WE'RE STILL FIGHTING

Dorchester 1 Yeltz 2

We had to win and we did. There's still a huge battle on our hands, but finally our improved performances under Brendan Phillips resulted in some points.

Dorchester went down to 10 men after just after the break, but then went and took the lead in the 76th minute. Thankfully we got an equaliser not long after from Peter Sutton and then a winner from newish bloke Ricky Otto , which moved us off the bottom to within an achievable 7 points of safety. More details of the match as soon as I get them, or if anyone who made the trip sends in a match report .

There's a new vote on the site - an online version of player of the season . The mailing list produced a very short shortlist, but mail me anyone else you think should be on and I'll include them. If I continue in this good mood I may even award a prize to the winning player :-)

Next game is a definitely winnable trip down to long-time friends Merthyr next Saturday. Believe it. We can do it.

Match Report from DJ

Dorchester Town: Ormerod; Sullivan, Harris (Diaz 80), White, Gittens, Impey, Lonnon, Oldbury (Jermyn 57), Murray, Sargent, Holmes (Groves 65)

Halesowen Town: Quy; Crisp, Burnham, Walker, Wood, Smith, Skidmore, Ince (Crawford 72), Sutton, Bailey, Hines (Otto 72). Unused Sub: Ford

Booked: Skidmore (23), Harris (33), Wood (37). Sent Off: Impey (55) Referee: K. Johnson (Bristol) Attendance: 426

Halesowen emerged as victors from their basement battle with Dorchester and prepared to go to Merthyr with renewed hope of achieving a survival miracle.

The first half was a grim affair with few goal scoring opportunities and confirmed why both teams find themselves in trouble this season. Peter Sutton forced the first corner for the Yeltz in the 16th minute and three minutes later a cross from Richard Crisp was easily taken out by goalkeeper Mark Ormerod. James Ince set Peter Sutton free in the 29th minute but his shot was blocked. Just before the break, Dorchester made a quick break through Andy Sargent, but Martyn Sullivan sent a cross well over the bar. Sullivan then touched a freekick to Marcus Oldbury but he also hit wide. Halesowen goalkeeper Andy Quy suffered a knee injury at the end of the first period, but struggled on through the game with a disappointing Dorchester unable to put him under much pressure in the second half.

Phil Wood and Richard Walker denied Sargent when clear on goal in the 53rd minute as they protected the hobbling Quy in goal. The game finally sprung to life in the 55th minute when Neil Smith played a long ball out of the Halesowen defence and Dorchester goalkeeper Ormerod missed his clearance under pressure from Dennis Bailey and as Bailey bore down on goal he was impeded by Jamie Impey. The referee gave Impey the red card and awarded a penalty to Halesowen but the visitors wasted the opportunity when the normally reliable Les Hines struck the spot-kick well wide of the right-hand upright.

With Halesowen starting to edge the balance of play against ten-man Dorchester, Bailey set up Smith but he blasted over from just 8 yards out. Sutton then headed a cross from Stuart Skidmore into the arms of Ormerod. As so often this season, the visitors were made to pay in the 73rd minute when substitute Matt Groves hooked home a corner from Martyn Sullivan to take the lead with Halesowen failing to clear the danger. However, the Yeltz levelled within a minute with Sutton following up to score when Bailey's effort was blocked by Ormerod. Wood then cleared a cross from Rob Murray with a diving header. Halesowen held their nerve and went on to claim all three points with a tremendous finish by ex-Birmingham City forward Ricky Otto who took the ball on from a midfield pass by substitute Michael Crawford before calmly slotting home beyond Ormerod in the 83rd minute. The win meant Halesowen exchanged places with Dorchester in the league table.

ANOTHER NAIL

Yeltz 0 Weymouth 2

It isn't going to happen. Another loss in a game we just had to win, and despite playing reasonably well at times that's 4 losses in a row and we're deservedly bottom of the league .

We looked quite dangerous in the first half and we were a little unlucky to be behind - but how often have we said that recently? In the second half we never looked like getting back into it, and a late second for the visitors killed off any hopes of recovery. With Folkestone beating Dorchester we're now 10 points from safety with only 9 games left .

Saturday brings a long trip to fellow strugglers Dorchester , stoopidly still kicking off at 3pm despite the England game being on at the same time. This really is the last chance, but to be honest even if we do win it's unlikely we can get safe. Still, positive vibes and all that.

TYPICAL OF THIS SEASON

Moor Green 3 Yeltz 2

I could have copied one of many news items from this awful season here and it probably would have been reasonably accurate.

We played pretty well, fought back from a goal down to lead 2-1 (goals from new bloke and new bloke), but still managed to lose via a late-ish penalty and a last minute winner after we'd missed a sitter.

That makes it a wonderful 10 points from the last 18 games. We can still stay up, especially as we've got a relatively easy run in but I reckon we'll need at least 17 points from those last 10 games. Trouble is we've been saying similar things for weeks and the equation just gets harder and harder.

Take the opportunity to do something fun this weekend - thankfully we've got no game on Saturday. Unfortunately it's more stress next Tuesday when Weymouth visit The Grove.

BOTTOM AGAIN

Yeltz 0 King's Lynn 4

Plenty of changes both on and off the field, but getting stuffed in a game we really had to win takes us back to the bottom , seven points off safety and to be honest looking all but relegated.

By all accounts we started brightly and should have been ahead before letting in two goals just before half-time. Two more KL goals in the second half led to what must be our largest defeat at The Grove for years? - I'll leave that as homework for those of you who want to find that out.

There have been several signings this week - DJ has been providing the info (as usual) on the Mailing List , but if you're not on that (and why not?) you can see the archives at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yeltzland for all the details.

There's also been big changes off the pitch - not only a new manager and assistants, but Ron Moseley has decided to step down as Chairman, to be replaced by Nigel Pitt . It's unfortunate Ron felt it's time to step down, but I'm sure he'll be ably replaced by Nigel. Good Luck!

Tuesday takes us to Moor Green in a rearranged league game, and then we've got a free Saturday next week.

A BATTLING LOSS

Margate 1 Yeltz 0

Well we worked very hard to bore the league leaders into submission and there was only one chance I can remember in the whole game. Unfortunately it fell to them, and our first game under new manager Brendan Phillips was a not too unexpected 1-0 defeat.

New bloke defender (Richard Walker I presume) looked particularly solid at the back, but I can't even remember our attack having a shot.

We're now into a run of games that we can and MUST win, starting with King's Lynn at The Grove on Saturday.

PHILLIPS APPOINTED MANAGER

King's Lynn 2 Yeltz 2

This is the official press release from the club:

PRESS RELEASEHalesowen Town have moved swiftly to bring on board the highly rated Brendan Phillips to oversee total team affairs after Alan Moore's decision to resign as Manager to enable the club to preserve their current premier status. Alan is prepared to stay at the club in any capacity to help Brendan achieve the mammouth task to survive with 13 games to play. The Board have decided yet again to dig deep into their pockets because they honestly believe Halesowen Town can survive premier status. The Board are now looking for the same commitment from our supporters to come along, have faith and support us in our remaining home games and chant us on for maximum points. LET'S STICK TOGETHER. The Board would like to thank Alan for all his efforts and hard work during the season and also wish Brendan all the best until the end of the season.Nigel Pitt Director of Football

Match Report from DJ

King's Lynn: Martini; Dakin, Clark, Lenagh, Fuff, March, Anderson, Hayes, Bush (Palmer 66), Rowland, Puttnam. Subs: McNeil, Suiter

Halesowen Town: Quy; Crisp, Ford, Comyn, Collins (Creighton 74), Skidmore, Mason (P. Lloyd 63), Sutton, Bowen, Smith (Owen 61), Hines

Booked: Rowland (90), P. Lloyd (90) Referee: G. Capps (Kettering)

Ex-Nuneaton Borough supremo Brendan Phillips takes over the Halesowen hot-seat from the unlucky Alan Moore who saw his improving side battle back for a late equaliser after appearing to be in control early on.

Halesowen started brightly and it was no surprise when they took a 16th minute lead against a weak looking home side. Jon Ford sent a long ball forward from the halfway line which beat the home defence and Peter Sutton had the easy job of rounding goalkeeper Chuck Martini before side-footing into the net.

However, the Yeltz allowed the Linnets back into the game with their first real effort on goal in the 26th minute. Andy Quy only partly punched clear a free-kick from the troublesome Dave Puttnam and the ball fell invitingly for Glen Fuff to hammer into Quy's unprotected net from 15 yards.

The home side went on to take the lead four minutes into the second half when Puttnam's through ball beat the Halesowen rearguard and Simon Bush slotted home from the edge of the area.

With Halesowen reduced to their last 10 fit squad players in the latter stages, King's Lynn went close with a close range flick through ex-Yeltz forward Lyndon Rowland and had a penalty appeal by Fuff turned down in the 67th minute.

With 12 minutes remaining, Les Hines stunned the home crowd and grabbed an important point for Halesowen when he curled a 20 yard free-kick into the top corner with goalkeeper Martini stranded on the rocks.

JUST A POINT

Havant 0 Yeltz 0

A hard fought point. By all accounts it wasn't much of a game, with neither team looking much like scoring. I guess three points would have been better, but at this stage any points are better than none. We're still bottom and with Folkestone winning at Burton we're still a long way from safety, but at least we're battling.

Saturday brings the second leg of this epic road trip we're on at the moment with a long trip to the flatlands of King's Lynn . A win would be lovely, please.

Match Report from DJ

Havant and Waterlooville: Nicholls; Anstey (Connolly 84), Price, Cook, Gale, Daish, Wood, Blake, O'Rourke, Leworthy, Champion (Taylor 77). Unused Sub: Wakefield

Halesowen Town: Quy; Crisp, Ford, Comyn, W. Lloyd, Skidmore, Mason (Sutton 73), Xiourouppa (P.Lloyd 79), Bowen, Smith, Hines. Unused Sub: Creighton

Booked: None Referee: D. Miller (New Milton)

Hard-working Halesowen were full value for a crucial point at in-form Havant and Waterlooville who had bagged 12 goals in winning their previous 3 home games. Inspired by captain Neil Smith, the visitors closed down their hosts at every opportunity and restricted their goal-scoring attempts.

Sam Bowen volleyed wide from a Les Hines freekick in the 4th minute for the visitors and a minute later Dean Blake blasted wide at the other end in a sterile first period.

Halesowen's resilience continued in the second half with youngster Stuart Skidmore tenacious in midfield and Costas Xiourouppa producing some dangerous attacking runs. Blake managed another half-chance before Richard Crisp cleared Ben Price's cross off the toe of Jamie O'Rourke in the 62nd minute. The Yeltz then had a spell of domination and Paul Nicholls saved well from Bowen midway through the second half after a clever combination between Costas Xiourouppa and Crisp.

The Hawks almost snatched a winner with the best chance of the game in the 78th minute when O'Rourke met Price's cross but his looping header rebounded off the inside of Andy Quy's post, allowing the Halesowen defence to hack clear.

Halesowen introduced Peter Sutton and Paul Lloyd as late substitutes and held firm for a point in their third encouraging display in row in which only one goal has been conceeded.

BRILLIANT!

Yeltz 3 Salisbury 0

Just like the old days. A dynamic performance from the mighty Yeltz blew Salisbury away to give us some hope (at last) of avoiding the drop.

We started positively right from the start, with young Skidmore and Smithy particularly excellent in the centre of midfield. We had most of the pressure and finally took the lead when SamBo headed home from a well-flighted Crispy free-kick.

Second-half was more of the same. We were passing it about well, although it was from a fantastic shot from Skidmore from 30-odd yards that we extended the lead. After a third from a deflected Bowen shot , we could stop checking our watches quite so often. Hurrah!

Stating the obvious I know, but if we can play like that in the remaining games we can get out of the drop zone. A fantastic performance from everyone today - let's hope that gives us a much needed shot of confidence.

Two more crucial away games coming up - Tuesday takes us down to Havant before another long trip on Saturday to King's Lynn . Both teams are in the bottom half of the table so let's hope for some more points. BELIEVE! WE CAN STAY UP!

NOT BAD IN HAPPIER TIMES

Burton 1 Yeltz 0

An excellent result really considering our current form, but despite only losing 1-0 away to the league leaders unfortunately it's another step closer to the relegation. More info on the game in the match reports .

Saturday will be the start of the long march to safety with victory at The Grove against 4th placed Salisbury . We ARE going to stay up, and the turning point WILL be on Saturday .

NO CHANGE

Bath 4 Yeltz 0

I guess the headline's not strictly true. We're now 4 points off the bottom as several of our relegation 'rivals' once again gained points.

Two goals in either half meant an easy win for Bath, who to be fair haven't lost at home in the league since we beat them last season(!). Just to make things worse - if that could be possible - Steve Pie-arce was taken off injured too .

I hate to think what's going to happen on Tuesday when we visit top of the table Burton , before next Saturday brings Salisbury to The Grove.

Match Report from DJ

Bath City: Bibbo; Clode, Walker, Harrington, Towler, K.Lloyd, Tisdale, Colbourne, Fraser, Paul (Hughes 84), Allison (Gosling 78). Sub: Bodin

Halesowen Town: Quy; Crisp, Comyn, Wood, W. Lloyd (Mason 45), Ford, Carter, Piearce (Xiourouppa 32), Bowen (Sutton 78), N. Smith, Hines.

Booked: W. Lloyd (16) Referee: M. Gooding (Bristol) Attendance: 686

Bottom of the table Halesowen crashed to their worst league defeat for 10 years and were sunk by two early goals from Bath, who had previously failed to win themselves for six games.

Twerton Park had been a happy hunting ground for the Yeltz in earlier seasons so the travelling fans had hopes of claiming some points in the increasingly desperate fight against relegation. Nick Carter sliced his shot in the 11th minute after Neil Smith set Sam Bowen free but it was generally a dull start in soggy conditions. Bath then raced into a two-goal lead with the help of sloppy Halesowen defending. In the 13th minute Mark Clode's cross from the right found Sam Allison with all the time and space in the world to calmly slot past goalkeeper Andy Quy. Five minutes later Phil Wood fouled Martin Paul 22 yards out and Scott Walker hammered the free kick directly into the top corner beyond Quy to increase the lead. Quy then made a fingertip save from Martin Paul on the half-hour as the home side poured forward.

Steve Piearce limped off with a recurrence of an old hamstring injury to be replaced by Costas in the 32nd minute and with Bath in control an effort from Jimmy Fraser dipped just over the bar in the 42nd minute. The long suffering away fans had little to lift their gloom although Neil Smith reversed the one-way traffic in the 45th minute when he brought out a fine save from Sal Bibbo from a Nick Carter cross.

Manager Alan Moore and assistant Gary Hackett rung the half-time changes by replacing Wayne Lloyd with wide-man Michael Mason, but could not bring about a change in fortunes. Paul shot at Quy in the 52nd minute following a poor clearance by Phil Wood and at the other end Bowen headed straight at Bibbo from Richard Crisp's cross after good work by Mason. However, Bath pulled the plug on any Halesowen revival in the 63rd minute when Walker set up Allison to fire home from 10 yards off the post. Costas Xiourouppa worked through the Bath defence in the 80th minute but Crisp's resulting shot was blocked. Quy then made a great fingertip save from Fraser but Graham Colbourne completed the agony for the ragged visitors a minute from the end when he flicked the ball past Quy after a cross from substitute Jamie Gosling. This was far from ideal preparation for the visit to league leaders Burton Albion on Tuesday evening.........