Tamworth took a break from Enterprise National League action to welcome Middlesbrough’s PL2 side to the HD Ricketts Community Stadium at The Lamb, but found themselves on the wrong end of the 3-1 scoreline.

Mindful of the competition rules and an early kick off away at Harrogate Town on Saturday, Andy Peaks utilised his squad as Jas Singh wore the captains armband for his 350th appearance for the club.

Tamworth got the game underway attacking the Meadow Street end but immediately booted the ball out of play and made two substitutions with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
Despite a lot of quick movement by both sides, chances were few and far between in the opening ten minutes.
The closest either side got was a Nathan Tshikuna shot on the turn which was on target but lacked conviction, and a Jake Hutchinson first time effort from Tom McGlinchey’s cross which he connected well with, but ultimately fired well wide from 18 yards.
The Lambs continued to take the game to the visitors but a quick break from Middlesbrough saw Cruz Ibeh with the ball at his feet and just Singh to beat from 8 yards on 20 minutes, however he couldn’t get a clean shot away and drilled it straight at the grateful keeper.
Tshikuna rolled a right footed shot just wide of the right hand post with 26 minutes gone, after Hutchinson and McGlinchey had been unable to dig out Teo Kurtaran’s cross, and he went closer three minutes later rattling the inside of the left hand post with a rasping freekick from 20 yards after McGlinchey had been upended.
The deadball rebounded out and Hutchinson tried to turn home a snapshot but Owen Foster protested his goal and cleared the danger.
With Foster just off his line on 32 minutes McGlinchey chipped a hopeful shot a yard over the crossbar and Oli Dyson hit right footed from the right channel into Fosters grasp a minute later, as Tamworth continued to threaten to take the lead.
At the other end a good passage of play by Middlesbrough ended in disappointment when Isaac Greenup lifted his placed shot from 15 yards high and wide of the mark.
But there was no stopping the finish from Ricky Calder who stole in at the near post to powerfully turn home a right wing cross from Tshikuna to give Tamworth the edge at the break (1-0, 45 mins)

HT: 1-0

Ryan Howley replaced Joe Rye at the back after the break, and Middlesbrough made a quick foray forward with the ball finding Jayden Carbon’s run into the box who duly equalised with a tidy finish from 12 yards (1-1, 47 mins)
And the visitors did similarly within a couple of minutes but this time Cruz Ibeh was given the opportunity to finish from a similar position and took his chance well (1-2, 49 mins)
There was more coming soon after when Ibeh was on hand to finish another move into the Lambs box and the low cross was no challenge for him to turn into the net at the far post (1-3, 51 mins)
Hutchinson nearly reduced the arrears with a rifled right footed shot from 20 yards 3 minutes later but it curled just wide of the right hand post.
And on 64 minutes McGlinchey drove straight at Foster like a bullet, forcing him to bat the ball away rather than try and catch it and Parkes glanced his header from a corner across the face of goal and out past the far post on 71 minutes.
Middlesbrough’s Carbon nearly added his second on 76 minutes but saw his right footed strike come back off the bar.
Both sides made changes as the game headed towards the final 10 minutes, and by the time visiting substitute Layton Campbell had forced Singh to save his low shot with his feet on 82 minutes, all of the evening’s goalscorers had left the field.
James Wilson was forced to turn a dangerous low cross from Vanylson Silva over the bar with a couple of minutes remaining, and when the corner fell to McGlinchey he swung his right boot at it but it dipped just past the corner of bar and post in the last action of the game.

Tamworth
Singh (c.), Handley, Parkes (Bailey 81), Milnes (Kurtaran 01), Fairlamb (Lyttle 01), Rye (Howley HT), Dyson, Calder (Silva 81), McGlinchey, Tshikuna, Hutchinson
Subs: Lovett, Wyse
YC: Kurtaran 75
RC: (none)

Middlesbrough PL2
Foster, Tika-Lemba, Bangura (Smith HT), Wilson, Dede, Okunola, Hinneh, Greenup (Patterson-Powell 72), Ibeh (Coulson 77), McCabe (c.), Carbon (Campbell 77)
Subs (6 only): James, Connor
YC: Dede 87, Okunola 90
RC: (none)

Referee: Garreth Rhodes

Attendance: 411