Tamworth Men's Firsts Vs Stone 2

Tamworth Men’s First XI extended the gap in the race for the promotion slots with a convincing 4-1 victory at home to Stone Second XI on Saturday.  Tamworth had a strong squad available and were looking to play the ball out from the back but the game started badly as Stone scored with a drag flick from a penalty corner in the opening ten minutes.  Town stuck to their style and had two shots of their own from penalty corners saved but were struggling to create clear goal scoring chances.  As the half wore on Tamworth dominated possession and were limiting Stone to opportunities from set pieces by nullifying their pacey counter attacks but it looked like the goal their play deserved would desert them until Ben Popple produced a moment of magic to bring Tamworth level.  Picking the ball up on the left wing Popple drove towards the D and as defenders stayed with their runners Popple weaved his way into a shooting position before drilling his shot into the bottom corner.

Tamworth continued to have the majority of the ball in the early stages of the second half and took the lead shortly after the break when Tom Sperrink picked up a loose ball on the right and slipped a pass to Tom Hancox who touch a touch before firing inside the near post.  Both sides knew the next goal would be crucial and has Town kept their heads the opposition’s forwards lost theirs as they lost players to the sin bin, firstly for an intentional back stick foul and then for dissent.  Tamworth took advantage and Hancox was again the man on the spot collected a pass from Elliott Birchall before rolling his marker and shooting low into the far corner.  A fourth followed, with Hancox this time turning provider, as he got in round the back on the right wing and crossed for Popple who deflected his cross beyond the keeper via a touch from the last defender.  The hosts saw out the remainder of the game playing some of their best possession hockey of the season to see out a fine win.

A true all round team performance with Simon Bowyer and especially Jacob Mallinder breaking down threats to the defence and playing the ball out accurately and at pace and a dominant midfield performance from Birchall, Brisco and Diggins.  Tamworth remain second and still just three points off top and are now five points clear of third placed Bloxwich who they face away next week knowing a win could extend the lead over the chasing pack even further.