Tamworth Men's Firsts Vs Atherstone

Tamworth Men’s First XI sealed their place as champions of East Midlands Division One with a 4-2 away victory against local rivals Atherstone.  Town took a strong squad of players who had all contributed to the success this season knowing that a point would probably be enough for promotion but a win would confirm top spot.  After an even start to the game, with both sides looking dangerous, Tamworth got the breakthrough when Ian Wagstaff picked out Tom Sperrink on the left and the ball was squared for Tom Hancox to force the ball into the goal whilst under pressure from the last defender.  The goal seemed to settle Tamworth nerves and a second soon followed, this time a rare foray into the opponents half saw Tamworth stalwart Dave Langford collect a pass from Wagstaff in the final third and drive into the D where after his initial shot was saved but the rebound fell kindly for him to double the visitors lead.  Ben Popple then added a third for Tamworth with a reverse stick strike from a tight angle on the left to leave Tamworth 3-0 ahead at the break.

In the second half Atherstone started the better side and pulled a goal back after a period of pressure where Tamworth struggled to gain possession.  Both sides lost the fluency of early in the game and Jay Haywood received a yellow card following a series of strong challenges from both sides.  Once back to their full eleven Town put themselves out of sight with Popple the man on the mark again as he twisted and turned in the circle before placing his strike into the bottom right corner.  Adders pulled another back to make the game 4-2 but Tony Banks made two athletic saves to ensure Tamworth were able to celebrate a comfortable win and deserved league title with champagne flowing on the sidelines at the final whistle.  With Coalville away next Sunday in the National Vase Semi Final Tamworth will now look to complete a wonderful season with further silverware.