Plate Final Beckons for Dominant Glassgirls!

The Glassgirls controlled proceedings almost from the off, and after Mil Rogers and Amber Lawrence had put them 2-0 up in the space of six first-half minutes they never looked like relinquishing a grip which was only tightened by Niamh Deasy’s calm finish midway through the second half.

It was an excellent all-round performance from Andy Fisher’s team, and the manager was quick to praise their efforts at the end of the game.

“I thought we were comfortable throughout, I have to be honest. Once we got the first goal, and the second so quickly after that, we were never in danger of giving it away.

“But the credit for that goes to the players 100%. We set them up slightly differently, and they responded with a really good, really clinical, team performance, every one of them.”

Stourbridge will now face another tier four team, Leeds United, in the Final at Solihull Moors FC on Sunday 26th March, after the Yorkshire side defeated Southampton Women’s FC 2-0 in their semi-final at Tadcaster.

With Lois Jefferies, Lexie Harrison and Senna Robinson all ineligible, Fisher restored Rogers to the starting line-up, while Deasy and Lyndsey Glover returned from absence to bolster the bench.

A quiet opening period saw both teams feeling each other out, and it was Wasps who had the first sights of goal, with Selin Buyukgiray and Flo Jackson both shooting tamely off target inside the first eleven minutes.

Stour were having plenty of the game, but hadn’t tested out Chrissie Wiggins in goal for Crawly to any degree in the opening 20 minutes, until Alex Nicklin’s low ball into the penalty area was wrestled away from a defender by MIL ROGERS who took aim and blasted home with her left foot.

The goal evidently boosted Stour’s mood and within six minutes they were two up. Sophie Levick’s corner from the left wasn’t dealt with in the six-yard box and when Lili-Beth Bown’s header was blocked AMBER LAWRENCE reacted quickest with her back to goal to send an audacious overhead kick beyond Wiggins.

Tier three Crawley looked to hit back and put together their best spell of the game in the remaining stages of the half. However, aside from an effort from Brooke Garcia that skimmed the top of Amie Preston’s crossbar, and a shot from Jackson that didn’t trouble Preston unduly, they offered little serious threat, while at the other end a quick break by Rogers saw her forced wider than she might have liked and her shot was comfortably held by Wiggins.

The introduction of Deasy at the break gave Stour a further lift, and she was soon making a nuisance of herself, although it was Nicklin who came closest to adding a third goal when her low cross saw Morley’s effort blocked, with Wiggins saving again at her near post as Nicklin followed in the loose ball.

The third goal arrived to kill the tie off just before the hour, as Angie Morley split the Wasps defence for NIAMH DEASY to run on, round Wiggins and stroke the ball into the empty net, and all but ensure Stour’s progress.

It could easily have been more as Morley, still searching for her first Stourbridge goal, somehow fired over from Deasy’s clever pass, and then wide after Rogers had fed the ball into the area, but Stour were not made to pay for those chances. Buyukgiray fired well over from a half chance, and Zoe Clarke got across well to block Jackson’s effort at the far post, but in truth the visitors rarely looked like they could find a way back and the Glassgirls eased their way through the closing stages with some comfort.

(Photo - Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography)