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TAMWORTH (home) 13/12/03 Tamworth avenged their opening day defeat at the hands of Hereford United with a referee-assisted 1-0 win at Edgar Street. Referee Mr A Woolmer made several baffling decisions and sent off two players in a match that could be best described as competitive rather than dirty. David Brown started in place of the injured Steve Guinan, and Anwar Uddin, on loan from Bristol Rovers, made his debut at centre back. Former Hereford player Rob Warner featured for Tamworth, although in midfield rather than the right-back role United fans will remember him for. A strong, swirling wind made life difficult for both sides, with several passes going astray. Neither side had an effort of note in the first quarter of an hour, and Tamworth took the lead with virtually the first chance of the game. Green was harshly adjudged to have committed a foul on the right-hand side of the penalty area. Matt Baker did well to save a close-range header from the resulting kick, but was powerless to stop Richard Dryden tapping home the rebound. Having scored, Tamworth were happy to sit back and defend in numbers. Goalkeeper Richard Brush did well to claim a cross from Michael Rose with home attackers closing in, then made an excellent tip-over save from Danny Williams' long-range free-kick. From the corner, Ben Smith had a shot smartly gathered by Brush at his near post. Then came the news that leaders Chester had fallen behind at home to Stevenage. The home fans now started to roar their side on, encouraging the team to attack. The corner count increased, and from one of them, Williams sent a header wide. The same player felt he should have had a penalty when he fell under a challenge from behind, but the referee waved play on. Other efforts floated high or wide as United finished the half strongly. Within five minutes of the restart, a home win seemed a foregone conclusion when the Lambs were reduced to ten men. Rob Warner lunged in at Paul Parry, sending him to the floor. Having been booked just a minute previously, he could have little complaint. However, United, despite absolutely dominating possession, could not find a way through the defence. From yet another corner - United's eleventh Ð a header was well saved by Brush. It was to be the last time the young goalkeeper was to be seriously tested. He was well protected by Tamworth's imaginative 8-0-1 formation, with Brian Quailey as the '1'. United didn't help themselves by insisting on crossing the ball into the box at every opportunity, an action which usually gave possession back to Tamworth straightaway. The chances they did create went wide - Uddin shot woefully over from eight yards, and Tony James wastefully had a shot from long range easily miss the target. David Brown came closest, his effort going inches wide. Tamworth were restricted to free-kicks given for fouls by an incredibly fussy ref. However, not once did they manage to get a shot on target, Mark Cooper in particular being guilty of a couple of awful misses. In stoppage time, Ryan Green, who moments previously had been named man of the match, was shown a ridiculously harsh red card for not much. Tamworth booted the ball clear once more, and the match was brought to an end. Having had so much possession, United will wonder how on earth they managed to lose this one. They didn't help themselves by not playing their usual passing football, and their long balls into the box were usually cleared at the first attempt. Jim Rodwell in particular was outstanding for the visitors, winning seemingly everything in the air. Team and ratings: Baker (6), Green (7), Uddin (7), James (7), Rose (7), Williams (7), Pitman (6), Smith (6), Parry (7), Brown (5), Purdie (5) (sub Carey-Bertram (4)
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