Stourbridge 3 Buxton 0

With Monday’s home defeat against play-off rivals Ashton United still fresh in their minds, the Glassboys looked nervy for long periods in the first half, but once ahead just after the hour mark they assumed full control of the match and were well deserved winners by full time.

Manager Gary Hackett named the same starting eleven and substitutes from Monday’s game in a clear signal of confidence in his men, and that faith seemed well-placed as they opened brightly. Leon Broadhurst’s skimming shot from distance in the first minute had Myles Wright in the visitors’ goal scrambling to his left to push the ball wide for a corner, and then Chris Lait’s ball in from the left caused panic before Jamie Green shovelled it out for a corner.

With a strong wind blowing across the ground rather than benefitting one team or the other, both teams were finding life difficult after that early flurry. Numerous dead balls were over or under-hit as the players struggled to judge the wind, whilst defences, in particular, were finding high balls hard to judge, although neither attack was able to profit.

Buxton won a free kick out on the left on 6 minutes, but the delivery was poor and Dan Scarr was able to head clear, and then Kristian Green’s timely intervention on 17 minutes almost back-fired as the ball inadvertently ricocheted wide of Matt Gould’s left-hand post for a corner.

With the play becoming very broken there were few openings at either end, until Stourbridge began to up their tempo as the half hour came and went. First a Sean Geddes corner flew across the area, with Green and Scarr both close to connecting, and then Leon Broadhurst’s free kick caught on the wind and looked as though it might deceive Wright before dropping wide of the near post.

Shortly afterwards, Karl Hawley’s shot on the turn from 15 yards was not too far off target, and then the final half-chance of the half saw Scarr head well wide from another Geddes corner.

The second half began in similar vein, with Stourbridge unable to create anything clear cut, and Buxton content to seek opportunities on the break. It was from one such on 56 minutes that the Bucks might have taken the lead as Nicky Walker fired the ball across goal, but Jamie Green arriving at the far post was unable to stretch out a leg and divert it into the net.

Broadhurst’s volley from 20 yards on 59 minutes was always going wide of the far post, as Stourbridge’s frustration grew, but a substitution and a change of formation brought instant dividends as Tom Tonks replaced Kristian Green and the Glassboys switched to a 3-5-2 set-up. And two minutes later Stourbridge were ahead at last, as Tonks found Justin Richards with a clever lay-off and the striker threaded his shot just inside the far post.

Relieved at having at last edged their noses in front, the Glassboys visibly relaxed and started to impose themselves more and more. Broadhurst’s 68th minute free kick found Stuart Pierpont at the far post and his header back across goal was met by Hawley, who could only loop a header of his own over the bar.

With the game evenly poised, the heavens suddenly opened in spectacular fashion, to the extent that a brief stoppage in play for things to calm down would not have taken anybody by surprise, but the Glassboys were not to be put off their task and they effectively wrapped up the points with fifteen minutes to play as Hawley latched onto Ashley Vincent's ball over the top to expertly lob Wright.

Ash Worsfold could have made the closing stages interesting with six minutes remaining, but he could not get his shot on target, and any faint hopes the Bucks might have had of salvaging an unlikely point disappeared with three minutes left as Geddes tried a shot that turned into a cross from which Matt Dodd knocked the ball down for Scarr to swivel and volley home.

Buxton could have grabbed a late consolation as the Glassboys failed to deal with a ball into the box, but Walker elected to take a touch instead of shooting first time, and Gould was able to come off his line and smother the chance.

The result gives the Glassboys a big confidence boost going into the final eight games of the season, and keeps the pressure on the teams above them in the play-off places.