WHOOPS

BSC Yeltz 0 Walsall 7

10 February 2004

I think we'll gloss over this defeat as quickly as possible - other than to say you can read the full horror story in Dave's match report .

We're back to much more important matters on Saturday when Gloucester visit The Grove in yet another important game. They're one place and one point above us at the moment having played one game more, so let's hope for another three points to keep us right in contention.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Vaughan; Colwell, Charlton, Smith, Jones, Baker, Hollis (Steane 68), Ashby (Spencer 68), Skidmore, Ball, Forsdick. Unused Subs: Grocutt, Foy, Sheils

Walsall: Coleman; Willetts, Taylor, Stanley, Bennett, Emblen (Dann 65), Wright (Jameson 69), Lawrence, Hawley, Taylor, Matias (Harkness 64). Unused Subs: Platt, Wheeler

Referee: K. Ingram (Kingswinford) Attendance: 258

Halesowen flopped to their heaviest defeat in many seasons and were left chasing shadows as Walsall reserves strolled to victory with embarrassing ease.

But it was the home side who created a few chances on goal in the opening quarter. Richard Ball sent a dipping 20-yard shot over the bar in the 10th minute and saw his 16th minute shot blocked by goalkeeper Dean Coleman after robbing Jamie Lawrence. Coleman then gathered a 17th minute cross from Dan Jones at the second attempt and Coleman saved from Ball on 23 minutes after a good pass from debut-boy Simon Forsdick.

Walsall opened the floodgates in the 23rd minute with a simple goal after Karl Hawley fed Mark WRIGHT and a tame shot from the son of former-Yeltz favourite Evran Wright went through the hands of debut goalkeeper Nathan Vaughan from the edge of the area in a glaring error.

The Yeltz never made a game of it from that point and fell two goals behind in the 32nd minute with a long ball falling for the unmarked HAWLEY to tap home from the edge of the 6-yard box.

Forsdick broke clear on 35 minutes but wasted his chance and Walsall replied by going 3-0 ahead a minute before half-time when Vaughan failed to hold a Craig Stanley shot and Kris TAYLOR had another simple tap-in.

Although the game was well and truly over by the break the humiliation had only just begun.

Julian BENNETT fired home a fourth goal on 57 minutes from 15 yards following a Lawrence free-kick. Coleman blocked a Jones shot on the hour but a minute later Walsall walked in another goal when a Pedro Matias cross was kept in by Hawley and he crossed beyond Vaughan for WRIGHT to head home on the goal-line. Vaughan saved another decent chance from Hawley in the 62nd minute and then Hawley latched onto a through ball from Lawrence but his lob fell just wide after beating Vaughan.

Andy Spencer and Ben Steane both looked lively after being introduced as Halesowen substitutes with Spencer's 71st minute flick forcing Coleman to tip away for a corner. Good work from Steane allowed Ball to shoot in the 77th minute and on 83 and 84 minutes Coleman held onto 20-yard shots from Steane and Spencer respectively.

The visitors added two more goals in the last two minutes to coast into the semi-finals. Taylor picked up a rebound after a shot hit the Halesowen post on 88 minutes and his cross was turned into his own net by Richard COLWELL. A minute from full-time a cross from the right from Hawley was helped over the line by STANLEY to put Walsall in seventh heaven.