Match Preview | Barwell (H)

Halesowen host an in-form but relegation threatened Barwell in their penultimate home game of the season

Written by Ben Ditchfield

A nine unbeaten Yeltz face a Barwell side who have won four of their last six and scored 19 goals in their last nine, as Penn's side prepare for their penultimate home game of the season hoping for a eighth successive game at The Grove without defeat.

This is the 14th meeting between the two since Barwell were founded in 1992. The Yeltz have a poor record in that time, as the club have won just four times. In fact, the side have won just once in their last six against The Canaries, and only three of the 13 fixtures have featured more than two goals. The Yeltz lost 6-0 away from home against Barwell in 2015 and have not won in their last two against them at The Grove, after the most recent fixture saw Brady Hickey score a 93rd minute equaliser.

I spoke with Yeltz boss Russ Penn ahead of the match. “We picked up a good point against St Ives last weekend considering the circumstance. The adversity during the game stopped us from getting the result we wanted on the way to Cambridgeshire. I want us to start the game better against Barwell than we did last week. We started slowly, and I am not sure why, whether it was the travel, the warmup or the surface of the pitch. I am not one for excuses though, but when you do start slow it means you are chasing the game and have a lot of work to do. Jamie’s red card means that he will miss the one game, that being this weekend. He played for Tamworth during the week in their Senior Cup victory so he will be fresh and raring to be back for Leiston next weekend."

I also spoke to Penn about Jak Hickman, who could start his 12th successive game on Saturday. As well as McKauley Manning, who leads the way for the most assists this season for the club with nine. “Jak is a personality, a presence and has quality. But I want to see more of it from him, consistently all the time. He has the potential to be a top player and has helped the back four achieve a good defensive record this season. If I was to be critical of him. I want more of a threat in the final third if I am honest, getting more goals and assists because we need that from every position of the pitch going forward as a club. He has the potential to do it on a regular basis.

"Moving over to Macca, he is a fantastic player. I am not surprised by his high assist tally this season but am slightly by his goal count. He would say himself that he has not hit the numbers he would have wanted to on a goals basis. But he is an ever present for us, and just like Jak, he is good person to have around the group. Macca will be disappointed by his early miss against St Ives last weekend, but I have put extra pressure on everyone to improve in the final third so that we can hit the numbers that we need to finish as high as possible.”

On our opponents Barwell, the Yeltz boss had this to say. “We obviously went to their place and put on one of our best performances of the season. That feels like a long time ago now though, and they are now currently very high up in the form guide. They are fighting for their lives, and have signed some brilliant players this season, Ash Chambers, Victor Nirennold, Kane Richards, Tyrell Waite, and all have helped stable the club over the last few months. We need to be on it, because they have players like Brady Hickey and Ash Chambers who are in-form for goals. We know what Brady brings from midfield, and I have played with and managed Ashley, so I know exactly what their threats are and the positions they pick up throughout a match.

"Barwell as a team have underachieved over the last nine months. They are currently showing the form that they should have throughout the season. We know that we are going to play a team that are in the bottom half but are playing like a side in the top half. On the flip side, we are a team that could go 10 unbeaten this Saturday, and that is what our focus is on. I want high energy and the players to sacrifice things outside of football to help what they do on a Saturday. We have a great opportunity to achieve something massive, whether we finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th, it will fantastic either way.”

Canaries boss Jimmy Ginnelly has been in charge since Feb 2024. He was initally appointed as caretaker manager, before taking over the full job a month later. Ginnelly started his management career at Atherstone Town in 2004. He spent just under five years at the Warwickshire club, before joining Barwell in 2010. He spent a month as caretaker boss, before taking over the job as manager a month later. 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 at the start of last year forced him back to Barwell. He has been of charge of 55 games at the Leicestershire club, and achieved a 36% win ratio. All while scoring 81 goals and conceding 90.

Barwell have had five players feature 40+ times in their 43 matches across all competitions this season. Leroy Lita, Brady Hickey, Ethan Hill, Ollie Brown-Hill, and Deen Master. The top scorer Hickey has scored 18 goals this season, all of which in the league. The goalscoring midfielder has scored 10 goals in 2025, only bettered by Telford United’s Matt Stenson (16) and Bedford Town’s Leon Lobjoit (11). He has also scored 13 times in the second half of matches this season, and only Lobjoit (18) can boast a better record than that out of every player in the league this season.

Hickey is fresh as well, having scored a hattrick against Biggleswade Town last weekend, in his sides 3-1 victory over The Waders. Leroy Lita is the only other Barwell player to join Hickey on double figures for the season. The former Premier League striker has 10 this season, although to the opposite of Hickey, Lita is out of form and has scored just twice since the start of December. Other Barwell threats in the attacking third include Ashley Chambers who has six goals in nine games since he joined in February. But also, Deen Master and Ethan Hill, who have also scored six times this season. Barwell have not had many scorers though, only Leiston (8), and AFC Sudbury (10) have had fewer than The Canaries 11.

Key Seasonal Stats

Halesowen

League Position - 3rd

Season Record - PL43 22W 8D 13L 70GS 50GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - WWWDD

Top Scorer - Kieren Donnelly (25 Goals)

Most Appearances - Todd Parker, Jak Hickman & Ben Cassidy (42)

Most Starts - Conor Tee & Dan Platt (40)

Biggest League Win - 5-0 vs Lowestoft Town & Barwell (Away - 5th November & 14th December)

Biggest League Defeat - 4-0 vs Hitchin Town (Home - 21st September)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 9 Games (15th February - present)

Longest Winless Run - 3 Games (30th November - 14th December & 26th December - 14th January)