News & EventsLatest NewsCalendar
Needham Market 0 Stourbridge 0 - Match Highlights link

Needham Market 0 Stourbridge 0 - Match Highlights link

Nigel Gregg12 Apr 2019 - 20:44
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.stourbridgefc.com/

Stourbridge ended their barren away run with a goal-less draw at Needham Market. Some match highlights can be viewed on youtube. (READ ON)

Some highlights from Saturday's draw at Needham Market are available to view on youtube, courtesy of Needham TV.

The link is - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAq43aV5Fj0

Stourbridge ended their barren away run with a goal-less draw at Needham Market. After four successive losses on the road it was important that Gary Hackett’s men came home with something to show from their first ever visit to Bloomfields with King’s Lynn Town and Alvechurch having closed the gap to second spot in recent weeks. Both sides had chances and will feel they could have taken maximum points, but neither could make the all-important breakthrough.

The Glassboys made two changes to their starting line-up with Aaron Forde returning after suspension to take the place of Leon Broadhurst, while Aris Christophorou was preferred at right-back to Zak Lilly, who was named amongst the substitutes along with Callum Powell who was considered fit enough for a place on the bench.

On a chilly and damp afternoon, the Suffolk hosts had the better of the early exchanges as Stourbridge took time to settle. In the 4th minute Gareth Heath whipped in an inswinging free-kick from the left for James Baker to get in a header that James Wren collected on his line. Ten minutes later the lively Adam Mills fastened on to a cushioned header by Heath and he dribbled the ball forward, evading Christophorou and Hayden in the process, before striking a rising 25-yard shot that flew past Wren’s right-hand upright.

Three minutes later Stourbridge replied with Christophorou playing a long diagonal ball into the path of Greg Mills on the left. Mills went down under a challenge inside the penalty area, but the referee saw nothing untoward.

The visitors began to enjoy better passages of play and they threatened again when Robert Thompson-Brown headed the ball across for Forde to chest it down and hit a low volley from 22 yards that he couldn’t direct on target.

Just past the half-hour mark only a goal-line clearance prevented Stourbridge from forging in-front. Jordaan Brown fed a pass into the feet of Anderson and he back-heeled the ball off to Forde before spinning and fastening on to a first time return pass which took him into the right-hand side of the box. His low angled shot beat Jake Jessup in the home goal however Baker was able to get back and kick the ball off the line.

Five minutes later the Marketmen pressed through Samuel Squire, who beat George Forsyth down the left, before sending over a cross that dropped the way of their top goalscorer Joseph Marsden at the back of the box. He had time to bring the ball under control before seeing his lob land on the roof of the net.

With five minutes to go before half-time Forde spread a pass out to Thompson-Brown on the right and he clipped an early ball in that was touched on by Forsyth, however the stretching Brad Birch sliced his effort past Jessup’s right-hand post.

The home side responded three minutes later with on loan striker Decarrey Sheriff hitting a low angled shot past the far post from the left-hand side of the area, but Stourbridge were quickly back on the attack with some tidy link-up play down the left. Birch found Forde and he touched a short pass into Mills who cleverly fed the ball into the run of Birch, but his side-foot shot was saved by Jessup at his near post.

Just before the interval Birch was booked for a foul much to the chagrin of the Stourbridge bench.

HT 0 – 0

There was a quieter start to the second-half before Stourbridge made their first change of the afternoon in the 58th minute with Broadhurst taking over from Forsyth in the midfield.

Three minutes later Anderson checked inside only to lift his 25-yard shot over.

The home side then had a good spell which saw them twice go close in a matter of minutes. In the 63rd minute a loose clearance from McCone was seized upon by Adam Mills and he cracked in a low drive from 30 yards that Wren couldn’t hold and Heath looked to follow up, but his close range shot was blocked for a corner, either by the recovering Wren or the scrambling McCone just in-front of him. Three minutes later Heath played a pass into Sheriff and he cut in past Hayden before trying a shot that deflected off the heel of McCone and ran rather fortuitously in the direction of Adam Mills, who was in space on the left-hand side of the area, however he lacked composure as his fierce shot flashed over the bar.

Stourbridge brought on Lilly in attack after 67 minutes with Anderson making way, but the momentum continued to be with the Suffolk outfit at this stage. In the 70th minute a right-wing cross by Marsden was headed off-target by Sheriff at the near post and then two minutes later a loose McCone clearance went straight to Adam Mills, however his shot was comfortably saved by Wren.

The Glassboys had a huge let-off on 74 minutes when a long kick downfield by Jessup unhinged the visitors defence. Christophorou stopped momentarily and as the ball bounced up inside the left-hand side of the box Adam Mills was able to reach it first ahead of the advancing Wren and he got in a header that looped against the crossbar.
Stourbridge then hit back with Greg Mills cutting in from the left and letting fly with a shot that was deflected for a corner.

Callum Powell took the place of Thompson-Brown with nine minutes remaining and in the 85th minute it was the turn of the hosts to clear their lines. Greg Mills supplied a cross from the left that dipped in towards the near post area where Forde managed to get a foot to the ball ahead of Jessup. It looped up invitingly across the face of the six-yard box, however Powell couldn’t get a decisive touch on the ball as he jumped for a header with a home defender and the Needham defence managed to get it out of harm’s way.

Moments later the Marketmen hit the woodwork for a second time as Marsden strode on to a loose ball and cracked a low shot against the post, but the contest remained goal-less and both sides had to settle for a point.

Stourbridge - Wren, Christophorou, Brown, McCone, Hayden, Forde, Forsyth, Birch, Anderson, Thompson-Brown, Mills

Subs - Broadhurst (for Forsyth 58 mins), Lilly (for Anderson 67 mins), Powell (for Thompson-Brown 81 mins), Pierpoint, Maher (not used)

Booked - Birch

Att - 255

Further reading