A VERY GOOD NIGHT!

WSC SF Redditch 0 Yeltz 5

22 February 2005

5-0 - never expected that! In an excellent performance against a pretty much full strength Redditch team, we won very easily to go through to the Worcester Senior Cup Final against Studley. Full details in Dave's match report , but I'd just like to mention how pleasing it is to see Jason back scoring again, especially as he's looked pretty sharp whenever I've seen him recently.

In other league games, Chips and Ham only drew, Aylesbury lost and Histon were leading Bedford 2-0 in the 86th minute when the floodlights failed and the match was called off.

And so to Saturday, when second-placed Bedford visit The Grove in a crucial game for our promotion hopes. I think we can still win the league if we can win maybe 9 or 10 of our remaining games, but with all the top teams still to play we obviously need to beat them. Let's hope for 3 points on Saturday to really be back in the hunt for the title.

Match Report from DJ

Redditch United: Anstiss; Scheppel, Charlton, M. Taylor, Knight, Flynn, Hollis, McHugh, Sylla, Rickards, Grey (Softley HT). Unused Subs: Manton, Harkness.

Halesowen Town: C. Taylor; Jones, Haywood, Preston, Pope (Amos 68), Skidmore, Cowley (Moore 75), Haarhoff, Lamey, Baker (Smith 71), Forsdick

Referee: I. Scarr (Rubery)

Halesowen thrashed high-flying Redditch from the Conference North at the Valley Stadium to reach the final of the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the second time in three years.

With the home side fielding five former Halesowen players, Chris Taylor saved from Scott Rickards in the 2nd minute and Mark Taylor drove just wide from 25 yards for Redditch in the 13th minute.

Halesowen then took control of the game with Dave Haywood hitting a couple of free-kicks at goalkeeper Richard Anstiss before Nathan Lamey glanced wide with a header from a good position from another Haywood cross in the 20th minute. Halesowen won the first corner of the game a minute later and from a weak Anstiss clearance Alex Cowley fed Jimmy Haarhoff but the nippy striker blasted high and wide. On 29 minutes an acrobatic overhead kick from Rickards flew over the bar for the Reds.

The visitors took the lead in the 31st minute when Gary Knight and Danny Scheppel bundled Haarhoff off the ball in the area and Steve POPE hit the resulting penalty into the left side of the net for his 18th goal of the season. Cowley skipped down the right wing in the 35th minute but Haarhoff's shot was blocked from the cross and Lamey then fed Haarhoff in the 42nd minute but Anstiss raced off his line to clear the danger.

Hard-working LAMEY was rewarded for his persistence on the stroke of half-time when he side-stepped two defenders and his 20-yard shot was deflected into the corner of the net to put Halesowen in the driving seat.

The snow came down at the start of a second-half that saw no improvement from Redditch, although Chris Taylor collected from Hollis in the 56th minute and highly rated Norman Sylla put an overhead kick over the bar on the hour. In a comical moment, the referee requested a replacement to the white ball tom help in the snowy conditions, only to find the new red-ball replacement was completely camouflaged by the Redditch strip before reverting back to the original white.

Halesowen pressed home their advantage with a third goal in the 65th minute when Simon Forsdick set Haarhoff free down the right and his cross was met by LAMEY's fine glancing header. With the Redditch defence in tatters, HAARHOFF beat Hollis on the edge of the area before firing into the bottom corner to make it 4-0 in the 68th minute.

Chris Taylor dropped a cross from Asa Charlton in the 73rd minute, but Redditch's evening was summed up when substitute Richard Softley could only hit the rebound onto the top of the bar.

Substitute Jason MOORE completed their five-star performance in the 76th minute when he turned his marker before slipping the ball past Anstiss from Haarhoff's cross.

Halesowen now go forward to meet Studley from the Travel Factory Alliance in the Final.