Fan power is firing Stourbridge charge
Boss Gary Hackett has paid tribute to Stourbridge’s supporters as their promotion challenge rolls on to Stratford Town.
The table-topping Glassboys head to Warwickshire tomorrow aiming for a seventh win in eight Southern Central games.
Stour were 3-0 winners at rivals Halesowen Town in Boxing Day’s No.9 Derby to maintain their four-point lead at the summit and Hackett was delighted by the levels of support his team received in a 2,000-strong crowd.
He said: “The size of the travelling support was really pleasing. We must have been pushing on for nearly half of the crowd.
“Everyone works hard to make sure Stourbridge is a welcoming club.
“On top of that, we always try to play attractive football.
“There is a really good feel around the place at the moment.”
Hackett expects another healthy backing when his team travel to Stratford for a match which promises to be among the most testing of their campaign.
The hosts might sit eighth in the table, but they are among the division’s most in-form teams having won their last five fixtures.
With five games in hand on Stour, they cannot at this stage be ruled out of the title race.
Hackett said: “They are on a terrific run of form and we are expecting a tough game.
“We’re obviously going there with a lot of confidence.
“We’ve got a great set of lads this season, who are doing it for the right reasons.”
Both defender Jordaan Brown and midfielder Callum Powell could return from injury for the match.
Halesowen will aim to bounce back from derby disappointment and end a rotten run of form when they host Banbury tomorrow.
Despite an improved performance against their rivals, the Yeltz still slipped to an eighth defeat in nine matches and remain mired in trouble, one spot off the foot of the table.
Rushall Olympic host Coalville Town, looking to build on Boxing Day’s 1-1 draw with Tamworth, a result which snapped a three-game losing run.
In National League North, Kidderminster Harriers travel to fellow promotion hopefuls Stockport County targeting a happy finish to 2018.
Harriers fell to seventh in the table after their 1-0 Boxing Day defeat at Hereford, though they remain just a point behind tomorrow’s hosts.
“We have to move on. We’ve got to go up there with the mindset of keeping ourselves right in the pack,” said boss Neil MacFarlane.
“Hopefully then from January we can really kick on.”
