Glassgirls Hit Six as Devs Reach League Cup Final

But it was a bittersweet day for the Glassgirls as skipper Courteney Murphy (pictured above) suffered what appeared to be a potentially serious injury during the first half. Our thoughts and best wishes go to Courteney for a swift recovery and return to playing.

There was happier news from the Development Team, however, as they beat Alvechurch Ladies 4-1 to reach the final of the Birmingham County League Cup.

For Glassgirls manager Andy Fisher, the results were welcome but the news on Murphy took some of the shine off the day.

“It’s potentially a huge blow to lose Court at this stage of the season, but all the more upsetting when you see how hard she’s worked to get back to this point after the injury she had last season. She’s a huge presence in the squad and we will miss her, but the girls were determined to get the win for her today and the way we played second half was for her.

“It was another of those games where we had to be patient against a team that wasn’t going to give an inch. It took us a while but two goals right at the start of the second half really settled things, and we could have had a lot more if it wasn’t for a truly outstanding display from their keeper.

And on the Development Team, Fisher was thrilled with their achievement.

“The Devs reaching the Final is a huge credit to them and to everyone involved. They put a tremendous amount into being the best they can be not just for their own results, but also as a group of players we can bring into the fold if we need to.

“We’ve seen already this season that a number of them have stepped up to the First Team, and in turn today there were five players in their squad from the Under 18s or Under 16s. For me that’s a sign that our pathway is doing what we want it to do, and we can only continue to build on that.”

At the War Memorial Ground, the Glassgirls were a little slow out of the blocks, and it was perhaps slightly against the run of play when they took the lead in the fifth minute. Alex Nicklin’s ball over the defence put Carly Aldred in the clear, and she unselfishly squared for CHERYL EDWARDS to convert from eight yards.

The goal settled Stourbridge and from that point it was largely one-way traffic, although clear-cut chances were hard to come by until Millie Rogers headed narrowly wide from a Nicklin cross that came at her very fast, and then from Nicklin’s lay-off saw Aldred’s shot produce the first of several excellent saves from Olivia Brookes in the Stoke goal.

Stour began to turn the screw, with Nicklin shooting over after a swift interchange with Edwards, and then a minute later Meg Hadley’s looping effort came back off the crossbar. However, moments after that the game was halted as Courteney Murphy went down after an innocuous challenge and play was delayed for over a quarter of an hour as she received treatment before leaving the pitch on a stretcher.

It was more of the same when the game restarted. Bown fired straight into Brookes’s arms and Rogers fired well off target, whilst Nicklin saw her effort blocked at close quarters as the half ended with Stourbridge maintaining that slender lead.

It wasn’t slender for long, however, as two goals in the opening two minutes of the second half effectively ended the visitors’ resistance. First Aldred’s pinpoint cross from the right allowed NICKLIN the chance to head powerfully home for her 20th goal of the season, and then Edwards fed Rogers who surged into the area before pulling the ball across to the back post where ALDRED arrived to hammer it home.

The fourth goal came from AMBER LAWRENCE on 62 minutes, her first at the War Memorial since that memorable FA Cup tie against Crusaders 18 months ago. Dutton’s determination down the left saw her drive into the penalty area before seeing her cross beaten away by Brookes, only for Lawrence to return it first time into the bottom corner.

A superb save from Brookes denied Nicklin’s volley from close range, and there was a half chance for Stoke that ended with a shot fired well over Amie Preston’s crossbar.

The goal of the game came ten minutes from time, as Aldred created chaos down the right for the umpteenth time and her cross found RUBY MEESON beyond the far post to volley back across goal and into the opposite corner. And it was MEESON again who rounded off the scoring in added time with an instinctive finish after Lawrence had helped yet another Aldred cross towards goal.

There was still time for Brookes to better any of her previous saves with a stupendous fingertip effort to prevent Aldred making it seven, but for all her heroics there was no denying Stour the points.

Stourbridge line-up

Amie Preston, Jess Bate, Meg Hadley, Louisa Butcher, Niamh Murphy, Lili-Beth Bown, Courteney Murphy, Alex Nicklin, Carly Aldred, Millie Rogers, Cheryl Edwards.

Substitutes (all used)

Gee Thacker, Ellie McGovern, Ruby Meeson, Amber Lawrence, Connie Dutton

Meanwhile, down at Hingleys, HOLLIE SOMERS was the hero for the Development Team as her first half hat-trick established a 4-0 lead after TARA SALT had put the Devs ahead early on.

Alvechurch pulled a goal back before the break, and matched the Devs in a second half where Stourbridge managed to keep their opponents at arm’s length for the most part to seal their place in the Final against Redditch Borough, with the date and venue to be confirmed.

Our congratulations to all involved!