Deaths cast shadow over thriller as late red card and equaliser rock Teversal

Sadness mingled with excitement and despair as ten-man Teversal were robbed by an equaliser five minutes into added time at the end of a thriller against Hall Road Rangers.
PAYING THEIR RESPECTS -- Teversal players observe a minutes silence ahead of Saturdays match after the grieving club was hit by tragedy.PAYING THEIR RESPECTS -- Teversal players observe a minutes silence ahead of Saturdays match after the grieving club was hit by tragedy.
PAYING THEIR RESPECTS -- Teversal players observe a minutes silence ahead of Saturdays match after the grieving club was hit by tragedy.

Teversal had recovered from 2-0 down before being hit by a late red card in an entertaining 3-3 draw with their relegation-threatened Hull visitors, who shared the Northern Counties East League, First Division spoils. But the match was also about mourning the deaths of three members of ‘the Tevie family’ inside just five days.

Firstly, Teversal were informed of club stalwart Derek ‘Darkie’ Bailey passing away during the week. Then, on matchday, came the shocking news that a member of the club’s ladies’ team, 20-year-old Hazel Fox, had been killed in a car accident the previous evening. And finally, on Sunday, Teversal were told that former groundsman and loyal supporter, Alan Davies, had also died.

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The club’s secretary, Kev Newton, said: “The game of football is, at times, spoken down as a bad, petty sport. But this showed how a club can pull together a grieving community.”

A minute’s silence was observed before the match, which developed into the kind of action-packed cracker that Derek, Hazel and Alan would have loved.

Hall Road took a ninth-minute lead when Callum Harrison played a neat one-two with Danny Walker, who fired home with an assured finish, and the visitors doubled their advantage on 36 minutes with an exquisite strike by striker Harrison, who struck a fierce, low drive that gave goalkeeper Dale Sheppard no chance.

If Teversal were to fight back, they needed a goal before the break -- and they got it when Jacob Tittley’s far-post cross found Ash Kitchen, whose effort was parried by ‘keeper Jordan Douglas, only for Brad Cox to hammer home the rebound from eight yards.

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The hosts levelled ten minutes into the second period when skipper Paul Staniforth curled a 20-yard free-kick round the defensive wall and into the half of the goal Douglas had left exposed. And they were in front in the 77th minute when a through ball by Sean Dickinson was superbly weighted for Cox to round the advancing goalie.

With Teversal in control, the points looked theirs -- until midfielder Kitchen was controversially shown a straight red card in the 83rd minute after sliding into a 50-50 challenge with Hall Road’s Andy Harrison. Newly motivated, the visitors rubbed salt into the wounds by grabbing a bizarre last-gasp leveller when an attempted clearance hit referee Josh Bramall and dropped to Mike Thompson, who scored with a speculative effort from distance.

TEVERSAL LINE-UP -- Sheppard/ Armstrong, Staniforth, Gregory, Fisher, Kitchen, Tittley (Hempshall 75), Atkins (Sargent 65), Cox, Weaver, Dickinson. SUBS NOT USED: Barker, Short, Turton.