Stourbridge 4 Nantwich Town 3

With Saturday’s heavy defeat at Whitby Town still fresh in the memory, Gary Hackett made two changes to the Stourbridge team. Kayelden Brown and Drew Canavan were drafted in, replacing Kristian Green (unavailable) and Leon Broadhurst, who had to be satisfied with a place on the bench.

Perhaps sensing vulnerability in the home side, Nantwich began on the front foot, and there was an early scare for the Glassboys as Josh Hancock’s cross from the left dropped over Price and against the far post before being cleared for a corner, and then with just four minutes on the clock the same player tried his luck with a shot that lacked power or direction as it dribbled past the upright.

But the goal that the visitors had threatened from the off did eventually come with 15 minutes played. Charlie Price came off his line to challenge Liam Shotton for a high ball into the box, but his punch lacked strength and fell straight to Matt Bell, who produced a composed finish past the covering defence into the bottom corner of the net.

The Glassboys first effort of any note came from Karl Hawley (pictured) on 21 minutes, his shot, like Hancock’s earlier, leaving Terry Smith untroubled as it rolled well wide of the post. Nantwich were not going to allow the Glassboys to get any foothold in the game, and there was more danger for the home goal three minutes later as Elliott Osbourne’s shot was deflected for a corner from which Price was forced to dive headlong to his right to keep out Hancock’s seemingly goal-bound header.

Stourbridge began to come into the game a little, with Hawley doing well out on the left before cutting in and finding Lee Chilton, whose shot was deflected behind, although at the other end PJ Hudson could have done better 60 seconds later when firing straight at Price from ten yards out.

However, that was to be the Dabbers’ last serious chance of the half, as the Glassboys upped their tempo. First Chilton fired wildly over, and then Canavan slightly less wildly wide, before Hawley brought the scores level after 38 minutes with his first competitive goal in the red and white stripes. Matt Dodd swung in a free kick from the right which Hawley met with a stooping near-post header. Smith initially saved well but was powerless to prevent the alert Hawley from reacting quickest to slam home the loose ball.

Enlivened, Stourbridge pressed again. Hawley should have done better after turning his man in the area but shot tamely off-target, and then the same player cleverly slid in Brown only to see the offside flag raised.

Having worked so hard to bring themselves back into the game, the Glassboys undid much of that work just four minutes after the break when a series of corners for the visitors culminated in a weak clearance being seized on by visiting skipper Darren Thornton whose measured lob dipped over Price and under the crossbar to restore Nantwich’s lead.

It lasted less than 60 seconds, though, as a defensive error at the other end allowed Hawley to turn his man before curling a left-foot shot round Smith and into the far corner.

Back came Nantwich again in the 57th minute, with Shotton, on the stretch, just unable to get a touch to Steve Jones’s ball in from the right, a miss he was to rue just two minutes later. Tom Tonks put an incisive ball through the Dabbers’ defence for Dodd to run on to, and as he bore down on goal, the advancing Smith took his legs away to give the Glassboys a penalty. There was no card for the errant keeper but Dodd’s spot kick, high to Smith’s left, was punishment enough.

And the Glassboys put something resembling clear water, if such a thing exists in matches involving these two teams, between themselves and their opposition on 68 minutes as Hawley’s persistence saw off several challenges before he slipped a reverse pass through to Brown. Smith advanced as he had on Dodd but this time Brown pre-empted any contact by sliding the ball under the keeper and into the net.

There was no resting on Laurels, however, as the visitors won a free kick in the ‘D’ on 70 minutes which Jones, keen to repeat his goal at Amblecote for Walsall in the FA Cup six years ago, curled into Price’s grateful arms.

But a goal did come with a little over a quarter of an hour to play. Canavan lost the ball in the final third and Nantwich broke quickly, switching the ball from left to right and leaving Shotton one-on-one against Chris Knight. The otherwise excellent Stourbridge defender mistimed his tackle, and the penalty count was levelled up as substitute Matt Kosylo produced a finish as cool as Dodd’s, low down to Price’s right.

More goals seemed a certainty but although Hawley did net on 82 minutes he was correctly adjudged offside, and few clear chances came along until stoppage time when Nantwich forced a glut of corners, most of which were dealt with, not always comfortably but dealt with nonetheless. There was time for one more scare when Andy White’s cross from the left flashed across goal just out of reach of both Shotton and Bell, but it was to be Stourbridge’s night, to the evident relief of most around the War Memorial.