Stourbridge 0 Chippenham Town 1

After a quiet opening passage play with both teams taking time to settle, Chippenham could have taken the lead in the 13th minute when a loose back header from Jamie Oliver was seized upon by Lee Phillips on the right-hand side of the box, however his low shot was blocked by the onrushing Dean Coleman who spread himself well to deny the experienced Chippenham striker. Three minutes later the visitors had two further chances in quick succession. The impressive Joe McClennan sent Phillips racing clear, however as he looked to take on Coleman, the Stourbridge keeper dived at his feet and got a hand to the ball to push Phillips wide and the angle then proved too great for him to get a clear shot away as the home defence recovered their ground. Moments later McClennan again turned provider, this time slipping the ball into the path of Joe Tumelty as he burst into the right-hand side of the box, but he skewed his low shot wide of the far post. Coleman was called into action once more in the 26th minute as he produced a fine diving save to his right to keep out a stinging drive from just outside the area from Iain Harvey. Stourbridge immediately hit back to move up field and win a corner and from Geddes’ right-wing flag-kick, Oliver rose in a crowd of players at the near post to get in a firm header that drew a good reaction save by Ben John before the ball was cleared for another corner and Geddes delivered the ball in from the left with Will Richards sending a diving header the wrong side of the near post. On the half-hour mark Jordan Fitzpatrick took a throw-in on the left short to Luke Benbow and he then took a return pass from the Glassboys front-man to advance down the flank before supplying a dangerous looking low centre across the face of the box that evaded Ryan Rowe in the middle and then seven minutes later Rowe glanced a header on to Benbow and he fed Geddes who worked room for a 25-yard shot that John safely clutched on his line.

Stourbridge started the second period brightly following a half-time reshuffle that saw Roland Agbor introduced on the left and Benbow moved out wider to the right with Ben Billingham playing more centrally and in the 47th minute Oliver was again thwarted by Ben John. Geddes sent over a right-wing corner and Oliver got up well again at the far post to direct a header on target, however John made another excellent save to palm the ball away. Four minutes later a header from Broadhurst ran through to Geddes on the right-hand side of the box and he drilled in a shot that was parried by the diving John with the ball rebounding towards Nathan Bennett who drove the ball goalwards, but Alan Griffin was well placed to hook clear. Chippenham rallied though and in the 64th minute Tumelty played a square ball inside from the right that was left by Phillips to allow McClennan to hit a curling shot from the edge of the box that was touched round the post by the outstretched hand of Coleman as he dived away to his left. A minute later Billingham hobbled off for the hosts, forcing another change of formation and the home side lost their way again after that. With a quarter of an hour to go Greg Tindle’s near post flick from a McClennan left-wing corner had to be cleared off the line before James Guthrie lashed an effort over the bar and then in the 80th minute McClennan clipped the outside of Coleman’s right-hand upright with a curling and dipping free-kick from just outside the area. Two minutes later though the Wiltshire visitors made the breakthrough as McClennan laid the ball across to Harley Purnell whose sweetly struck shot from distance proved too powerful for Coleman who got a hand to the ball as he dived low to his left, but he could not prevent it from finding the net. Stourbridge searched frantically for an equaliser in the dying moments and in the third minute of stoppage time Broadhurst found Drake who clipped the ball in from the right and Richards stretched to try and divert the ball wide of John, however the Chippenham keeper made the save and seconds later the final whistle sounded to condemn the Glassboys to their third defeat of the campaign.