Glassgirls Out of Luck, but Safety Calls!

The Glassgirls fought back to equalise twice in a first half that never drew breath, and had their chances in proved to be a quieter second half over all, but it was Feds who delivered the killer blow at the death.

However, there was relief all round at the final whistle, as results elsewhere meant that Mike Harris’s team had achieved their goal of retaining tier three status for another season.

The manager made two changes to his starting line-up with Lizzie Bennett-Steele returning after injury, and Senna Robinson replacing Jade Grove, who was away on England Futsal duty.

With Stourbridge needing a win to guarantee their safety, and eliminate any concerns about events at other games, they couldn’t have got off to a worse start as Feds took the lead inside two minutes. Paige Cole swung in a corner from the right, and when Emma Johnson’s overhead effort was blocked, Rosie Kinvig-Wardale was able to force the ball over the line.

The goal might well have brought about feelings of déjà vu after recent games, with Stour trailing once again, but the Glassgirls were quickly looking to get back into the contest, and might well have levelled on 11 minutes when Robinson broke clear only for Rachael Norney, after initial hesitancy, to come out and deny the striker with her feet.

Feds threatened again with 17 minutes played, and Stour were indebted to Jamie-Lee Bamford for a fantastic double save to thwart Cole from close range, before Bennett-Steele’s low cross and Robinson’s shot forced a corner which sailed across the six-yard box and behind, while from the Glassgirls’ next corner a couple of minutes later, both Rosie Embley and Niamh Murphy saw efforts blocked.

After being on the back foot for much of recent games, Stourbridge were enjoying the chance to express themselves more, and they got their reward on 25 minutes as Favour Omenazu pounced on some hesitant defending to square low to ROSIE EMBLEY who made no mistake from five yards for her first Stourbridge goal.

Omenazu was everywhere, her threaded pass setting Zoe Clarke free for a shot that crept past the far post, and she threatened again as she broke clear but was unable to tee up Robinson with her pass.

Ellie Fletcher fired over from outside the area as the visitors showed their attacking capabilities once more, but Stour didn’t heed that warning as Aleesha Collins took advantage of too much space 25 yards out to fire in a dipping shot that gave Bamford no chance, and restored Feds’ lead seven minutes before the break.

The Glassgirls were clearly unsettled after having looked the better side for much of the previous quarter of an hour, and they might have fallen further behind when Johnson’s header came back off the crossbar, but they made the most of that reprieve when Hannah Fishwick’s through ball wasn’t cut out and FAVOUR OMENAZU joined Embley in opening her Stourbridge account with a cool finish under Norney.

There was still time for Chantelle Thompson close range shot to be deflected over Bamford’s bar, but the half-time whistle saw the teams go in level, which felt about right after an excellent half of football.

The second period was always going to struggle to meet that entertainment threshold, and so it proved. It wasn’t until nine minutes in that Stour fashioned a half chance, when Fishwick fed Robinson, with Norney again out fast to boot the ball clear, before Thompson then headed well over from a corner at the other end, while Embley’s volley was similarly off target for Stourbridge.

Moran fed Fishwick who helped the ball on for Deasy to break free, but her shot, with Norney closing her down, trickled past the post, while Bamford then had to be out smartly as a ball through the Stour defence momentarily looked like causing problems.

With seven minutes to play, Stour almost poached the lead, as Embley picked a defender’s pocket before playing in Deasy whose first time strike was just as close as her earlier attempt, but not close enough, while Fishwick then saw her shot held by Norney at the second grab.

With both sides clearly more interested in a win than a draw, it was Feds who struck the decisive blow smack on the 90 minute mark, with Collins getting free down the right to cross for Katie Anderson to meet with a flying volley ten yards out, and despite several minutes of stoppage time, the Glassgirls were unable to respond for a third time.

(Photo - Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography)