Jellis on 37 ad Tamworth continued to disrupt any possession that Scarborough managed to get as the minutes passed towards the halfway mark, without threatening Cracknell.
Two minutes added time was shown and there was a half chance for The Lambs when Finn flicked on a bouncing loose ball in the box, but Tshikuna was too far away to make his header count.
HT 1-0
Scarborough box Jon Greening made to changes prior to the restart but couldn’t prevent Jellis from setting up Tshikuna with a strike from the right of the box which Cracknell parried behind for a corner on the right and from the ensuing play, Finn drilled a low cross in from the right which the keeper took low at his near post before Deacon could connect.
Milnes sent a deep freekick from the center circle into the area on 53 looking for Cullinane-Liburd and Cracknell decided to come for it but only managed to get his fingertips too it forcing Weledji to cover his faux-pas before the Lambs defender could pounce.
The Lambs pushed for a second and Athletic were punished for making niggly fouls all over the pitch but were unable to test Cracknell, and Weledji got a rare shot away on 64.
Deacon and Gooda clashed on 65 leaving the Athletic man requiring treatment off the field, for a cut to his forehead head which, earned Deacon a yellow card.
Scarborough made their final change with Gooda still receiving treatment, and he was OK to return when fully patched up and minute or two later.
Qualter met the ball 15 yards out after Willets clearance had been blocked, but it lacked the quality it needed to get over or round a crowded box and nearly left the ground at the Castle End.
Either Jellis or Tshikuna were booked around 68, but it wasn’t clear which as both players were walking away with their back to the referee, and Coulson then got a shot away in another crowded box, but a deflected block took it away for a corner, as Athletic mounted a challenge on The Lambs slender lead, which then brought a corner off Fairlamb.
Meikle replaced Milnes on 73, and Willets took over the captains armband before Jellis stuck from 25 yards, wide of the left hand post and Cracknell was happy to watch it go wide, but there was no stopping Tshikuna’s strike on 81 which whistled past Cracknell into the far left after the player had switched feet on the right of the D outside the area and calmly picked his spotted (2-0, 81 mins)
After bagging his goal, Tshikuna was replaced by Reilly for the final five, shoring up the back line to help try and preserve the Lambs 10th clean sheet of the season.
Thornton was booked for a blatant shirt pull on Deacon on 88 which prevented the striker advancing on goal, and so Jellis set up the deadball from 25 yards but it skipped out past the left hand post.
Five minutes added time was shown, and Singh was called into action, for the first time in the game, by Coulson but the offside flag had been raised as the keeper got his feet into the way of his angled shot in the final act of another three point haul for Andy Peaks’ Lambs.
Tamworth:
Singh, Curley, Finn (Williams 80), Milnes (c.) (Meikle 73), Deacon, Fairlamb, Willets, Cullinane-Liburd, Tshikuna (Reilly 85), Jellis, Arlott-John
Subs: Gascoigne, Jones
YC: Deacon 65
Scarborough Athletic:
Cracknell, Weledji, Thornton (c.), Purver, Mulhern (Green 67), Colville, Qualter, Tear (Gooda HT), Brown, Barnes (Coulson HT)
Subs: Wiles, Durose
YC: Purver 35, Weledji 37, Thornton 88
MOM: Clive Tomlinson and guests chose: Jordan Cullinanae-Liburd
Att: 1301 (144 Scarborough fans)
Referee: Mr. Jack Hall
Assistant Referees: Mr. Lewis Mountain David Constable
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