ALMOST

FAT Barrow 2 Yeltz 1

A battling performance with 10 men for most of the game, the mighty Yeltz we're denied a well deserved draw by a bizarre last minute goal from Barrow.

Barrow took the lead in the 7th minute from a header, but we soon equalised with a Giddings goal - 8 goals and counting now - from a Hines cross. However, things turned for the worse soon after when young Spencer got sent off for a reckless challenge.

The ten men held their own for the rest of the game, and had a few chances to snatch an unlikely victory until their sickening winner when Clarke slipped and allowed the ball over him. An awful way to go out, but as ever, let's now just concentrate on getting promotion ;-)

Next Saturday takes us to lowly Cirencester , where we need to take 3 points to stay up with the other promotion candidates. It's a 1pm kickoff again because of the England game. Rumours of a new striker abound - news here as soon anything's confirmed.

NORMAL SERVICE RESUMED?

Yeltz 1 Atherstone 0

Much more like it. The mighty Yeltz got back to winning ways by beating old rivals Atherstone through a first half goal from Andy Jones . The reports I've received say we dominated possession without creating many chances, but as ever it's the three points that matter .

We've climbed up to 5th place , just 3 points off the top with games in hand on everyone above us.

Saturday takes us to the far North West to meet Northern Premier side Barrow in the FA Trophy . Barrow are currently 6th in their league, but appear to have gone off the boil a bit recently so we've got a chance to cause an upset. Their website is at http://www.barrowfc.com/ if you're interested.

JUST A POINT

Rocester 1 Yeltz 1

After a couple of losses it's nice to get something, but before the game we'd have hoped for more.

I haven't got many detailsso far, but in difficult conditions Rocester took the lead from a speculative shot that deceived Tim Clarke. We equalised in the second half after a golamouth scramble, the goal was maybe given to Leroy May (although my contacts aren't sure about this).

We've now slipped to 5th place , with Solihull losing but Clevedon, Evesham and Stourport all winning. Saturday brings old rivals Atherstone to The Grove in a game where I'm sure we're going to get back to winning ways.

P.S. There were odd problems on the site on Tuesday. Apologies for that - it was all my service provider's fault :-(

SLUMP

Yeltz 1 Cinderford 2

It's all getting a bit more realistic now . After a glorious run of victories and clean sheets, that's now two defeats in successive weeks , slippage down to 4th place and a realisation that it's not going to be so easy this season.

We went one down early on, and when a second went in midway through the second half it looked bad. However, from the accounts I've heard it was a bit like The Alamo , with the mighty Yeltz creating enough chances to win five games but despite getting one back through Lee Collins couldn't quite steal a point. Very disappointing.

Tuesday takes us to Rocester , not a happy opponent for those of us with very long memories. However, they're struggling this season and let's hope this dip in form is temporary and we can get back to winning ways.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Clarke; Colwell, Burnham, N. Smith, L. Collins, R. Collins (Knight 62), Hall (Spencer 62), Jones, Giddings, Taylor, Hines. Sub: Skidmore

Cinderford Town: Fisher; Regan, Hopkins, Tomkins, Hook, Truman, Bale, Ince (Stanton 42), Addis, Chiverton (Donovan 19), Harris. Sub: Hayward

Referee: S. Flanaghan (Wednesfield) Attendance: 472 Booked: Ince (14), R. Collins (61), Clarke (88)

Halesowen failed to turn chances into goals and crashed to a bitterly disappointing defeat against a walking-wounded Cinderford who recorded their first away win of the season. Cinderford came into the game without two key defenders and left it with four more of their players having received lengthy treatment for injury. Amongst them was ex-Halesowen midfielder James Ince who was stretchered off with a suspected broken ankle.

Halesowen forced the early pace and won five corners in the first six minutes. Cinderford centre-half Clayton Hook hit the ball over his own bar in the 5th minute from a Kerry Giddings cross and a minute later Lee Collins powered in a header from a Les Hines corner, but goalkeeper Andy Fisher managed to beat away the ball. Even at this stage there was a sense that it was not going to be Halesowen's day and this was compounded when Cinderford took a shock 9th minute lead in their first venture forward. The ageless Adie Harris crossed from the left and Eston Chiverton found his way between two defenders to head home.

Matty Hall went on a solo run in the 16th minute and delivered a dangerous cross into the box, but there was no striker on hand to capitalise. Early frustration began to creep into the Halesowen play and on another Cinderford break, Mike Regan hit a fierce shot that was headed away by Lee Collins in the 34th minute.

Lee Collins remained in the thick of the action but was up against Cinderford goalkeeper Fisher who was in fine form all afternoon. In the 35th minute another corner from Hines was met by a Lee Collins header, but the ball struck Fisher on the line. From the rebound, Lee Collins made another attempt, but somehow Cinderford again cleared off the line.

With the Yeltz lacking the final killer touch, Tim Clarke had to make a tremendous save in the 46th minute to keep Cinderford out when he saved a 10 yard volley from Simon Truman. Lee Collins then made a glaring miss when brother Ross headed on a cross which Lee took down but then blasted over from close range. Kerry Giddings beat the defence in the 51st minute but hit a good chance wide and Lee Collins then brought out another point blank save on the line from Fisher from a header two minutes later. Disaster struck for Halesowen in the 59th minute when Cinderford broke away for a second goal. Truman's initial shot was blocked but the rebound fell kindly for Daryl Harris to slot home from 8 yards.

With the confidence of their unbeaten home league record draining away, the Yeltz struggled for an answer and it was Clarke who had to produce a fingertip save from Lyndon Tomkins in the 74th minute. Neil Smith headed a cross from Jason Burnham onto the roof of the net in the 77th minute and Andy Jones turned to hit a shot straight at Fisher in the 83rd minute. Substitute Andy Spencer rattled the Cinderford post in the 87th minute before Halesowen finally gained a reward for all their possession when Lee Collins headed into the top corner of the net from a Les Hines corner in the 89th minute. There was still time enough time for Halesowen to try to rescue a point but their miserable day was summed up when Cinderford cleared two injury time efforts off the line from Hines and Lee Knight.

IT'S PROBABLY FOR THE BEST

FAC Yeltz 0 Canvey Island 2

A very disappointing result, but at least it removes a distraction from the much more important promotion push. (OK I am clutching at straws)

We had high hopes before the game, and had maybe the better of the first half without ever threatening, but we're disappointed to go one down just before the break. I hoped we go hell-for-leather in the second half in a good old fashioned Shed End comeback, but despite some rousing support we never really got anywhere and after going two down it was all over. Canvey weren't as impressive as I thought they might be, but are obviously used to winning and did just enough to get through. Good luck to them in the rest of the competition.

In the league, Solihull beat Clevedon so we're still top of the table . Saturday brings Cinderford to Town to The Grove in a game that will hopefully bring us back to winning ways.

ULTRA SOLID

Yeltz 2 Sutton Coldfield 0

Another day, another victory, another clean sheet and we're still top of the league. Hurrah!

More of the same really. A solid performance at the back, two second half goals from Les (a pen) and Matty Hall and the mighty Yeltz keep rolling along. Solihull lost at home to Evesham who are now our closest rivals .

Saturday brings Canvey Island to town for a mouth watering FA Cup tie. They're probably the highest rated team in the competition at this stage, but with our current form it should be a very good game. Bring 'em on.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Clarke; Colwell, Burnham, N. Smith, L. Collins, R. Collins (Skidmore 85), Hall (Spencer 85), A. Jones, Giddings, Taylor, Hines. Sub: Knight

Sutton Coldfield Town: Bray; Moran (Behan 83), Randall (Gardner 70), Manton, Farmer, Whitehouse, K. Jones, Steele, Mitchell, Bellingham, Reece. Sub: Ling

Referee: R. Green (Berkley, Glos.) Attendance: 432 Booked: Mitchell (25)

Halesowen continue to go from strength to strength with another solid win to consolidate their position at the top of table.

A tricky run from Les Hines was blocked in the 13th minute and an Andy Jones volley from the rebound was saved well by Sutton goalkeeper Justin Bray. Five minutes later Lee Collins sent a long ball forward to his brother Ross, but Bray dived bravely at his feet to snatch the ball.

Sutton worked hard but rarely threatened in front of goal although Mark Bellingham shot wide in the 35th minute after Matty Hall was dispossessed in midfield. Halesowen goalkeeper Tim Clarke then spilt a deep 40th minute cross from Tim Steele but his defence escaped.

Halesowen turned up the heat in the second period with Bray collecting a dangerous low cross from Hall in the 46th minute and Ross Collins saw a header fly just over the bar a minute later.

The Yeltz went ahead from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute when Kerry Giddings surged into the penalty area and was blatantly up-ended by Stuart Randall with spot-kick expert Hines easily converting the resulting penalty into the bottom corner of the net.

Hall put Halesowen two goals to the good in the 61st minute when he hit Jason Burnham's swinging free-kick home from a tight angle with the Sutton defence static, expecting the ball to go out of play.

Halesowen confidently played out the rest of the game with man-of-the-match Neil Smith helping to maintain their ninth successive clean sheet.

YELTZ FANS ENJOY IT ON TOP

Yeltz 2 Clevedon 0

Another brilliant day. Two late goals from Jones and Giddings meant we jumped over Clevedon to lead the table . Followed by the excitement of the England game, it was quite a day.

Once again we kept a clean sheet. That's eight competitive games in a row now, definitely a record according to Chas who knows these sorts of things. There's a long way to go, but I don't think we could have hoped for a better start to the season.

Tuesday brings Sutton Coldfield - the only team to beat us this season so far - down to The Grove . Let's hope for another three points before the welcome distraction of Saturday's FA Cup tie against Canvey Island.

Match Report from DJ

Halesowen Town: Clarke; Colwell, Burnham, N. Smith, L. Collins, R. Collins, Hall, Jones, Giddings, Taylor, Hines. Subs: Spencer, Skidmore, L. Knight

Clevedon Town: Matthews; Lester, Thorne, Peters, Jeffries, Price, K. Knight, Callinan (Clode 59), Bayliss, Cook (Smart 79), Badman. Sub: King

Referee: A. Marriner (Birmingham) Attendance: 453

Halesowen marched to the top of the table in their seventh straight win at the Grove and set a club record of 750 minutes of football without conceding a goal.

The early 12.30 start produced a low-key start and both teams seemed to cancel each other out in the first half. Clevedon's Karl Bayliss drove wide in the first minute with the previous league leaders keen to shrug off the five goal mauling by Shepshed the week before. Andy Jones won a free kick on the edge of the area in the 4th minute but Les Hines hit the kick against the defensive wall. In the 18th minute the visitors dealt with a spell of home pressure with deep crosses from Richard Colwell and Hines. Tim Clarke saw Keith Knight's 20th minute free-kick late but made a good save from Tommy Callinan's low header. His opposite number Matthews collected Burnham's 25th minute cross at the second attempt.

Halesowen livened up after the break and Matty Hall's cross to Kerry Giddings almost caught out the Clevedon defence in the 46th minute. The turning point came in the 49th minute when Clarke dived full length to produce a superb fingertip save from Steve Lester's 20-yard drive. For Halesowen, Andy Jones turned and hit wide after 50 minutes and Giddings almost latched onto a weak back header from central defender Lee Jeffries, but Matthews raced off his line to clear. Giddings then battled through midfield allowing the influential Mark Taylor to set up Hines to shoot just over in the 65th minute.

Previous league leaders Clevedon missed a golden chance in the 75th minute when confusion between Clarke and Neil Smith allowed the ball to break to Karl Bayliss but he shot high with the goal at his mercy.

Just when Clevedon looked on course for a point, Halesowen crafted two late goals through the strike pair of Jones and Giddings. Ross Collins laid the ball off for Jason Burnham to cross in the 82nd minute and Jones poked the ball home from close range with Lee Collins also set to pounce. Two minutes later Jones broke free and set up fellow striker Giddings to sidestep his marker and crack home his seventh goal of the season from 20 yards into the bottom corner.

FANTASTIC

FAC Moor Green 0 Yeltz 2

Another clean sheet, and the mighty Yeltz keep rollin' along.

Goals from Jones the striker and Hall the winger capped another impressive display against a team a league higher. As said before the game, it would be an good test of how much we've improved from last year, and we passed with flying colours. We've drawn FA Trophy winners Canvey Island in the next round which is very exciting.

Thursday brings the Wolves to The Grove to the official opening of our stylish new floodlights. They've got no game at the weekend so might bring a decent team and there are rumours Steve Bull might turnout for us.

Don't forget Saturday's big game against top of the table Clevedon - who lost yesterday - kicks off at 12:30 because of the England game. Let's hope we can keep this brilliant run going.

Match Report from DJ

Moor Green: Rachel (De Bont 87); Gillard, Brighton, Crisp (Joyce 79), Gaunt, Hayde, Peer (Scheppel 64), Lamey, Gayle, Martin, Petty. Subs: Robinson, Mulholland

Halesowen Town: Clarke; Colwell, Burnham, N. Smith, L. Collins, R. Collins (Skidmore 68), Hall, Jones (G. Smith 82), Giddings, Taylor, Hines. Subs: Spencer, Knight, Garvey (GK)

Referee: M. Murphy (Coventry) Booked: R. Collins (17), Hayde (36), L. Collins (41), Gayle (47), Taylor (90) Attendance: 561

For the first time this season Halesowen started as underdogs in a contest that would show just how much progress has been made so far this season. The verdict was that Halesowen passed the test with flying colours against high-flying Moor Green to record a richly deserved win - the first defeat for Moor Green at home in 7 outings. Certainly recent results between the teams in cup ties suggested Halesowen were more than due a victory, but the nature of the win with Halesowen producing all the football on a superb surface delighted the large band of travelling fans.

Andy Jones headed a left wing cross from Les Hines just high in the 10th minute and it was no surprise when Halesowen went on to take a 20th minute lead. Kerry Giddings won a header in the penalty box and with defender Chris Gillard hesistating, Andy Jones pounced to slot home from 10 yards out. The Yeltz then enjoyed a purple patch with Lee Collins volleying into the arms of goalkeeper Rachel in the 24th minute after Ross Collins and Matty Hall put in some great work to win a corner. The visitors were unfortunate not to increase the lead in the 26th minute when Hines put Giddings clear and he skipped past the defence before rounding goalkeeper Rachel but Craig Gaunt somehow managed to clear the firm shot off the line. Hines hit a shot just wide.

Moor Green were unable to make much impression on the solid Halesowen defence in the second half and it was Jones who saw his 53rd minute header tipped over the bar by Moor Green goalkeeper Rachel. The Yeltz wrapped up the tie in the 78th minute when Giddings took advantage of a bad back-pass and as he tried to surge forward the ball broke for Hall to hit home with confidence.

To complete Moor Green�s cup woes, goalkeeper Rachel was taken off injured with three minutes to go and was replaced by ex-Stourbridge stopper Andy De Bont.

NO MESSING

Yeltz 3 Stourport 0

Six clean sheets in a row. Is this some kind of record?

An early goal from Andy Jones , and then two more late on from Kerry Giddings and Jones again led to yet another 3 points. We've now moved up to 3rd in the table . Things are going very well aren't they?

Saturday takes us back to Moor Green in the FA Cup , which will be a good test of our progress so far this season. Unfortunately I'm pretty confident :-)

A HARD EARNED POINT

Weston 0 Yeltz 0

Although losing Leroy May for answering back to sir, the mighty Yeltz dominated much of the play against Weston without being able to take all three points. Not too bad a result, but the way we've been playing recently you can't help to be slightly disappointed. Full details, as ever, in the match reports .

Tuesday brings local rivals Stourport Swifts to The Grove, and then on Saturday we're back in FA Cup action at Moor Green .

Match Report from DJ

Weston: Weaver; Leigh White, Hunt, Bird, Kilgour, Catley, A. Smith, Richards, Bevan, King (Lee White 62), Cox. Subs: Pugh-Jones, Butler

Halesowen Town: Clarke; Colwell, Burnham, N. Smith, L. Collins, R. Collins, Spencer (Hall 78), Jones (Giddings 68), May, Taylor, Hines. Sub: Skidmore

Referee: D. Hannis (Stonehouse, Glos) Booked: L. Collins (40), King (57) Sent Off: May (42) Attendance: 233

Halesowen were in control at Weston despite playing over half the game with only ten men after the dismissal of Leroy May. However they lacked the killer touch to turn their possession into goals.

Andy Spencer volleyed over the bar early on and Halesowen went on to dominate the first half with Ross Collins also going close with an 18th minute header. May was put clear on goal in the 25th minute by Lee Collins but Weston goalkeeper Steve Weaver raced off his line to smother the final shot.

The main talking point of the afternoon came in the 40th minute when referee Hannis decided to give a straight red card to Halesowen striker May for answering back.

Halesowen goalkeeper Tim Clarke was rarely troubled in the first half but twice saved bravely from Weston dangerman Jimmy Cox in the second half to maintain his fifth consecutive clean sheet. But it was the visitors who continued to create the better chances with a header from Andy Jones blocked on the line by Weaver in the 53rd minute and Les Hines sending a ball across the face of goal from the resulting corner. Lee Collins then headed just wide and near the end substitute Matty Hall hit another teasing cross across the goalmouth but there was no forward to provide the final touch.