YELTZ HIT 5IVE
Yeltz 5 Folkestone 0
16 November 2002
The mighty Yeltz keep on moving up the table with an excellent 5 goal victory over struggling Folkestone. Two goals each from super striker Jason Ashby and Les Hines , plus one from Richard Colwell means we're now in 14th place , our best position of the season.
Next week we make a potentially difficult journey to Crawley , although their form has dropped (and ours has got much better!) since they beat us pretty easily a couple of months ago. A draw would be a good result, anything else would be brilliant.
Match Report from DJ
Ever-improving Halesowen moved to their highest league position of the season by smashing five past struggling Folkestone in one of their best ever Southern League Premier Division victories.
The Yeltz took a 6th minute lead when Jason Ashby burst through midfield and played a long cross-field ball for Les HINES to hammer home from 15 yards. A minute later Folkestone were cruelly exposed again when Kirk Master split the defence and Jason Ashby bore down on goal in space to smash a 15-yard shot against the post.
With Halesowen well in control Richard Colwell set up Ross Collins to screw just wide of veteran goalkeeper Maurice Munden's post in the 20th minute. By contrast Tim Clarke had an easy afternoon and collected a 22nd minute drive from full-back James Millar. Opposite number Munden then touched a creeping drive from Master just around the post in the 27th minute.
Super striker ASHBY deservedly extended the lead in the 32nd minute when he hit home a right-wing Leroy May cross from 10 yards out. On 33 minutes Clarke held another shot from Millar but with Halesowen eagerly seeking more goals it was Munden who managed to collect the ball from a goal-mouth scramble a minute later. John Newall was rewarded for injuring himself in a challenge with a 38th minute booking and was replaced by Neil Smith just before half-time.
Folkestone continued to show little up front in a second half of driving rain and a minute after the break another sweeping Halesowen move saw Hines pass across goal for Master to touch on for May but his shot was deflected away. May tore a hamstring and was replaced in the 56th minute by Richard Leadbeater. Ross Collins then skipped through the Folkestone rearguard in the 67th minute but Munden was able to save from Leadbeater. Two minutes later Munden produced a fine fingertip save from Leadbeater in another flowing Halesowen move. In a spell of Folkestone pressure, Clarke held onto a 71st minute shot from substitute John Ayling and Millar shot into the Yeltz side-netting. Halesowen went close to increasing the lead ten minutes from time when Leadbeater won the ball and fed Colwell on the overlap but the full-back blasted high from a good position. Hines then sprayed a long pass for Ross Collins to steal in behind the visiting defence and hit a volley just wide of the mark.
Folkestone's defence fell apart in the final three minutes and Halesowen capitalised with a trio of late goals. On-side ASHBY hit his 8th goal in his last eight games by latching onto an 87th minute long ball to calmly round goalkeeper Munden before slotting home. In the final minute substitute Karl Brennan laid the ball off for HINES to crash his second goal and Halesowen's fourth into the roof of the net. In injury time Ashby surged through the demoralised Folkestone defence once again and when the ball broke free, COLWELL hit home Halesowen's fifth goal.