Stour's season set for thrilling finish (From Halesowen News)

Stour's season set for thrilling finish

1:30pm Friday 14th September 2012 in Local Sport

RICHARD Bradley says Stourbridge are relishing Saturday’s season defining “cup final” at Studley.

The Amblecote side head to Warwickshire sitting third in Birmingham League Division Three, knowing a win could see them overhaul the six-point gap to second-placed Aston Manor and seal back-to-back promotions.

But there is also plenty on the line for the hosts, who are 15 points adrift of safety at the wrong end of the table.

Bradley believes the recipe is right for a memorable game.

He said: “I suppose it’s a cup final for both teams.

“We both have to go for it and I guess whoever wins the toss will have to bat.

“There will be no playing out overs, it’s going to be all hands on deck and winner takes all.

“There is no way I can see it finishing as a draw.

He added: “All we need is one big performance from the boys and we could be promoted, we would certainly have taken this at the start of the season.

“Because we won promotion with room to spare, a lot of us have not been involved in such a thrilling end to the season and we are really enjoying it.”

Stour ensured they stayed in the hunt despite only picking up a losing draw at Penkridge last weekend.

After the hosts made 246, Stour reached 211-7 in their reply, deciding to play for the draw after learning of Aston Manor’s defeat at Tamworth.

The result ensured Bradley’s side remained in front of Penkridge in the standings but the skipper says there will be no outside distractions this Saturday.

He said: “We probably let Penkridge get too many runs on the board and we struggled to keep up with the rate.

“When we learned Aston Manor had lost, it served us well to play for the draw.

“On Saturday it’s a far simpler equation, we know we need to win to stand any chance so there is little point in us worrying about what might be going on elsewhere.

“The worst case scenario would be losing the game and then finding out we could have gone up with a win.”