Stourbridge 2, Carlton Town 0

STOURBRIDGE put aside their current FA Cup heroics to make further progress in the FA Trophy but made hard work of putting lower level Carlton Town to the sword, writes Nick Pullen.

The Nottingham side's goal led a charmed life at times as Stourbridge attacked constantly throughout the game but had to wait until the 67th minute before they finally broke the deadlock.

Glassboys manager Gary Hackett admitted: "It was a complete role-reversal to last week's FA Cup win at Dover Athletic.

"It was only a matter of time before we scored and once we got that first goal, the result was never in doubt.

"We got to the by-line and crossed on so many occasions that we should have scored more and once that first goal went in, then the floodgates could have easily opened."

Hackett was also wary of injuries picked up by his players. Talisman midfield player Leon Broadhurst limped off after just 19 minutes with a thigh strain while Tom Tonks sustained a hamstring niggle, both players being brought off immediately.

Stourbridge stamped their authority on the game to such an extent that Glassboys goalkeeper Lewis Solly didn't have a single shot to save in a completely one-sided first half when Carlton struggled to get out of their own territory.

The Glassboys should have taken a 10th minute lead when livewire Chris Lait carved his way through Carlton's defence and set up striker Karl Hawley in front of goal, but somehow the former Carlisle United marksman put the ball wide.

Carlton struggled to cope with the pace of Lait and Matt Dodd down either flank, a point that wouldn't have gone unnoticed by watching Eastleigh scouts.

Yet despite launching a continual wave of attacks, Stourbridge could provide no end product especially as Carlton goalkeeper Jack Steggles always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Stourbridge continued their high tempo play after the break, but to no effect and Carlton provided a reminder of the threat they posed when in a rare attack, Jacob Sturgess fired a shot into the side-netting.

Further evidence of a possible Carlton smash and grab raid followed when giant substitute striker Kevin Lusamba suddenly found himself in the clear after coming on in the 61st minute.

Luckily for Stourbridge, Solly was aware of the danger and came off his line to take sufficient sting out of Lusamba's shot to enable defender Kristian Green to get back and clear.

It was the only save Solly had to make throughout the entire game.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 67th minute when Tonks headed Lait's left wing corner against the crossbar and the ball cannoned back out for the alert Hawley to react first and fire home.

A second goal soon followed on 76 minutes with probably the best move of the match.

The ball was played through to Justin Richards on the edge of the penalty area, who sucked in the defence before releasing Dodd down the right, who in turn, crossed along the face of goal for Lait to lash home from close range.

There could have been more goals, especially when Richards saw a goalbound shot spectacularly palmed out by Steggles on 90 minutes, while substitute Mark Wright was unlucky to see a stoppage time screamer deflected wide.

Stourbridge: Solly; Green ( Knight 77), Scarr, Tonks ( Wright 82), Smikle, Pierpoint, Dodd, Broadhurst (Billingham 19), Hawley, Richards, Lait. Subs not used: Clarke, Hayward.

Carlton Town: Steggles; Marshall ( Lusamba 61), Wholey, Sturgess, Graham, Walker, Green, Howell, Fletcher, Hodgett-Young, Gordon (Newton 45). Subs not used: Law, Davies.

Referee: Marvyn Amphlett Attendance 428 Star man: Chris Lait - a constant threat