Match Preview | Stamford (H)

Jan 127 min read

Following a two week break Halesowen host Stamford in a 5th v 6th battle at The Grove

Written by Ben Ditchfield

The Yeltz, with their top five status under jeopardy, welcome an inconsistent Stamford side, who have not been able to string two wins in succession in the league since October, but who have failed to score just once in their last 13 league games.

This will be the 19th meeting between the two sides since the start of the 21st century and the fourth successive season that the two sides have met in the league here at The Grove. Despite the familiarity of playing each other, the teams have not met in the last year, following the postponement of the date that this game was originally supposed to take place last month, that saw Storm Daragh force the reschedule of the match.

The last meeting was in December 2023, when what was then Paul Smith’s Yeltz side turned up to The Zeeco Stadium in Lincolnshire. The Yeltz went a man down after half an hour because of Reece Mitchell’s red card, which later contributed to the side conceding three goals in just eight minutes after the hour mark, in their 3-0 defeat, with the hosts goals coming from Tendai Chitiza who got a brace and James Blunden, who then went on to get sent off himself, ten minutes after his goal.

The last game at The Grove came in September 2023, in a game that saw the Yeltz come out 2-0 victors in front of 1,031, in what has proved to be the sides only win in their last four against The Daniels. The former Yeltz player and fan favourite Simeon Cobourne scored both goals on the day, a player who is subsequently the only Halesowen player to have scored in the last four times this fixture has been played.

Radio Halesowen Town’s Ben Ditchfield caught up with Yeltz boss Russ Penn, ahead of the fixture today, “It is not ideal that we are playing another game on a weekday, but it seems to be happening to everyone, so we are all on a level playing field. We had a tough festive period, playing two away games in three days, the only side in the league to do so which was tough to take mentally, but we have dusted ourselves down, and come into the Stamford game fresh. The game will be about two sides who are both looking to get into the playoffs, but the league has been tight and bunched up over the last few weeks, so I think everyone has the right to have their expectations set on the playoffs.

“We are at home on Tuesday, and we prepare to win the game because we are fourth in the league, we have been in the playoffs for a long time now, but now we have that under threat, but look a week in football is a long time and the results in two or three games can quickly turn around your fortunes. They are very close to us right now, but our focus is on the next game, we have 19 games and if we win them all we can win the league, so that is how I look at it. They are a good team and I respect their boss Graham Drury, he is always in and around the playoffs, if not in it, he has been at them at this level for a number of years now and I spoke to him a lot when I was at Kidderminster and he was at Stamford, so I will be looking forward to picking my wits against him for the second time in my career.

"It depends how they travel and prepare, as for their chances of getting a result against us after their long journey down here, we had a long distance to travel ourselves when we went to Lowestoft on a Tuesday night and won 5-0, so it is all about how confident you are, how their players manage their bodies and trust me not all their players live in Stamford, I know a couple who live down the road actually, so I do not think it matters that much. I expect a tough game from them, they are well organised and are vying with us and others for the top spots in the league, they bring confidence after a comfortable win over Lowestoft last week, but they are inconsistent like us and are not putting good runs together.

“We have it in us to lose games unexpectedly and from good positions, so we might find it harder than expected on Tuesday, but we also have it in us to win a game like this comfortably, I have not made a lot of changes here since I joined but I have not needed to because the boys have proved why and their worth at the moment.

"We are in a fantastic position at the start of 2025, we are in the mix and are just five points from the top, all be it Kettering have a game in hand, but like for the rest of the games this season, I am looking forward to the test against Stamford. Graham’s story as the manager of the club could be one of the best stories to come out of non-league football over the last few years, but when you are at a club for as long as he has you breed consistency and that is what they have done. He is Stamford through and through and has done really well in his role, he has had the time to develop the club, not just the team and his rewards have come from that.”

This will be the third successive league game where Russ Penn’s side will be playing in front of a home crowd, as they look to turn around their form ahead of the trips to Sudbury and Stratford later this month. Another defeat on Tuesday will mean the side will suffer four successive defeats for the first time since April 2019 and four games without a non-penalty goal for the first timsince December 2018.

Stamford’s most recent trip on the road saw them come away with all three points in a convincing win on the east coast against Lowestoft Town last Tuesday. The side took the lead just after the half hour mark, through Tendai Chitiza. The side then went on to dominate the rest of the half and added a second in the first minute of stoppage time, through Tobias Liversidge. The Daniels completely dominated the start of the second period and eventually George Hobbins added a third just before the hour mark. The side were given the luxury due to the lead to make several substitutions in quick succession, before they saw the game out to put themselves in the playoffs for the first time since the start of November.

The Daniels currently have the 6th best away record in the league this season, and recently won less than 10 miles down the road against Halesowen’s arch-rivals Stourbridge, in their recent string of three successive away victories, the first time they have done that since February 2023 and the first time they have done it without conceding a goal since April 2022. Their boss Graham Drury has been in charge since November 2015, the second longest serving manager in the league behind St Ives boss Ricky Marheineke. Drury suffered relegation with The Daniels in the 2015/16 season from this level, and then went on to spend the resulting seven seasons at step 4, before they finally regained their step 3 status in the 2022/23 campaign, via the league title, in the same season and division that saw the Yeltz win promotion via the playoffs. He has overseen an incredible 388 matches, where he has picked up 194 wins, and his side have scored an incredible 701 goals.

This will be Halesowen’s 28th game of the season, but Stamford’s 27th in all competitions, and during that time 12 different players have managed to rack up at least 20 appearances this season for The Daniels. The most frequent player to feature in the side, is their captain Robert Morgan, who has played in every match and started 25 times. Morgan has scored four times during that time, six goals less than their top scorer this season Jack Duffy, who managed to claim double figures for the season in their final game of 2024 against Stourbridge. Both Russ Penn’s side and our visitors have had 13 different goal scorers across the season. Stamford are notoriously known for dropping leads and falling to unexpected and unexplained defeats this campaign.

They have scored the first goal in 16 of their 23 matches this season and 60% of matches across this and the last campaign but have been guilty of not taking full advantage of those leads, particularly this season. The side have recently fell to three defeats in their last eight matches when doing so, most recently against Harborough Town in their first game of 2025.

They have also lost six times in the last 26 occasions when they have been ahead at half-time since August 2023, more than any other side in the division and most notably against Bedford Town in October, when they went 2-0 up at the break before falling to a Leon Lobjoit hattrick in the second half. In contrast to all that though, they do claim some much needed character from a different situation in the long storyline that matches produce, in conceding first in a game. In the last 23 times they have done so, they have won eight of them since the start of last season, again a statistic that betters any other side in the league.

Key Seasonal Stats

Halesowen

League Position - 5th

Season Record - PL28 14W 3D 11L 49GS 39GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - WWLLL

Top Scorer - Kieren Donnelly (18 Goals)

Most Appearances - Todd Parker (28)

Most Starts - Ryan Wollacott (27)

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 - 6 Games (5th October - 16th November)

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