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Match Preview | Barwell (A)

Halesowen face a stern test away at a confident Barwell side this weekend

Written by Ben Ditchfield

The fifth best home record will go up against the fourth best away record on Saturday as the Yeltz fresh of a defeat on Tuesday night make the trip to Kirkby Road against a Barwell side who have lost just one of their last seven league games on their own patch.

This is the 13th encounter between the two sides in the last decade, with the sides before that having not played for over 30 years. The most recent matchup was Russ Penn's first game as Yeltz boss back in March, where the side fell to a 2-0 defeat due to goals from current club captain Brady Hickey and Beck-Ray Enoru, the latter subsequently left to join Tamworth the week after.

Halesowen's poor record in this fixture will give Penn's side a proper test as they look to put pressure on a slightly out of form Kettering Town at the top. The Yeltz haven't won in their last five encounters against The Canaries, with the last victory coming in August 2017 thanks to the only goal of the game scored by Luke Shearer.

Three players currently in the squad have managed to score against Barwell, something the club have only managed to do three times in five meetings. The soon to be suspended Ryan Wynter got the first goal in a 1-1 draw at The Grove in November last year, before a 93rd minute equaliser from Hickey. Adi Yussuf scored a brace against The Canaries in March for Kettering, while Conor Tee scored against them for Bromsgrove last November.

"I went there last night (Barwell) and they beat Kettering, they are a team full of energy on a 4G pitch, which they do really well on and pick up a lot of points. We need to be at it to get the victory, if not then like any game at this level, we'll get beat," said Yeltz boss Russ Penn during the week.

Penn's side come into the game this weekend after suffering a narrow defeat to Royston Town by one goal to nil on Tuesday night, that saw Ben Weyman's goal punish the ten man Yeltz despite dominating large periods of the game. It was the first league defeat since September and ended a run of 12 successive games in all competitions where the side had found the back of the net.

Ryan Wynter's red card in Hertfordshire during the week, means he will not miss this game due to the seven day period as to which the sending off was given having not kicked in yet. The Yeltz captain has only missed one game in the 58 the club have played in the league since he joined from Chasetown in summer of 2023, so a difficult period at the back could be approaching when the usual partnership of Wynter and Wollacott does temporarily get broken up.

The recent news that has seen Jordan Ponticelli move on from the club, will be seen as a huge blow regarding our title challenge. Ponticelli scored eight goals in the 10 games he played in a Yeltz shirt and struck a brilliant partnership with Kieren Donnelly, which saw the team score 19 league goals in the eight games since he joined, compared to the 11 in the 10 league games prior to his arrival.

After serving his one match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, Donnelly is back and will be looking to add to his 17 league goals this season. Donnelly has the chance on Saturday to become the first Yeltz player since Paul Joinson in 1989 to score in nine successive league matches, with the chance of beating Stefan Moore who managed to reach eight in succession in 2010.

Our opponents Barwell come into the game fresh of that 2-1 home win against Kettering Town on Monday night, thanks to a 93rd minute penalty from 39 year old Leroy Lita. The Canaries have enjoyed a plethora of fine results this campaign at Kirkby Road, which not only has seen them beat the league leaders, but also beat Telford by two goals to nil. They have also scored 12 goals in their last five league games at home.

Canaries boss Jimmy Ginnelly has been in charge since February 2024, when he was appointed as caretaker manager, before taking over the full job a month later. Ginnelly was also Barwell boss in 2010, where again he spent a month as caretaker boss, before taking over the job as manager. He was at the helm for eight years, before leaving to join Nuneaton Borough at the end of 2018, where he spent five years, before their plight led him back to Barwell.

The 61 year old, has been in charge of 36 games since he re-joined, accumulating 13 wins and scoring 54 goals. He did lose his first game in charge as caretaker boss, where they took a 4-0 hammering away at Stamford in February.

The game after that saw his side beat the Yeltz 2-0, before they went on a run of just four defeats in 14 home games, with their kryptonite being away fixtures, which has seen them win just three of 15.

Barwell possess two highly dangerous finishers in their ranks, with both club captain Brady Hickey and former Premier League striker Leroy Lita notching in eight goals in all competitions this campaign.

Fellow forward Ethan Hill has scored five as well as midfielder Deen Master. They are also a very well drilled side, with a team that picks itself, 10 of their players have featured at least 22 times this season in the 25 games they've played in all competitions.

Key Seasonal Stats

Barwell

League Position - 10th

Season Record - PL25 9W 5D 11L 36GS 32GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - LLWLW

Top Scorer - Brady Hickey & Leroy Lita (8 Goals)

Most Appearances - Ethan Hill & William Highland (25)

Most Starts - Ethan Hill & William Highland (25)

Biggest League Win - 4-0 vs Hitchin Town (Home - 26th August)

Biggest League Defeat - 3-0 vs Bromsgrove Sporting (Away - 16th November)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 4 Games (24th August - 10th September & 21st September - 14th October)

Longest Winless Run - 5 Games (6th September - 23rd September)