Stourbridge 3 Skelmersdale United 1

Goals from Karl Hawley, Matt Dodd and Dan Scarr ensured victory, but Stourbridge had to play the last half hour with ten men after Dodd received his marching orders for a reckless challenge.

There were no changes to Gary Hackett’s starting line-up after Tuesday night’s win at Salford, whilst Tyree Clarke was added to the four substitutes named for that fixture.

The Glassboys looked to push forward from the kick-off, keen to avoid a repeat of the defeat to Ramsbottom United in their previous home game, but there was an early scare at the back when Scarr under-hit a ball back to Charlie Price, who had to come off his line to clear with Max Hazeldine bearing down.

t took until the ninth minute for the home side to fashion a chance worthy of the name, as Hawley set Dodd free down the right, and his low cross was flicked goalwards by Justin Richards, only for the ball to trickle just wide of the far post.

The Glassboys forced a number of corners and free kicks in the early stages, but poor delivery meant nothing came of them, although from one Leon Broadhurst corner on 14 minutes a quick Skelmersdale break caught Junior Smikle isolated against two attackers and he was relieved to see an offside flag raised as the final ball to Hazeldine was mis-timed.

Straight away at the other end, Richards found Chris Lait with an intelligent full back, but Lait’s first-time shot was just wide of the post with Skem keeper Martin Fearon rooted to the spot. Fearon was in the action again six minutes later as Hawley again laid the ball off to Dodd whose first time shot from out wide had the keeper beating it away for a corner at his near post.

However, an element of frustration was creeping into Stourbridge’s game as they sought the opening goal, and that feeling deepened on 25 minutes as the visitors took a surprise lead with the simplest of goals. A long ball over the top caught the Glassboys defence square and Hazeldine ran on unchallenged. Price instinctively came off his line but realised too late the futility of his expedition, and the Skem number 9, a thorn in the side of the Stourbridge defence all afternoon, calmly lobbed him from 30 yards.

At first, the goal seemed to unsettle Stourbridge even further, with too many passes overhit or mis-directed in their eagerness to make amends. Indeed, Skelmersdale could easily have doubled their lead on 31 minutes when Tyrone Duffus rolled a shot wide of Price’s left-hand upright.

However, not for the first time this season, the experience of Hawley was to play a major part in turning the game around two minutes later as he engineered enough space in the box to be able to clip an exquisite shot high into the top corner to bring the scores level.

And there was a palpable sense of relief around the War Memorial Ground two minutes later as Hawley again caused problems for the Skem defence before firing in a shot that Fearon could only block, with Dodd on hand to slam in the loose ball.

The Glassboys presses in search of a third goal, and Sean Geddes cleverly set up Lait, whose shot was delayed a fraction too long allowing a defender to recover and block, but there was a definite warning that the game was by no means over on the stroke of half time as Hazeldine yet again popped up in the heart of the Glassboys defence to fire in a shot that Price did well to save with his feet.

New signing Ashley Vincent was introduced at half-time for his debut, replacing Richards, and Stourbridge sought to push forward again. Lait broke down the left four minutes into the half, only to be halted by a scything tackle that earned a yellow card for the visitors’ Danny Murphy. However, Skem still retained the ability to induce panicky moments for the Glassboys’ back-line and Scarr needed to be alert to hack clear on 55 minutes as a ball in from the right caused difficulties for Price.

Stourbridge’s task became harder after 57 minutes though, as Dodd got away down the left, having swapped wings following the substitution of Lait for Ban Billingham. However, the Glassboys wide man took a heavy touch and, in his eagerness to regain possession, lunged dangerously at Murphy. The referee had no hesitation in reaching for his red card once the ensuing “debate” had cooled, and in truth there was little complaint to be had.

However, as had been the case with Salford on Tuesday night after Jordan Hulme’s dismissal, the sending off appeared to work more in Stourbridge’s favour than Skelmersdale’s, as the ten men raised their game, and within six minutes the Glassboys were further ahead. Broadhurst’s delivery from a free-kick on the right was perfect for Scarr to glance a header beyond Fearon and against the underside of the crossbar, whence the ball bounced down and then out, with the linesman signalling that it had crossed the line. 3-1 to Stourbridge, and clear daylight between the teams.

The Glassboys continued to make much of the running, but the final ball was often lacking, and Skem defended manfully to keep themselves in with a shout, whilst frequently looking dangerous as they sought to hit Hazeldine with early balls.

Scarr had to deal with another low cross on 76 minutes, as Stourbridge resolved to keep what they had and shut the game down. Largely, that tactic was successful as the visitors pushed forward, although another low cross from Duffus on 85 minutes might have changed things had it not had a little too much pace for his team-mates in the middle looking to capitalise.

Ultimately, though, the match petered out somewhat in the closing stages, with Stourbridge recording a second win on the bounce to climb to 8th place in the Evo-Stik League Premier Division table, and maintain their play-off challenge.