Tidenham 'A' 2
Whitecroft 3
WITH only one win all season and having already lost by four goals to Whitecroft earlier in the campaign, Tidenham's Third X1 could well claim this result as a turn-of-year improvement in form.
'A' team manager Justin Cook remains as enthusiastic as ever but admits his side "just can't buy a win."
"We get closer all the time. But this is only our second season and you have to remember that we act very much as a feeder team for the second and first teams," he says.
Soccer, said Cook, continued to thrive at Tidenham and the 'A' team was very much part of the bigger picture. The club was growing and had ambitions.
"At present we play our First team games in Lydney but we now have planning permission for new changing rooms on our ground at Tutshill. We are hoping for grants but we have to do some fundraising and we are also looking for a local business to sponsor the 'A' team," he said.
A mix of experienced older players and a number of promising youngsters, the 'A' team took an early lead against Whitecroft when Ashley Lewis scored with a long range lob.
For half an hour Tidenham matched their rivals but were trailing 2 - 1 at half-time and had to play second fiddle for much of the remainder of the game. However, they did score a second through Duncan Sullivan.
Cook named Stuart Watkins as his team's man-of-the-match and also praised Byron Mills for his dedication to the team.
"He likes to play in defence but we needed a goalkeeper and asked him to take the jersey. It is great to have players like that," said Cook.