Halesowen Town 2 Stourbridge 0

Goals in each half from Dan Sweeney and Dumitru Chiriac consigned Stourbridge to a second defeat in three games and denied them the chance to climb into the play-off places.

Whilst Stourbridge had the better of the possession and territory, particularly after the interval, a procession of missed chances, most notably Karl Hawley’s penalty miss just three minutes after Sweeney had opened the scoring, were to prove costly, and the home side’s ability to take at least some of their chances proved to be the difference between the teams.

Gary Hackett made just one change from the team that beat Buxton on Saturday, with Tom Tonks, against his former club, replacing another ex-Yeltzman Chris Lait for his first start since rejoining from AFC Telford United.

The home side went on the attack from the kick-off, with the slope in their favour, and former Glassboy Aaron Griffiths tested Matt Gould inside the first minute with a shot that the Glassboys keeper could only palm away, with Junior Smikle clearing the loose ball.

There followed the first of several niggly incidents as players clashed whilst lining up for a corner, with a stern word administered to all parties by the referee, an indication perhaps of the adrenaline running through both teams in front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd of 2,107.

It was eight minutes before Stourbridge created any real opening, with Matt Dodd shooting wide of Daniel Platt’s near post, although handball was given against the Glassboys’ winger. Moments later Dan Scarr headed on a Tonks throw in to Hawley, who was closed down quickly as he tried to get his shot away.

At the other end, a ball over the top saw Michael Turner almost in the clear, but Gould was quickly off his line and his attempted clearance rebounded off the striker for a goal-kick.

Sean Geddes’s ambitious volley from 30 yards on 13 minutes drifted well wide of goal, and then from Leon Broadhurst’s over-hit corner Dodd knocked the ball back across goal where Kristian Green just failed to connect with his header.

Bradley Lewis then had a crack from some 40 yards for the Yeltz, but was off target by some distance, and five minutes after that Geddes again tried his luck from close to half-way with an effort that initially looked as though it might have Platt struggling before the keeper recovered to make what was in the end a simple catch.

The Glassboys were then pegged back for a spell as Jay Denny twice took aim from just outside the area, with his first effort held by Gould and his second screwed well wide, whilst Kaiman Anderson joined the long-distance club with a volley that drifted high and wide of Gould’s goal.

The Yeltz were forced into a substitution on 35 minutes as Sweeney replaced the hobbling Turner, and it paid dividends within three minutes as a misplaced defensive header from Scarr fell to the new arrival who drove a low shot inside Gould’s right-hand post.

But Stourbridge were handed an almost immediate chance to bring the scores level as Hawley turned in the penalty area and was tripped by Ashley Parsons-Smith to earn a spot kick. However, the Glassboys leading scorer failed to add to his 28 goals for the season with what was, in truth, a poor attempt that sailed over the crossbar.

Initially, the Glassboys responded to the double blow well, as a Geddes corner led to a scramble that saw the ball somehow bundled behind, and then a quick throw from Tonks put Hawley clear down the left and his cross-cum-shot was just too far ahead of Dodd, trying to stab the ball in at the far post.

Stourbridge began the second period pushing forwards, with Justin Richards seeing an early header go wide, although the flag was already up for offside), and then Platt dropping a cross from Dodd under challenge from his own defender, with the ball eventually belted to safety.

Malcolm Melvin battled his way through a number of challenges for the home side on 56 minutes and fired in a shot that Gould was able to grasp just beneath the bar, whilst at the other end Richards nodded a cross down for Hawley, who was unable to find enough space and time to get a shot away. It was proving that kind of game for the Glassboys, with the Yeltz working hard to close down space, and deny Stourbridge any time on the ball.

Just after the hour, Danny Bragoli worked an opening for the home team, only to fire straight at Gould, before Geddes fired wide for the Glassboys, and then two minutes later saw another shot blocked, with Tonks lofting the rebound over from 20 yards out.

With Stourbridge increasing the pressure and pushing men forward, it was inevitable that space would open up for the pace of Sweeny and Anderson to exploit. From one such break on 70 minutes, Melvin headed over at the far post, and then Sweeney did likewise five minutes later, whilst in between those two chances Richards saw a shot deflected narrowly wide for Stourbridge, and then Hawley also forced a corner with another blocked shot.

However, Stourbridge were made to pay for the lack of a cutting edge and the failure to take their chances with ten minutes to play, as Bragoli’s shot from 15 yards forced a fine low save from Gould, only for Chiriac to pounce on the loose ball and steer it home.

The game was effectively up for the visitors, although they did create more half chances with Richards heading over from Scarr’s flick-on of a Geddes free kick, and then Hawley poking a shot well off target from a Richards knock-down, whilst Sweeney at the other end might have added a third for the Yeltz when a heavy touch allowed Gould to come out and claim, and then Chiriac’s shot hit the side-netting with some of the home fans celebrating what they thought was a goal.

Stoppage time brought a shot from substitute Chris Lait that was again deflected over, and then another Scarr header from a Tonks throw that sailed over, but it was not to be Stourbridge’s day, and they will reflect on chances taken and not taken at either end that settled the game.