UDOH HITS DOUBLE AS YELTZ TAKE THE SPOILS
DANIEL UDOH was the hero for struggling Halesowen as they shocked local rivals Stourbridge in front of a bumper Non-League Day crowd.
It was perhaps fitting that Udoh, wearing the nine shirt, was the match winner in the Number 9 Derby – so called due to the bus that connects the two towns.
A healthy attendance of 2,306 saw Ryan Rowe bring Stourbridge back into the game in the second half but the Yeltz defended superbly to climb off the bottom of the Evo-Stik Premier.
Delighted Halesowen boss John Hill said: “We’ve defended our box for a long period of time but we stuck to our task well. Our plan of attack was to play on the counter and we did that very well.
“It was a real derby atmosphere and I’m very happy for our fans who get to celebrate a good win.
“We got a point at Barwell on Tuesday and a win today so we’ve got four points from two tough away games. We’ll take that and hopefully climb away from the bottom.”
Aaron Forde had an early effort well saved for
the Glassboys before Halesowen took a sixth minute lead.
The Yeltz cleared a Stourbridge corner, Udoh beat Tom Tonks to the ball on the half-way line, raced towards goal and finished superbly past Matt Gould.
John McAtee had a free-kick well saved by Gould shortly after before Glassboys defender Jack Duggan rattled the crossbar with an effort from Forde’s ball in.
Halesowen responded to that warning by doubling their lead a minute before the break. Again they cleared a home corner, McAtee played a good one-two with Udoh and when the former’s shot was saved by Gould, the latter was on hand to tap in.
Stourbridge dominated the ball in the second half but struggled to break down a tough Yeltz defence.
They grabbed a lifeline through experienced striker Rowe when he turned Leon Broadhurst’s free-kick home from close range in the 63rd minute but despite huffing and puffing for the remainder of the match, Halesowen saw out the game reasonably comfortably.
Glassboys boss Gary Hackett conceded his team were off the pace, adding: “The two goals we have conceded are very, very poor.
“We’ve handed Halesowen two goals but credit to them because they’ve defended well after that.
“Normally we are very good in the big occasions but today we weren’t at it.”
STAR MAN: Daniel Udoh (Halesowen) ENTERTAINMENT: