Halesowen Town 2, Stourbridge 0

HALESOWEN secured a comfortable derby day victory over lacklustre rivals Stourbridge.

A goal in either half handed Hales a 2-0 win in front of a packed Grove today.

From the first whistle it never looked like there would be another winner, with the Yeltz first to the ball on almost every occasion.

They came out of the blocks with real purpose and kept the Glassboys pegged back in their own half for long periods thanks to a host of early corners and long throws.

Stour keeper Dean Coleman had to be at full stretch to keep out a header from Kristian Green in the seventh minute as pressure quickly built.

The home side didn't create any clear cut opportunities but did keep The Glassboys camped in their own half.

The visitors managed to work their only real opening of the first period when former Halesowen man Chris Lait fired at Matt Sargeant at the near post after being played in by Luke Benbow on the break.

However, it was soon after that when Hales finally made their pressure count.

Tilt broke well from the back before being felled by defender Luke Connolly deep in Stour's half.

Asa Chalton's resulting free kick from the left flank was met with the head of captain Joe Hull who powered the ball past Coleman.

Even after the goal Stour failed to fire.

Time and time again The Yeltz won the ball back and bombarded the visitors with balls into the heart of their defence.

Stour would have been glad to only go in one goal behind at the break after having to endure such pressure from a determined Town side.

The second half continued much the same as the first.

It took the hosts just five minutes to double their lead.

The impressive Ben Haseley broke down the left, gave Leon Miles the slip before crossing for strike partner Iyseden Christie. The forward was then tripped in the area before getting his shot away to the delight of the Yeltz faithful.

Christie got to his feet to dispatch the penalty under Coleman and give Stour a mountain to climb.

The direct and clever running of Haseley coupled with Tom Tonks' determination to win back possession in the middle of the park proved the difference all afternoon.

Stour managed one speculative effort just past the hour mark when Lait blazed over from outside the area but that was the sum total of their efforts.

The rest of the half was devoid of any real chances for either side as the Yeltz continued to look more than comfortable with their two-goal advantage.

It is a victory that caps a pretty impressive season for Halesowen after promotion last season and importantly ends their recent winless run.

However, for Stourbridge it adds more disappointment to what has been a difficult and stuttering campaign. The biggest worry for manager Gary Hackett will be the way his side were out battled and out worked throughout.

Halesowen: Sargeant, Green, Griffiths, Forde, Hull (c), Tilt, Chalton, Tonks, Christie (Lloyd 87), Haseley (Campbell 80), Bragoli.

Unused Subs: Meese, Heard, Pearson.

Stourbridge: Coleman, Canavan, Knight, Brown, Smikle, Miles, Connolly (Fitzpatrick 62), Broadhurst, Benbow (Morgan-Parker 68), Dodd (Hales 86) Lait.

Unused Subs: Quaynor, Williams.

Att: 1,748.

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