Tamworth Men's Firsts Vs Stone 2

Tamworth Men’s First XI were convincing winners in a 6-1 victory away to Stone on Saturday.  Tamworth knew the pressure was on to keep winning but found a stubborn opponent in Stone during the early stages.  Tamworth were able to carve out chances with Tom Sperrink twice denied by the keeper with a deflected effort and a one vs one opportunity but Stone were also a threat with runners from midfield.  After the even start Stone had a period of pressure which eventually saw a penalty corner only half cleared and when the ball was returned to the D the Stone attacker squeezed the ball under the diving Tony Banks.  This sparked Tamworth to life and they struck back immediately with an aerial pass from Ian Wagstaff played into the left channel where Tom Sperrink collected before driving into the D and scoring on the rebound after his initial shot was saved.  The turnaround was then completed just before half time with Tom Hancox playing Ryan Brisco in and his reverse stick shot was drilled into the bottom corner going in off the post.

The second period saw Tamworth continue on the front foot and they doubled their advantage through Sperrink as he shot from the top of the D low into the corner.  As Stone chased the game this gave Town further opportunities to attack and Tom Hancox deftly deflected inside the near post after Elliott Birchall played a sharper pass into the D.  Sperrink completed his hat trick when the stopped an attempted clearance from the back and he was able to roll around the keeper before firing high beyond the defender on the line.  Connor Diggins then saw his shot turned onto the bar before the scoring was completed when a Stone defender was dispossessed higher up the pitch and Sperrink and Brisco were left two vs one with the keeper and with Sperrink laying off to Brisco for a simple finish.

An excellent win against a tougher opponent than the scoreline suggests and a big boost as Old Wulfs were defeated by league champions Wolverhampton to leave Tamworth needing just one more win from the final three games to confirm second place and promotion.