Tip top Tipton trounce tepid Town

Tipton Town 4-0 Willenhall Town

By Martyn Simpson

Jason Smith, one of four ex-Willenhall players in the Tipton starting line up, was chief antagonist as the Reds crumbled to an embarrassing defeat against the Midland Alliance newcomers. Manager Rob Smith returned from holiday to witness his side, who have been going well in pre-season thus far, fail to even come close to matching a rampant home side.

Virtually on the final whistle, three players were released – Craig Heaney along with trialists Sean Derry and Luke Bradley – but there have been defensive reinforcements drafted in. John Newell, the former Halesowen Town defender, has joined along with Sean Platt and Lee Vaughan who have arrived on loan from Walsall. All three struggled to get to grips with a strong Tipton forward line, but perhaps match practice and getting used to their new team-mates made it all a worthwhile exercise.

As for the match itself, a needless clumsy challenge from Craig Heaney on enigmatic Tipton striker Lee Rollason in the 4^th minute set a precedent for Willenhall’s disappointing performance. Cue Smith to read the script and stroke the resulting free kick home from the edge of the area, to give his former side the worst start imaginable. Tipton almost doubled the advantage within a minute, as Rollason was given too much room at the back post, but a deceiving header bounced wide.

When Chad Sheppard was given room to cross from the right hand side, Dean Perrow – Willenhall’s star performer on the night – saw his header flash just wide of the upright. Shortly after, the tenacious Perrow outmuscled two defenders and squared the ball to Scott Voice, but Tipton stopper Danny Watson comfortably dealt with his tame effort. The visitors were starting to work the ball better and claw their way back into the game before disaster struck. New boy Vaughan carelessly gave away possession, and Ashley Langford picked the ball up on the halfway line and went on a powerful run. The irrepressible Rollason was in acres of space again, but Langford elected to shoot from a challenging angle and somehow found the corner of Mark Shiels’ net.

A thunderous effort from Mark Simms almost added a third, but his powerful shot flew just wide with Shiels beaten. However, there was no let up after the interval, as Smith added to the tally on 55 minutes. A long free kick from Watson wasn’t dealt with by the Reds rearguard, but Smith was handily placed to fire home his second and Tipton’s third.

A hash of an attempt at a clearance allowed Mark Briggs to rub salt into the wounds, with the former Telford man completing the rout at the midpoint of the second period. With several absentees from the Willenhall squad for the game, it will be interesting to see how many force their way into the reckoning on Saturday.

The most depressing aspect of all is being the brother of the Tipton Town Press Officer. No, not because of the months of banter that will surely follow, but because I had to stick my hand in my pocket and buy him a drink after the game.

Line-ups:

Willenhall: Shiels; Newell, Heaney, Platt; Holland, Rowe, Sheppard, Rochester, Vaughan; Perrow, Voice. Subs used – Bishop, Bradley, Danks, Derry, Swann,

Tipton: Watson; Miller, A Smith, Love; Langford, Briggs, Simms, J Smith, Coates; Reynolds, Rollason. Subs used – Cox, Baddams, Marshall, Sangha

Don’t forget to follow Willenhall’s progress on 107.7 The Wolf