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16.11.2010

Billingham 9, Bennett 49, Rowe 82 

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Next Game

Hednesford's excellent run of results was brought to a crashing halt this evening as Stourbridge produced a superb second half performance to take all three points back to the West Midlands at a baltic Keys Park this evening

Manager Rob Smith made one change to the side that had beaten Cirencester Town on Saturday, with midfielder Jay Denny returning to the side at the expense of youngster Jamey Osbourne

And it was Denny who was to have the first sight of goal after just two minutes, gambling at the far post to get his head to Simon Brown's deep cross, but heading narrowly wide of goal

Stourbridge, chasing a play-off place just below the Pitmen in the table, responded with former Hednesford striker Linden Dovey firing narrowly past Dan Crane's right hand post after Ryan Rowe had headed the ball into his strike partner's path on eight minutes

Denny went close again for the Pitmen a minute later, hitting a long range shot that deflected off Nathan Bennett for a corner kick. The visitors cleared their lines with ease, and from the breakaway opened the scoring. Another former Hednesford player, goalkeeper Lewis Solly, quickly threw the ball out to Ben Billingham, who made a run of over fifty yards before playing a neat one-two with Leon Broadhurst and firing past an exposed Crane

However, the Pitmen were not put off by the early blow, and struck back within two minutes courtesy of new strike hero Danny Quinn. The youngster picked up a loose ball before beating three half-hearted challenges and slotting the ball past Solly

Better was to come, as Quinn put the Pitmen into the lead on fourteen minutes; Darren Campion played a free kick into the area from the left hand side, taking a deflection off the wall and dropping to Quinn, who did the rest

Stourbridge were incensed at the award of the free kick, with Stour's assistant manager Jon Ford sent to the stands for protesting too much

The game was ebbing and flowing from end to end in the first period, with Rowe almost equalising mid-way through the half - the Pitmen's defence halted momentarily, allowing Rowe to get on the end of Billingham's ball and fire straight at Crane

The hosts felt they should have been awarded a penalty on the half hour mark, when Bennett headed a ball back to Solly but left him with too much to do, allowing Quinn to nip in ahead of the keeper. Solly and Quinn clashed, but any protests were waved away by the referee

Stourbridge themselves had a penalty appeal turned down as the game headed towards half time, as Liam Francis and Rowe came together in the area, but referee Tony Horton was again unimpressed and played on

Quinn should have completed a superb first half hat-trick right on half time, racing onto a Chris Clements ball before lobbing the ball over Solly... and the crossbar

Despite having the better of an entertaining first half, the Pitmen failed to build on their lead in a sluggish second half display as they allowed Stourbridge back into the game. After pushing the home side back into their own half in the early stages, Stour took their chance on forty nine minutes to level matters. An Aaron Drake corner caused confusion in the Hednesford ranks, allowing Jamie Oliver to head the ball into the path of Bennett, who scored from close range

Stourbridge continued to put pressure on the Pitmen, with Bennett narrowly heading wide just two minutes later after getting on the end of Paul McCone's free kick

The visitors continued to pile pressure on a hesitant Hednesford defence, with Billingham next to test Crane on the hour mark. Defenders backed off the Stourbridge man, allowing him to fire narrowly over the bar from fully twenty five yards

The best the Pitmen could muster was a free kick from Clements on sixty eight minutes that Solly watched just inches over the crossbar as the Pitmen's creative influences failed to fire

Quinn's desperation in grabbing his, and Hednesford's, third goal saw him tumble comically in the area under a challenge from McCone, incurring a yellow card for diving from Mr. Horton

That was pretty much it for Quinn, who made way on seventy five minutes for Kyle Patterson as Rob Smith looked to inject fresh momentum to his flagging attack. Osbourne was also introduced at the expense of Brown

However, it was Stourbridge who continued to look the more likely to score, and with eight minutes remaining they grabbed the winner. Solly's searching ball into Pitmen territory was again not dealt with by a jumpy, nervous back line, allowing Rowe to outmuscle Cheyenne Dunkley and fire past Crane to grab the goal his efforts deserved

Clements went close to grabbing an equaliser for the Pitmen late on, but was denied by a superb flying save from Solly as the midfielder hit a powerful long range shot at goal

Victory for the Glassboys sees them move up to sixth place, just behind the Pitmen in the table. Another play-off contender in the form of newly-promoted Chesham United is next up for Smith's men  cds

Mins On

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90

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Osbourne.

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75

Patterson

2

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9

Brown

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.15

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