Stourbridge 5 Nantwich Town 3
Luke Benbow led the way with a hat-trick as Stourbridge put their recent poor run of form behind them in a thrilling contest.
Although Stourbridge were 3-0 ahead just after the half-hour mark, and were never less than two goals to the good for the remainder of the game, Nantwich always looked dangerous and the game was never safe until the closing minutes.
Benbow, starting for the first time this season after injury, struck the first blow for the Glassboys on 8 minutes, turning on the edge of the box and firing in off the post with Terry Smith in the visitors' goal helpless. And Smith was equally well beaten four minutes later when Kyle Haynes whipped in a cross from the right for Benbow to meet with a powerful header from eight yards out.
Kayelden Brown seemed to have given Stourbridge a comfortable cushion on 31 minutes, finishing off a surging run through the middle with a powerful low shot into the corner, but some hesitant defending five minutes before the break gave Steve Lewis the chance to beat Dean Coleman one-on-one.
Once again Stourbridge established a three-goal lead on 57 minutes when Will Richards met a corner with a header that Smith did well to save, only for Chris Knight to force the ball over the line.
Back came the Dabbers once more, with Harry Clayton making it 4-2 with a neat finish after Andy White's shot had rebounded off the post, before there was brief break in play after one of the assistant referees pulled up injured and a replacement had to be sought from the crowd.
The stoppage did the Glassboys no harm though, as Benbow rounded off a fine hat-trick with a thumping half-volley into the roof of the net from 18 yards on 70 minutes to restore the three-goal advantage and seemingly calm the nerves of the home faithful.
But it only took four more minutes for Nantwich to cut the deficit yet again as Jordan Johnson lobbed into an empty net after Coleman had left his line to make a hurried and mis-directed clearance.
The one thing that seemed least likely at this stage was that there would be no further scoring in the closing 16 minutes, but despite chances at both ends neither side could find another goal.
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