Clarke's Late Strike Earns Glassgirls a Point

Visitors Stoke City had led 2-0 at the break, but Esme Moran bundled home just after the hour to give Stour hope, before Clarke calmly slotted the ball home five minutes into added time to salvage a point.

It was no more than they deserved having responded well to going behind, taking the game to Stoke throughout the second half and weathering the odd dangerous moment at the back as Stoke began to reassert themselves towards the end with Stourbridge tiring.

Interim manager Mike Harris made two changes from the team that won at AFC Fylde the previous week, with Favour Omenazu and Jess Lowe returning, whilst new signing Jade Grove was named on the bench.

It was Omenazu who conjured up the first opening of the game, with two minutes played, as her pass found Niamh Deasy whose shot was fielded low down to her right by Georgie Ferguson on two minutes, whilst Stoke’s first opening came with a shot from 20 yards which Jamie-Lee Bamford was able to gather easily.

But the visitors drew first blood on 12 minutes as a clumsy challenge by Lexie Harrison drew a spot kick which Heidi Logan despatched to Bamford’s right, giving the keeper little chance, and with Stoke now pushing forward further chances came as Bamford held a tame shot from Logan again, and then Sophie Heaselgrave acrobatically hooked the ball off the line as Saffron Jordan turned it goalwards.

But if Stour were rising their luck, it looked to have run out on 24 minutes as Stoke were awarded another penalty for a trip in the box. This time, however, Bamford wasn’t called on to make a save, as Logan fired her spot kick over the bar.

The Glassgirls’ response to the lifeline was immediate and strong. Building momentum for the first time since the opening exchanges, Senna Robinson saw her shot blocked, with Deasy crowded out as the ball ran loose in the area, and then Jess Lowe saw her shot saved by Ferguson and her follow-up effort blocked by a defender.

Clarke’s free kick from out on the right bounced off the top of the crossbar and over, before pressure from Stour forced Stoke into a defensive error with Deasy unable to get her shot on target as Stourbridge began to unsettle the visitors.

Nevertheless, the Potters were still causing problems going forward and Stour were relieved to see another shot straight at Bamford as half time approached. But Stoke would make the interval team talk a more challenging task for Harris and his staff, as Abby Hunt took advantage of a half-clearance to fire in off the post from 20 yards.

With memories still fresh of the previous home game against Derby, Stourbridge couldn’t afford to let the further setback affect them as the second half began, and they showed no signs of doing so as Robinson and Deasy combined well to almost feed Lowe as Ferguson came off her line to get there first.

Grove made her first impact after replacing Deasy on the hour as she got behind her defender and fired in a shot from a narrow angle that Ferguson held well, but not long after Stour were back in it. Kelsey Richardson lifted a free kick into the heart of the Stoke penalty area, and with Ferguson unable to claim it was ESME MORAN who got the final touch to claw a goal back.

This time it was Stoke’s turn to respond, and Heaselgrave was again called upon to save the day as she got back to divert Hogan’s effort round the post after the striker had gone round Bamford.

With Stour tiring a little it seemed that Stoke were gradually taking the upper hand once more. A deep cross from the right bounced off Bamford’s crossbar and away, a ball flashed across the Stourbridge goal with nobody there to convert, and more than once some last ditch defending managed to divert a chance away from goal.

Stoke would see the game out with ten players, though, as Ryah Vyse picked up a second yellow card four minutes from time for delaying a Stourbridge free kick, and the Glassgirls saw this as their opportunity to exploit the extra body, something they were finally able to do when substitute Amber Lawrence engineered herself time and space to pick out ZOE CLARKE in the penalty area, and she was able to turn past a couple of defenders before keeping her composure to place the ball beyond Ferguson into the bottom corner to gain that much-needed point.

(Photo - Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography)