Richardson Strike Seals Glassgirls Win!

The visitors, still without a win, belied their lowly status and will be disappointed not to have gone away with at least a point after pushing Stour back for lengthy spells during the second half, but the Glassgirls found a way to victory through goals from Jess Lowe and Kelsey Richardson after falling behind early in the game.

The win moves Stourbridge up into the top half of the table, and comes as a huge boost to the prospects of retaining their tier three status next season

There was one change from the starting eleven against Huddersfield three weeks ago, with Jade Grove coming in for Hannah Fishwick, who took a place on the bench, as manager Mike Harris looked for a similar performance from his team.

They started well, with Amy Dicken twice testing out Liz Craven in the Coasters’ goal, but Fylde showed they too could pose a threat as Clara Samson shot wide in an opening ten minutes that set the pattern for what would be a scrappy game at times.

Despite Stour beginning to assert some control as the game settled, it was the visitors who took the lead on 14 minutes as Lois Moore attacked down the left before crossing low into the six-yard box where Zoe Clarke’s attempted clearance rebounded off Moore and into the net.

Stour couldn’t produce much to suggest they would get back into the game until Daisy Clements almost surprised Craven with a shot from a long way out that wasn’t very far wide of the post, but three minutes after that they were level, as Clarke wrestled for the ball on the edge of the box and it fell for JESS LOWE to find enough space to fire past Craven.

Richardson’s free kick eight minutes from the break fell nicely for Amy Dicken, who shot wide, although a raised flag meant it would not have counted in any case, while Fylde continued to look good whenever they ran at the Glassgirls defence, without offering too much threat on Jamie-Lee Bamford’s goal.

What had been a largely even first half gave way to a second that saw Fylde have the better of things. Bamford saved well from Moore at her near post and then saw Beth Strutton glance the resulting corner wide, while for their part Stour were unable to create clear chances. Bamford did well to drop on the ball in a scramble from another corner, and then held onto Strutton’s header, while Iszy Binks volleyed wide off balance.

But the introduction of Senna Robinson and Hannah Fishwick, and then later Mill Rogers, gave the Glassgirls fresh attacking impetus, and when Fishwick won a free kick 25 yards out, KELSEY RICHARDSON arrowed the ball towards the far top corner AND PAST Craven to give Stourbridge the lead.

Sophie Heaselgrave might have made things more comfortable when she shot just high and wide when a half cleared corner fell to her just outside the box, and then again when Fishwick’s header was superbly cleared off the line by Moore inside the final five minutes, but they weren’t made to regret those chances as Stour’s resilient back-line ensured Fylde couldn’t make a breakthrough in the eight minutes of added time despite concerted pressure.

(Photo - Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography)