Friday Night Delight for Red Hot Glassgirls!

Five first half goals put the Glassgirls firmly in command, and six more after the break ensured Andy Fisher’s team continued their recent red hot streak, with no fewer than 27 goals scored in their last three fixtures.

Once again it was four-goal Niamh Deasy (pictured) and Lyndsey Glover leading the way, both repeating their hat tricks of last Sunday, but the result was reward for another exceptional all-round team effort on a rain-sodden Potteries night in front of a fantastic crowd of 580.

Fisher was delighted with the way his team dealt with the occasion and the opposition.

“We knew they would come out and have a real go in the first ten minutes and we had to be prepared to weather that a bit, but once we got our rhythm we controlled the game and there was never really any doubt that we would go on and win it comfortably.

“It was a bit harsh on them perhaps, the final score. They weren’t a bad team by any means, and I expect to see them progressing as a club over the next few seasons, but it showed the difference between the levels, and also the strides we have made because it’s not that long ago we were playing at a similar level ourselves. I think you can lose sight sometimes of how far we’ve come in a short space of time.

And the manager was keen to praise the team’s showing as well as his two hat trick heroes.

“Lyndsey has really come into her own in the last couple of weeks. She’s found her role in the team and she can only kick on from here. Niamh did what we know she will do, she gets on the end of things, sniffs out chances, finds a bit of space, she’s a proper striker and we are only really starting to see her potential in partnership with Mill up top.

“But to be honest it was a real team performance again. Everyone has contributed, and that’s why we’re doing as well as we are.”

Fisher named a strong team, but had to make a change in goal with a first call-up of the season for Reserves keeper Ash Walton in place of the injured Amie Preston, as Stour looked to set out on another of their now habitual FA Cup runs.

But the early stages saw Newcastle look to make their mark, matching the energy of the Glassgirls and seeking to spring early balls to their strikers. Twice in the early stages Stour might have been caught out but for a timely challenge from Sophie Levick, and then Walton coming out of her area to clear.

Gradually, however, Stourbridge eased into control. Both Lili-Beth Bown and Mill Rogers got shots in that flew wide, and there were three corners forced that came to nothing, before ALEX NICKLIN broke the deadlock on 18 minutes, picking up the loose ball to fire home after Deasy and Rogers had pressurised mistakes from the home defence.

Within 12 more minutes Stour had three more goals and a firm grip on the game as first LYNDSEY GLOVER deceived Lucy Read in the home goal with a cross that crept inside the far post, then MILL ROGERS stole in at the back post to nod in Nicklin’s delivery, and then NIAMH DEASY was first to Bown’s cross to tuck her shot under Read.

Newcastle responded with a rare effort off target, but that apart it was Stour who were constantly threatening. Rogers might have had a second as she touched the ball past Read, only for a defender to clear, Ellie McGovern hit the bar from 20 yards, while Glover did likewise from a free kick even further out.

But it didn’t take long for the fifth goal to arrive, and it came via a delicious chip from LILI-BETH BOWN which nestled inside Read’s left-hand post to put Stour in command at the interval.

The second half saw no change in either the pattern of the game or the torrential rain that drenched the players virtually throughout, not that it put the Glassgirls off their stride.

Within four minutes LYNDSEY GLOVER had her second, taking Nicklin’s cross field ball in her stride and drilling a hot across Read into the far corner from 25 yards. And she completed her second hat trick of the week with a free kick from similar distance just before the hour.

NIAMH DEASY made it 8-0 from Glover’s square ball, via a deflection that left the unfortunate Read helpless, and substitute AMBER LAWRENCE got in on the act with a floated shot from distance that seemed to hang in the air as it found the net.

There was still time in the closing stages for NIAMH DEASY to complete another hat trick and then go one better, first poaching the loose ball after Read had spilled a fizzing shot from distance, and then finding herself unmarked in the six yard box to net at the second attempt after Read had done brilliantly to save the first effort.

Stourbridge progress to the First Round for the third year running, and will find out their opposition in Monday lunchtime’s draw. The tie is scheduled to be played on Sunday 13th November.

Stourbridge line-up

Ash Walton, Meg Hadley, Zoe Clarke (Jess Bate 65), Sophie Levick, Sophie Heaselgrave, Ellie McGovern (Esme Moran 53), Alex Nicklin (Withdrawn 82), Lili-Beth Bown (Amber Lawrence), Lyndsey Glover, Mill Rogers, Niamh Deasy.

Unused substitutes

Keren Allen, Thea Clearkin, Sarah Hazell, Angie Morley.