Stourbridge 1 Blyth Spartans 2

Tonks thundered the ball home from the corner of the penalty area in the third minute of added time, after his corner had been half-cleared back in his direction, but it was little more than gloss on an afternoon when the visitors showed just why they are running away with the Title after Robbie Dale and Dan Maguire had given them a 2-0 interval lead.

There were echoes of last Saturday's defeat by the same scoreline at Grantham, where Jake Heath hit a similarly late consolation, but this was certainly a much-improved performance by Stourbridge and there was no disgrace in going down against a Blyth outfit on a nine-match winning streak and in no mood to allow even a glimmer of hope to the chasing pack. The North Easterners were simply the better side throughout.

Manager Gary Hackett was forced into one change from last Saturday, with Drew Canavan replacing the injured Luke Benbow, although this was only after Matt Dodd had initially been declared fit but then was then withdrawn after the warm-up. Richard Sho-Silva had recovered from the illness which had curtailed his debut last weekend to make his home bow, and the other recent signing, Kieren Westwood, was again named on the bench.

The game began at a good lick, with both sides focused on pushing forwards. It made for an open and entertaining first 20 minutes, with openings at either end and both defences kept busy. A half-cleared corner fell to Dale with less than two minutes played but he shot well over Matt Gould’s goal, before Sho-Silva and Kayelden Brown then saw efforts blocked at the other end as Blyth struggled to clear a Tonks long throw.

Luke Armstrong’s strong run got him to the byline, and he forced Gould into a good stop from a narrow angle, with Sho-Silva and Canavan between them getting the loose ball away, whilst Stourbridge responded with a good spell, pushing the visitors back and forcing a couple of corners that ultimately came to nothing.

Following the initial cut and thrust matters settled down somewhat, until dale opened the scoring for Spartans with 24 minutes on the clock. Brown felled Sean Reid 25 yards out and Dale’s low free kick found its way too easily through the Glassboys’ wall and into the bottom corner of the net, beating Gould at the foot of his right-hand post.

The goal put a spring in the stride of the visitors and they immediately looked to turn the screw, with Stour looking unsettled. However, the Glassboys did threaten on 29 minutes as Darryl Westlake got forward to strike at goal from 30 yards, with Blyth keeper Paul Woolston able to make a comfortable save.

Josh Green broke up a promising Blyth break on 35 minutes with a well-timed tackle, and was then involved again seconds later, swinging in a cross from deep that found Brown unmarked at the far post but just unable to stretch out a leg enough to get his shot on target, the ball going well over Woolston’s bar.

Nathan Buddle fired just over on the turn for Blyth from another corner, before he and central defensive partner Ryan Hutchinson were both called into action at the other end to make timely challenges on Brown and Ethan Jones in quick succession, and then Sho-Silva snatched a little at a clearance from a Stourbridge corner, sending his shot wide of the target.

The Glassboys were giving as good as they were getting for the most part, albeit without managing to open up Spartans’ defence enough to make a clear chance, but the task got that bit harder a minute before the break. Again Armstrong got to the dead-ball line on the right before crossing for Maguire to steer a header beyond Gould all too easily. If the second goal didn’t quite reflect the balance of possession and territory, it certainly illustrated Blyth’s greater ability to stretch the Stourbridge rear-guard and craft openings when they did have the ball.

There were half-hearted shouts for a Stourbridge penalty early in the second half, as Brown was eased off the ball by David Atkinson, but there appeared little in the challenge to warrant a spot-kick, and then Jordan Archer’s pass almost put Jones away, with Hutchinson covering well to dispossess the Shrewsbury loanee, whilst at the other end Reid might have done better as he shot wildly over.

Tonks had an optimistic go from 25 yards but didn’t get hold of his shot at all and the ball drifted harmlessly wide, before the Glassboys had a let-off on 66 minutes as Dales’s shot somehow squirmed through Gould and was cleared by Sho-Silva. Gould redeemed himself seconds later, though, with a flying save to his left to deny Armstrong’s header as the ball came back in from the left, and the keeper then made another fine stop from Maguire’s well-struck shot from 15 yards.

There were few serious chances thereafter, although Blyth always looked capable of going up a gear, with Stourbridge more than once grateful for an offside flag or a timely interception, although Gould did well again to smother at the feet of Maguire with two minutes to play, and was relieved to see Dale smash the loose ball over the crossbar.

Tonks gave the Glassboys faithful in a bumper crowd of 1,376 something to cheer in the third of the declared three added minutes, but there was barely time for the visitors to kick-off again, and certainly not enough for Stour to salvage an unlikely draw.

With only Blyth winning from the top seven at the start of the day, Stourbridge managed to hold onto fourth place in the Premier Division table, and a win against Warrington Town on Monday night would see a return to second place.