With Leon calling for a reaction from his squad and a couple of injuries within the camp, he made a number of changes to the starting 11. Lewis Solly was between the sticks with Charlie Price injured whilst the back four was made up of Jessy Bavanganga and Brad Bood at full-back with Joel Kettle and Reece King in at centre-back. Aaron Forde was also back in the middle of the park alongside Jack Fletcher and Alex Prosser. Luke Benbow led the line whilst Niall Flint and Charlie Dowd started on the flanks.

Despite it being a dreary, damp night at Amblecote, the game got off to a fiery start with Flint finding himself in the book after just three minutes after a late challenge to deny a St Ives counterattack.

We grew into the game quickly and it soon became apparent that the combination of Flint and Bood would cause problems down the left-hand side. Bood has the first opportunity with a cross/shot across the face of the goal where he was denied by a good reaction save from Brearey in the St Ives net.

We continued to assert our dominance within the opening stages as Dowd fired wide from just inside the area before a superb ball from Benbow allowed Bavanganga to drive forwards before crossing into the area towards Flint at the back post, but Brearey was equal to his effort.

Bood and Flint continued to combine well allowing Flint to have another opening before they created an opportunity for Benbow to play a beautiful through ball to Bood but the linesman’s flag went up before he could take aim.

St Ives were opting for the long ball forwards to catch our back line off guard but Solly was rolling back the years and was off his line quickly to collect the ball on multiple occasions.

It would be Alex Prosser to deadlock 20 minutes in with one of the best strikes The War Memorial Ground will see this season. The ball reached him around 35 yards from goal and he struck it beautifully into the top corner, giving the keeper no chance!

Following Prosser’s opener, the game became more relaxed until St Ives had their first opportunity of the evening. A cross into the box evaded everyone before falling to the winger on the edge of the area who took a touch before looking to find the top corner but Solly claimed the effort with ease.

Prosser nearly grabbed himself a second with just over 10 minutes left on the clock with an effort from a similar distance, urged on by the crowd telling him to shoot, but this time the keeper was equal to it as he looked to nestle it into the bottom corner.

Benbow would double our lead in the 40th minute as he nicked the ball from the Ives back line before going 1v1 with Brearey who would bring him down in the box as he looked to round the keeper. He made no mistake from the spot as he smashed it past the keeper who had dived the right way.

The final action of the first half saw Bood and the St Ives skipper Richens go into a big challenge in the middle of the park which sparked confrontation between both sides. Richens would find himself in the book, and very lucky to still be on the pitch, following consulation between the referee and his assistants.

Half time: Stourbridge FC 2-0 St Ives

We continued our good first-half display after the interval as both Fletcher and Benbow were denied by good blocks from the St Ives defence before Forde had an opportunity to deliver a freekick into the box but nothing came from it.

Kettle found himself involved in the opposition box as he played a brilliant cross into the back post however it was just too high for Dowd who looked to get on the end of it.

Fletcher came close yet again as Benbow and Dowd linked up well out wide before Benbow picked out the midfielder in the penalty area but a last-ditch challenge from Williams sent the ball out for a corner before he could get his shot off.

St Ives were resorting to ambitious shots from outside the area as they looked to halve our lead but Solly watched it onto the roof of the net before sending us back on our way up the pitch.

Our midfield continued to pull the strings, with Forde as composed as ever protecting the back line, who were solid all night long, and Prosser and Fletcher caused problems further up the pitch.

Prosser played a pinpoint ball over the St Ives back line into the path of Dowd who drove 1v1 into the box but took too long to get his shot off, and another last-ditch challenge from Williams would see the ball cleared out of danger.

Both Flint and Fletcher would have half chances in the area as the ball bobbled around before it fell to Benbow who struck it on the volley but Brearey made another excellent save to prevent him doubling his tally.

We’d made our first change of the evening with 20 minutes left to play as Forde was unable to continue, and Harvey Portman was introduced with King moving back into midfield.

With the clock ticking down, and both sides not really creating many chances, we made our second change 10 minutes later as Dowd was replaced by Darryl Knights.

Solly had the final notable action of the half as St Ives looked to break quickly but he was out of his area quickly to clear the ball out of play, and onto the cricket pitch.

Full Time: Stourbridge FC 2-0 St Ives Town

With the team providing the reaction required after Saturday, we put in an excellent performance and put an important three points on the board as we continue to catch up with our games in hand.

We now look to this Saturday as we travel to Leicestershire where we face Barwell FC who we beat back in August 2-0 thanks to a Brendon Daniels double. They currently sit 12th, one place and four points ahead of us, having played 21 games compared to our 16.

There are still spaces on the coach on Saturday, and you can contact Jim on 07966 568767 to book your seat. The cost is £15 per person, departing the ground at 12 noon.