Glassgirls Turn on the Style for Record Crowd!

The Glassgirls led 2-1 at the break and 3-1 shortly into the second half, and although the Baggies Women pulled a goal back and laid siege to Stour’s goal for a spell, the final fifteen minutes saw the home side run rampant with a string of goals and near misses.

The win moves Stourbridge up to seventh in the table, although other teams do have games in hand, and provides a huge confidence boost after back-to-back defeats to Huddersfield and Burnley.

Stourbridge edged the first ten minutes, and had half chances through Niamh Deasy when she almost pounce on some defensive confusion only for Lucy Jones to come smartly out to smother, and then when the keeper did well to save with her feet after Jess Lowe broke clear.

So it was a blow when the visitors went ahead with 11 minutes played as Hayley Crackle’s free kick from deep was allowed to travel too far into the penalty area where Hannah George was able to steer a shot out of reach of Jamie-Lee Bamford.

Stour showed no signs of fading however, and Hannah Fishwick was unfortunate to see her block of Jones’s clearance go only just wide. That hint of defensive uncertainty in the visitors’ ranks was an omen, however, as Stour struck twice in four minutes to turn the game around.

First another Jones clearance was charged down by Deasy leaving ELLIE BUTLER with the simplest of open goals to open her Glassgirls account, and NIAMH DEASY got her own name on the scoresheet as she pinched the ball off a hesitant defender before firing confidently beyond Jones from 25 yards.

In between there were half chances at each end as George fired straight at Bamford, and then Zoe Clarke shot wide for Stour after Kelsey Richardson’s free kick was only half cleared, and the final chance of the half saw a looping header land on the roof of Bamford’s net.

There was no question it had been Stour’s half, and the team in red and white immediately set about ensuring the second period would go the same way, with Fishwick’s shot inside the opening sixty seconds momentarily looking as though it might dip just enough to find the top corner, but instead rattling the crossbar, while Albion broke straight up the other end where only some last ditch defending denied them a sight of goal.

Stour needed a third goal, and it came with one of the best moves of the night. Fishwick broke up play tenaciously before feeding Lowe on the right, and she drove into the box to pull the ball back for NIAMH DEASY to slam home.

Within three minutes, though, the visitors were back in it in similar fashion to their first goal. Another free kick penetrated the heart of the Stourbridge defence, and this time Isabel Green had far too much space to find the net.

Stour didn’t allow the setback to knock their rhythm. Clarke glanced a header wide from a Richardson corner and substitute Senna Robinson drove through before taking the ball a little wide and was only able to find the side netting.

Gradually the Baggies began to build pressure, and Stour were indebted to Bamford for two fine saves in the space of a minute, first tipping Crackle’s shot from distance over the bar, and then diverting Fran Orthodoxou’s effort wide, saves which would grow in significance moments later as SENNA ROBINSON punced to fire home Stourbridge’s fourth goal after Richardson’s free kick had been allowed to bounce around the six yard box without being cleared.

Three minutes later it was five, and almost certainly game over. Richardson was again the provider, this time from the corner flag, with Lowe touching the ball goalwards and HANNAH FISHWICK, who had only just seen an effort deflected wide, getting the final touch on the goal line.

Bamford produced another fine flying save from a long range effort as Albion sought to salvage something, but five became six for the Glassgirls as the game entered added time, with another typically strong run from Clarke teeing up fellow substitute JADE GROVE who held off her defender before turning and beating Jones low to her right.

The seventh came deep into added time, as ZOE CLARKE powered her way into the box and found the far corner from 12 yards to cap a wonderful night in front of a record crowd of 410 at the War Memorial Ground.