AND AGAIN

FAC Bedworth 0 Yeltz 2

With a second 2-0 victory in a week, the mighty Yeltz continued last season's excellent cup form with a FA Cup Preliminary Round win over Bedworth . Two second half goals from Hollis and (who else) Jason has put us through to face Corby away in a couple of weeks time.

Next Saturday Cinderford visit The Grove in the league. They haven't had the best of starts, only beating early strugglers Yate, so let's hope for another decent performance and three more points.

Match Report from DJ

Bedworth United: Iyayi; McGregor, Blair, Hollywood (Olanipekun 67), Richardson, Crowley, Hind, Hadland (Scott 79), Padmore (Brushett 79), White, Massingham. Unused Subs: Weston, Hateley

Halesowen Town: Lowe; Colwell, Charlton, Grocutt, Smith, Baker, Hollis, Ashby, Hallam (Mitchell 37), Steane, March (Small 67). Unused Subs: Skidmore, Kavanagh, Spencer

Referee: C. Evans (Lincoln) Attendance: 262 Booked: Crowley (15), Hollis (67), Blair (67), Olanipekun (88)

Halesowen cruised into the next round to meet Corby Town after a controlled display against the Greenbacks.

Reserve goalkeeper Matt Lowe made a good debut and punched clear a 10th minute corner before Halesowen went on the offensive. In the 16th minute former Bedworth midfielder Ben Steane curled in a 20-yard free-kick to force home goalkeeper Macaulay Iyayi into a flying save. Two minutes later Iyayi grabbed a deep cross from Jamie March and on 24 minutes Simon Hollis played a dangerous ball towards goal but Lewis Baker was fouled on the edge of the area.

Bedworth's best chance of the afternoon fell to Stephen Padmore in the 28th minute when he turned to unleash a 25-yard shot but Lowe did well to turn the ball onto the outside of the post for a corner.

On the half-hour Mark Hallam played a splendid long ball for Jason Ashby but Iyayi raced off his line to save and then combined with defender Danial Hollywood to block when Hollis hit the rebound towards goal. A minute before half-time Richard Colwell crossed for Ashby and as the ball broke March fired high over the bar.

Halesowen continued to be well on top after the break although the decisive breakthrough took a while to materialise. On 47 minutes Neil Smith nodded a Hollis corner wide and after 52 minutes Iyayi picked out a Hollis cross with one hand from under the angle.

The Yeltz finally went ahead on the hour when HOLLIS picked up a loose ball to drill into the bottom corner from 12 yards after Crowley failed to clear from Mitchell. Halesowen went close to increasing their tally when substitute Bryan Small drove wide on 70 minutes, Mitchell hit over the bar a minute later and Hollis crossed for Ashby to fire high on 76 minutes. A second goal arrived in the 77th minute when ASHBY powerfully headed home a free-kick from Hollis and with the visitors totally in charge Hollis played a perfect pass for Ashby to drill just wide in the 82nd minute.

STEADY

Stourport 0 Yeltz 2

The mighty Yeltz continued on their winning ways with a decent 2-0 victory away to local rivals Stourport Swifts. Goals from the strikeforce of Hallam and Ashby means we've moved up to 7th in the early table , five points behind early leaders Redditch, Sutton and Solihull. More details in the match reports .

On Saturday we kick-off our FA Cup campaign away to Bedworth . They've had a pretty poor start to the season with just two draws, and even though the prize money for the early rounds is still a significant amount so it's important we have a good run.

The closing date for voting for this year's election to the Yeltz Hall of Fame is Saturday, so if you haven't voted yet and you want to you best get a move on.

Match Report from DJ

Stourport Swifts: Evans; Jones, Ulfig, Newall, Mulders, Harris (Webb 76), Cotterill, Sayer (Shirley 38), Ball, Wood (Robinson 68), Giddings. Unused Subs: Hawkes, Wright

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell, Charlton, Grocutt, Smith, Baker, Hollis, Ashby, Hallam (Mitchell 68), Steane (Skidmore 89), March (Small 85). Unused Subs: Kavanagh, Spencer

Referee: L. Sinclair (Brierley Hill) Attendance: 373 Booked: None

Stourport had two early chances with Richard Colwell clearing off the line in the 2nd minute from Jan Mulders after Mark Gayle dropped a corner and Richard Ball flashed wide in the sixth minute when clear on goal.

The Yeltz then stamped their authority on the game with Ben Steane putting Jason Ashby free in the 9th minute but his shot couldn't beat goalkeeper Lee Evans and in the 16th minute Simon Hollis struck wide after a lay-off from Mark Hallam. The flowing, incisive passing from Halesowen brought a 23rd minute goal when Lewis Baker played the ball to Hollis and he pushed the ball just wide of Evans allowing HALLAM to strike home into the centre of the net from 12 yards.

Two minutes into the second half Darren Grocutt met a Hollis cross but he headed high when well placed. ASHBY added a second goal in the 53rd minute by stooping to head a Hollis corner into the net at the near post. Substitute Leon Mitchell blazed over the bar from a Baker pass on 70 minutes before the Yeltz weathered a late storm.

Stourport substitute Anthony Robinson was pulled back by Baker in the 75th minute in the area and although Robinson's penalty kick beat Gayle the ball rebounded off the inside of the post and across the goal-line into safety. Ball was then clean through in the 84th minute but Gayle saved with his legs and Gayle was in action again to make another important reflex block in the last minute.

NORMAL SERVICE RESUMED?

Yeltz 6 Mangotsfield 0

After our somewhat sluggish start to the season, the mighty Yeltz earned their first win of the season in impressive style, beating Mangotsfield 6-0 at The Grove. At hat-trick from Jason, two from Simon Hollis and one from Darren Grocutt. Full details in DJ's match report .

On Tuesday we make the short trip to Stourport in the league, before we kick-off our FA Cup campaign next Saturday away to Bedworth .

The closing date for voting for this year's election to the Yeltz Hall of Fame is next Saturday, so if you haven't voted yet and you want to you best get a move on.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell, Charlton, Grocutt (Small 82), Smith, Baker, Hollis, Ashby, Hallam (Mitchell 62), Steane (Skidmore 82), March. Unused Subs: Kavanagh, Spencer

Mangotsfield Utd.: Greaves; Summers, Drysdale, Pendry, Duff, Loydon, Sims, Turnor (Missiato 66), Edwards, Seal, Huxley (Pitcher HT). Unused Sub: Hale

Referee: S. G. Cooke (Mansfield) Attendance: 356 Booked: None Sponsors' Man of the Match: Darren Grocutt

Halesowen finally clicked into top-gear with six of the best to record their first win of the season against previously unbeaten Mangotsfield.

A mark of the superiority of the home side was shown by the fact that Mangotsfield did not win a single corner all afternoon. Bizarrely, for the third successive league game, Halesowen found themselves with a match-day referee by the name of Cooke (all different) - but too many Cookes certainly did not spoil Halesowen's brand of exciting football.

The writing was on the wall for the visitors early on when Jamie March whipped in a 5th minute cross for Mark Hallam to head just wide. Hallam then headed on a long ball in the 10th minute for Simon Hollis to screw just wide and on 15 minutes Hallam headed another Hollis freekick for Darren Grocutt to scoop inches high.

It was no surprise when the Yeltz took an 18th minute lead with sponsors' man-of-the-match GROCUTT powering home a 5-yard header from a Hollis corner. On the half-hour Hallam fired in a free-kick at goalkeeper Daniel Greaves after being fouled 25-yards out.

Mangotsfield mustered only one first-half chance when Matthew Huxley headed over the bar from a David Seal cross. Before the interval, Hallam hit at Greaves from 12 yards and Hollis fired a 30-yard drive over the bar.

The Mangotsfield youngsters could not cope with the constant attacking threats from the home side in the second half and the one-way traffic towards their goal continued. Hollis hit just wide in the 47th minute from a Jason Ashby flick-on and then struck the side-netting a minute later. The pressure led to a second goal on 54 minutes when HOLLIS beat the offside trap to confidently beat Greaves from 8 yards.

With Mangotsfield in meltdown mode ASHBY took the ball around goalkeeper Greaves in another one-on-one to slot home the third goal on 58 minutes and the visitors were lucky to escape on the hour when a Hollis cross was just missed by new signing Ben Steane. Substitute Leon Mitchell was introduced in the 62nd minute and he burst through two minutes later only to see his final shot blocked for a corner.

In rare counter-attacks Seal stole clear but steered wide for Mangotsfield on 68 minutes and a 77th minute Seal header from Jack Pitcher's cross produced a splendid flying save from Mark Gayle.

ASHBY nipped in between defender Mark Summers and goalkeeper Greaves to head home a fourth goal on 78 minutes after a Mitchell shot took a looping deflection. Mangotsfield were caught out again in the 80th minute when Hollis was first to the ball to flick home past Greaves from 8 yards out.

With a cricket score looming, Hollis was twice denied by Greaves in the 88th minute before ASHBY completed his hat-trick a minute from time by hitting home a rebound when Greaves palmed away a shot from Hollis.

News Story

Yeltz 2 Ilkeston 2

After our success of two seasons ago our hopes in this league are obviously very high, so it's hard not to be disappointed with gaining only one point from our first two games. We twice came from behind against Ilkeston with goals from Mark Hallam and a late Jason penalty - see DJ's match report for full details.

Saturday brings Mangotsfield to The Grove in what might be a hard game. They've started well with two wins, but let's hope we'll click into gear and gain that first win.

In other results, interestingly (if you look at their team sheet) Redditch are top of the early table after winning 6-0 and 5-0.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell (Mitchell 79), Charlton, Grocutt, N. Smith, Spencer (Wray 54), Hollis, Ashby, Hallam, Steane, March (Kavanagh 54). Unused Subs: Skidmore, Phillips

Ilkeston Town: Love; Swinscoe, Atkinson, Coates (Stephens 70), Lever, Holyoak, F. Smith (Westwood 78), Laws, Freestone, Nangle, Thompson. Unused Subs: Brown, Shirley

Referee: D. G. Cooke (Wednesbury) Attendance: 378 Booked: Thompson (82), Freestone (87) Sent Off: Nangle (89)

Halesowen made heavy weather of earning their first point of the season against crisis-club Ilkeston.

With both sides experiencing relegation last season and still smarting from shock opening-day defeats Halesowen started brightly as a 10th minute free-kick from Simon Hollis from the edge of the area was gathered by goalkeeper Andy Love. A minute later a Richard Colwell cross landed on top of Love's net. On 17 minutes Hollis escaped his marker but headed wide from Asa Charlton's cross and Daniel Holyoak then made an important 24th minute clearance from a dangerous Hollis cross on the break.

Ilkeston were continually caught out by the offside trap but their 34th minute free-kick by Steve Coates was cleared by Halesowen defender Neil Smith. The visitors went on to take a shock 35th minute lead when Mark NANGLE rose to head home unchallenged from Fabian Smith's corner. Fabian Smith then smashed a 25-yard free-kick at Mark Gayle and Darren Grocutt was on hand to clear a 10-yard shot from Nangle off the line in a good spell for Ilkeston.

On 45 minutes Love made a fine fingertip save from Jamie March before the Yeltz equalised seconds before the interval when Jason Ashby fed a clever ball for Mark HALLAM to scoop into the top of the net from 10 yards.

Halesowen lost the advantage almost immediately after the restart with Chris FREESTONE powering home a second goal on 46 minutes - again directly from a corner. The visitors then weathered a storm of pressure with the Yeltz at last clicking into gear. On 58 minutes substitute Richard Kavanagh fed Shaun Wray who set-up Hallam and his shot seemed destined for goal until blocked to set up the first of four consecutive home corners. Love then made a splendid save when Hallam put Charlton clear in the area and Ashby headed a 67th minute Colwell cross onto the top of the net.

Halesowen finally rescued a point in the 85th minute with ASHBY firing home from the penalty spot when new £4,000 signing Ben Steane burst into the area and Craig Swinscoe was penalised for tugging at substitute Leon Mitchell's shirt.

The visitors almost snatched a winner in the 88th minute but Nangle blasted high when put free on the left and in the last minute Nangle was shown a straight red-card for dissent towards one of the officials.

NOT A GOOD DAY

Clevedon 2 Yeltz 0

After getting stuck in traffic on the way down, the mighty Yeltz made a disappointing start to their Western Division campaign by going down to two late goals at Clevedon. With keeper Mark Gayle being sent off as well, it's not been the good start we all hoped for. Still, there's a very long way to go, so let's not start moaning too much (please!). More details in the match reports.

Ilkeston are the visitors to The Grove on Tuesday, before we host Mangotsfield on Saturday. Ilkeston got stuffed 6-0 at home to Redditch, a team packed with Yeltz old boys, so let's hope for a bit better luck to kick-start the season.

Match Report from DJ

Clevedon Town: Weaver; Price, Lester, Zabek, Scott, Bryant, Richards (Hobbs 76), Vickerman, Weisburg, Haldane, Appleton (Fey 85). Unused Subs: Walsh, A. Smith

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell, Charlton, Grocutt, N. Smith, Baker, Hollis, Ashby, Hallam (Mitchell 87), Spencer (Skidmore 87), March. Unused Subs: Wray, Phillips, Kavanagh

Referee: S. Cook (Lydney) Attendance: 241 Sent Off: Gayle (90)

Halesowen had an opening day to forget starting with picking up a fine for arriving late and ending by conceding two goals in the dying seconds and having goalkeeper Mark Gayle sent off.

M5 traffic congestion following an accident meant the team coach did not arrive until ten minutes past three for a delayed 3.45pm kick-off, but hope remained high as Halesowen had not lost to Clevedon in the previous six outings - although this proved to be pay-back time in abundance.

The late start created tension between the two camps throughout the game but the Yeltz started brightly with man-of-the match Simon Hollis winning a 2nd minute corner for Jason Ashby to hit an overhead kick over the bar. At the other end Fidel Richards set up Arthur Appleton to screw a 6th minute shot just wide. On 8 minutes a fine run and cross from Hollis allowed Andy Spencer to fire inches wide and on 16 minutes a Richard Colwell pile-driver was blocked for a corner after a long throw-in from Hollis.

Halesowen missed the best chance of the half after 20 minutes when Hollis crossed from the right but Ashby missed the ball at the near post and Lewis Baker then scuffed his shot wide from 3 yards at the far post. A minute later Clevedon's Ryan Weisburg beat Mark Gayle to the ball but his chip fell inches wide from the edge of the area. On the half-hour Clevedon were almost caught out when Olly Price's weak back-header allowed Ashby to nip in but he lobbed over the bar. Baker then headed wide from a Hollis corner in the 39th minute.

In the second half Clevedon continually played long balls forward for their young strikers to chase and the tactic paid handsomely against the Halesowen central defence. In the 48th minute Weisburg beat Neil Smith to the ball but Gayle made a fine blocking save with his feet and James Zabek then thundered a 20-yard drive just wide of Gayle's post. On 57 minutes Gayle parried the ball away when Lewis Haldane latched onto a long ball that beat Colwell. Gayle then raced off his line again after 67 minutes to beat Haldane to the ball and made another save from Haldane on the left a minute later. Eight minutes from time Hollis sent in a deflected 25-yard shot but goalkeeper Steve Weaver did well to turn the ball away.

A point seemed in the bag at 5.30pm but Clevedon had other ideas and stole the three points in the last minute. Shane Hobbs again beat the Halesowen defence to a long through ball but this time guided the ball home from 15 yards with 90 minutes on the clock. Still stunned by the late goal Colwell let in Haldane seconds later and although Gayle raced out to the rescue he was unluckily sent off for handling the ball just inches outside his area. Makeshift goalkeeper Asa Charlton managed to parry the free-kick smashed in from 18 yards but couldn't prevent Haldane hitting home the rebound for a flattering second goal.

ALL SET TO GO

Friendly Yeltz 5 Nuneaton 1

The mighty Yeltz finsihed their pre-season preparations in style with a frankly unbelievable 5-1 thrashing of Premier Division Nuneaton 5-1. Two goals from Jason, plus others from Hallam, Hollis (again) and Wray sends us into the league programme in excellent heart. Come On!!!

Next week we begin the season proper with a trip to Clevedon . They've been a mid-table side for the last couple of seasons - two years ago we took all six points off them - so let's hope we can start off an important year with a good result.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Wilcox; Colwell, Charlton, Grocutt (Phillips 57), Smith, Baker (Fernandez 74), Hollis (Skidmore HT), Ashby, Hallam (Mitchell HT), Spencer (Wray HT), March

Nuneaton Borough: D. Quailey; Tullin (White 60), Love (Crabtree 70), Collins (Cooper 60), Moore, Angus (Manun'Ebo 60), Brown, McGorry, B. Quailey, O'Connor, Whittaker (Rees 60)

Referee: A. Dennis (Romsley)

Halesowen warmed up to hand out a five-goal thrashing to Dr Martens League hot favourites Nuneaton Borough in their final outing before the new season.

In the sweltering heat Aaron O'Connor nodded wide in the 2nd minute and Micky Brown volleyed a Stuart Whittaker cross wide in the 12th minute for Borough.

But with Halesowen looking sharp up front and solid at the back the visitors were soon on the wrong end of an avalanche of goals. A deep 13th minute right-wing cross from Simon Hollis beat goalkeeper Dan Quailey but struck the post allowing Jason Ashby to head home low down on the goal-line. On-trial goalkeeper Adam Wilcox parried a fierce 18th minute shot from Nuneaton's Whittaker out to O'Connor but he hit his effort high from just five yards.

The Yeltz went two goals up in the 27th minute with Asa Charlton playing a delightful chip for Andy Spencer to cross perfectly for prolific goal-machine Simon Hollis to power home a 12-yard header.

Mark Hallam added a third on the half-hour by trapping Richard Colwell's right-wing cross and flicking the ball past Quailey from close range. Late in the first half Wilcox saved an O'Connor volley from Brown's cross.

Five minutes into the second half Jason Ashby hit home from the penalty spot to the goalkeeper's left after pushing in the area. A fifth goal followed in the 52nd minute when Ashby broke free down the right and rolled the ball into the path of substitute Shaun Wray to place home past a demoralised Quailey from six yards.

Brown stepped up to score an 81st minute consolation goal for Nuneaton from a penalty after being brought down by Charlton.

STARTING TO GEL

Friendly Yeltz 2 Hednesford 1

With a decent victory over Hednesford at The Grove, things are starting to come together nicely as we near the kick-off proper. Two more set-piece goals from the seemingly excellent new signing Simon Hollis decided it.

One more friendly to go now, with Nuneaton the visitors on Saturday, before the first league game a week on Saturday at Clevedon. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely ready for hostilities proper to start.

For all of you Fantasy Island players, if you haven't already done so already you can now start entering your predictions for the early games.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell (Miller HT), Small (D. Williams HT), Grocutt, Charlton (Smith HT), Baker (S. Skidmore HT), Hollis (Spencer HT), Ashby (Phillips HT), Hallam (Mitchell HT), Wray, March

Hednesford Town: Hateley; Maguire, Brown (Marshall 79), Simkin (A. Williams 65), Robinson, Ryder, C. Palmer, S. Palmer (Berks 67), Anthrobus, Swan (Tucker 65), Seebury

Referee: A. Hendley

Halesowen's penultimate pre-season friendly was settled by two stunning first half strikes from Simon Hollis. However, defensive questions were raised as all three first-half goals came directly from set pieces.

Halesowen turned up the early heat on a sultry evening with Lewis Baker side-stepping his marker to curl just wide from 18 yards in the 10th minute. Mark Hallam was then just inches away from meeting a 17th minute right-wing cross from Simon Hollis. A minute later Hallam and Baker prevented each other from connecting properly to head home another Hollis cross from three yards and the ball drifted wide. Hallam eventually headed home a 22nd minute cross from Jamie March but was ruled offside.

Hot-shot Hollis gave Halesowen the lead in the 24th minute directly from left-wing corner that beat former Halesowen goalkeeper Mark Hateley to float into the top corner. Five minutes later Hollis was on target again by hitting home a direct free-kick from the edge of the area.

Darren Simkin pulled a 32nd minute goal back in Hednesford's first effort on target by hitting another direct free-kick past Mark Gayle from 22 yards.

In a quiet second half, Hateley blocked from close range in the 55th minute from substitute Andy Spencer before Leon Mitchell almost weaved into a goalscoring position on the hour. David Berks headed a 68th minute cross from Anthony Maguire over the bar for the visitors and with five minutes remaining Jason Ashby set up Leon Mitchell top place the ball just high at the other end. Three minutes from time Gayle made a one-arm save to deny Simon Tucker.

DRAW KINGS

Friendly Yeltz 1 Lancaster 1

Another day, another friendly. We're having a consistent run in the pre-season warm-up, with yet another 1-1 draw with our goal again being scored by Simon Hollis.

The results of our friendlies are generally misleading regarding our performance in the rest of the season, so I'm not sure what all this means. However there's only a couple of games left before the kick-off proper, with Hednesford the visitors on Tuesday and Nuneaton at The Grove on Saturday.

Voting's progressing nicely on this year's election to the Yeltz Hall of Fame , but if you haven't voted yet please pop along and have your say.

Match Report from DJ

Lancaster opened the scoring in the 8th minute with their first attack when former Dundee striker Mike Yates turned to score at the second attempt after initially striking the post. Simon Hollis was gifted a 51st minute equaliser when visiting young goalkeeper Richard Whiteside miscued a clearance straight at him and he duly struck home into the bottom corner.

Tall striker Steve Jones went close with a header for Lancaster and Yates brought a good save from Mark Gayle at the start of the second half. Leon Mitchell and Stuart Skidmore forced saves from Whiteside and late on Lancaster defender Farrell Kilbane - brother of former WBA favourite Kevin - headed just wide.

ANOTHER MEANINGLESS FRIENDLY

Friendly Studley 1 Yeltz 1

This would be a disappointing result if it meant anything, but hopefully it's given Brendan some useful information as he tries to assemble a squad capable of challenging for the title this season. Brief details have been posted by Chas in YeltzTalk .

On Saturday we host Lancaster City of the Northern Premier at The Grove in what's quite an interesting match up.

Voting's progressing nicely on this year's election to the Yeltz Hall of Fame , but if you haven't voted yet please pop along and have your say.

THREE WEEKS AND COUNTING

Friendly Yeltz 1 Stafford 1

Our pre-season continued along it's steady course with a 1-1 draw at home to Premier Division Stafford Rangers. We took the lead through a Simon Hollis free-kick before they equalised in a similar manner.

This week we travel to Studley on Tuesday, before welcoming Lancaster to The Grove next Saturday.

Voting's progressing nicely on this year's election to the Yeltz Hall of Fame , but if you haven't voted yet please pop along and have your say.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Gayle; Colwell (S. Skidmore 59), Charlton, Grocutt (Sewell 85), Smith, Spencer (J. Skidmore 75), Hollis (Wray 59), Ashby (Phillips 75), Hallam (Mitchell 59), Trainer (Baker 75), March. Unused Subs: Kavanagh, Harris

Stafford Rangers: Price; McAughtrie, Tankard (Scheuber HT), Barrow, Daniel, Downes, Robinson (Dodd 67), Heath, Szewczyk (Fife 80), Goodman (Bailey 43), Beale. Unused Subs: Lowry, Griffin, Jones

Referee: B. Priest (Halesowen)

Halesowen enjoyed a strong first half and their much-changed second-half line-up held on for a draw against late Stafford pressure.

Early on home midfielder Jamie March struck a Jason Ashby cross just over the bar in the 7th minute and two minutes later Stafford's Paul Szewczyk rolled the ball across the face of the Halesowen goal. Mark Gayle then blocked a Phil Robinson shot after 15 minutes and Darren Grocutt made a timely tackle after 24 minutes to deny Stafford's new ex-professional signing Don Goodman.

Mark Hallam then hit high from Ashby's 33rd minute cross for Halesowen and Andy Spencer turned to fire at Ryan Price before both goalkeepers found themselves picking the ball out of their nets from identical set pieces.

Summer signing Simon Hollis planted home a 39th minute direct free-kick beyond Ryan Price but Stafford levelled on the hour when Craig McAughtrie converted his direct 25-yard free-kick beyond Mark Gayle.

Gayle then suffered a bout of nerves by fumbling a Robinson corner and then slicing an attempted clearance over his own head. Stuart Skidmore was on hand to clear off then line after former Halesowen striker Dennis Bailey challenged Gayle on the edge of the area but Gayle redeemed himself with a fine last minute save when substitute Gary Fife burst through from midfield.