Stourbridge Sport
Promotion hopes hit
11:30pm Thursday 2nd February 2012
OLD Halesonians saw their promotion hopes hit by a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Old Silhillians.
Victory for the hosts puts them in the position to battle Hales and Hampton-in-Arden for promotion from the ENER-G West Midlands Premier, with Bridgnorth now 11 points clear at the top.
Both sides set out to stop the other scoring though Hales’ Tom Bulteel almost broke the deadlock inside 30 seconds, as his reverse stick shot flew wide of the post.
Chances after that were few and far between in the first-half, with Hales’ Harry Hughes getting a yellow card just before the interval.
The hosts also had a player sin-binned after the break but the visitors failed to take advantage, with Josh Randhawa missing the best chance to put them in front.
Hales then had Paul Harrold yellow carded for persistent bad tackling and it proved a crucial moment, as Sils grabbed the only goal of the game from a penalty corner with the man advantage.
With Harrold back on the pitch, Hales pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages but could not find a way past the home defence.
n The third XI gave their own promotion hopes a boost with a 5-3 win over Bloxwich.
Hales started brightly and Darren Rose opened the scoring from close-range.
The visitors hit back with an equaliser from a penalty corner but Damian Shackleton restored the lead when he blasted home before the break.
Deck Glaze made it 3-1 early in the second period after Adam Hill’s initial shot had been parried by the keeper, before Bloxwich pulled one back to keep the game interesting.
But a goal from Charles Palmer and a second for Rose in the final 10 minutes sealed the win before the visitors grabbed a late consolation.
However, the game ended on a sour note as Hill was red carded for abusive language toward an official and now faces a lengthy ban.
His absence didn’t stop the thirds recording a second win on Sunday as they edged past Streetly 3-2.
The visitors took the lead in the rearranged fixture and it could have been two but for some excellent keeping from Stuart Andrews.
Shackleton levelled things up with a penalty flick and then played a big part in the move which saw Dan Millichip gives Hales the lead.
A second goal for Shackleton after the break completed his man-of-the-match display but Hales were forced to hang on at the end after Streetly pulled one back.
n The seconds edged a nine goal thriller at home to Redditch 5-4, while the fourth XI were 3-2 losers at Worcester.
n Olton and West Warwick got the better of the fifths 5-2, while the ladies team were 2-1 winners against Droitwich.