Whitby Town 4, Stourbridge 0

STOURBRIDGE had to endure a nightmare six and a quarter hour journey to North Yorkshire side Whitby Town and then suffer an equally horrible result at the end, writes Nick Pullen.

Honest Gary Hackett refused to blame the terrible trip as the Glassboys got caught up in traffic conjestion on the A1 M.

It meant Stourbridge didn't arrive at Whitby until 2.45pm which resulted with the kick-off being delayed for 20 minutes.

But Hackett insisted: "It was a surreal game because we had by far the better chances to score. The scoreline didn't reflect the game and I can't use the trip as an excuse, because we started the game as the better side."

Whitby went ahead after six minutes as Glassboys goalkeeper Charlie Price was unable to hold a shot from Matthew Walters, who followed up to score at the second attempt.

By that stage, Stourbridge had already squandered a glorious chance, Tom Tonks' free kick picking out Chris Knight at the far post, but his shot was dramatically saved by the legs of Whitby goalkeeper Shane Bland.

Whitby netted a second and crucial goal on 53 minutes when Ross Gardner's right wing cross flew over Price's head and dropped into the far corner of the net.

A third Whitby goal on 64 minutes spelt the end of Stourbridge's prospects of salvaging anything from the game, Michael Roberts beating Price in a race for possession, who then rolled the ball home from fully 35 yards, the ball clipping the base of the post on its way in.

Whitby rounded off the scoring on 90 minutes when Price was unable to hold a shot from Ibrahim Hassan and the ball fell invitingly for James Brown to slot home.

Hackett insisted afterwards: "One of Whitby's goals was a complete fluke, while two of the other goals were down to an individual error sof judgement, which you cannot legislate for.

"We've come into this season with high optimism and the only good thing is that we don't have to wait long for the chance to bounce back!

Stourbridge take on much fancied Nantwich Town on Monday night, which is now the Glassboys dedicated night for midweek matches.

Hackett added: "There's plenty of pros and cons for playing on Monday night, but if you don't try things, then you never know!

Stourbridge: Price; Green (Hayward 80), Scarr, Tonks (Harris 74), Smikle, Pierpoint, Dodd, Broadhurst, (Canavan 69), Hawley, Chilton, Knight. Sub not used: Morgan-Parker.