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Kieren Donnelly's hat-trick the highlight of a five star Halesowen performance that saw them thrash Lowestoft Town by five goals to nil
Written by Ben Ditchfield
Russ Penn's side controlled proceedings throughout and came away from the four hour trip to the east coast with three points thanks to a hattrick from Kieren Donnelly, which puts him on 10 league goals, the most of any player in the league.
The Yeltz number 9 also broke a long standing record of scoring in five successive league matches, the first player to do so since Ben Haseley in the 2013/14 season. Jordan Ponticelli and Conor Tee also got on the scoresheet in the clubs biggest away win since August 2022.
Yeltz boss Russ Penn stated, "The performance wasn’t as free flowing as last weekend, the pitch didn’t allow us to play like that, but we managed to find a way to win. We have done very well to beat an in-form side, a side that were four unbeaten and we have done it on their own patch, just everything was on point today.
"It has been tough today, we left at 1 o’clock and only stopped for 20 minutes on the way to the ground, but the fitness levels and the professionalism that we brought today was amazing and a credit to the boys."
Penn also singled out Kieren Donnelly for his man of the match display, "He has found his position and found a player who works with him, he is making goal scoring look easy at the moment and long may it continue because he is enjoying his football. He does everything, he is a team player and works hard, he optimizes what I want us to be as a team."
It took just ten minutes for the Yeltz to take the lead. Donnelly was able to pounce on a costly mistake at the back, that allowed him to punish the Trawler Boys to open the scoring.
The side doubled their lead just before half time, thanks to an advantage that was played by the referee after a tug on Josh Smile, he was able to pick out Ben Cassidy, who squared the ball across to Jordan Ponticelli who made no mistake from five yards out.
Conor Tee fired home for his third of the season and Halesowen's third on the night, before Ponticelli's saved shot was palmed out to Donnelly for the fourth and a pounce from the midfield to dispossess their opponents allowed for a comfortable finish for the fifth. All three second half goals were scored inside just 11 minutes half way through the second period.
The side were on top from start to finish, just after the opening goal, Ponticelli was at the heart of things as his through ball fed Donnelly, whose half volley forced Lowestoft's most recent signing Sam Blair to tip past the post. A minute after, he then executed an exquisite ball over the top to Tee who nearly found a gap to goal before the ball was cleared from danger.
The hosts had some guilt edged chances of their own, just four minutes on the clock, Joe Duffy went for an audacious lob over the top of Dan Platt, only for the ball to fly just over the bar. Some smart interchange half way through the half almost warranted the home side with an equaliser after some neat play between Louis McIntosh and Sam Johnson was only just cleared away.
Just before the half, McKauley Manning stood over a free-kick, that saw the ball by the narrowest of margins go out for a goal kick. The newly formed partnership of Jordan Ponticelli and Kieren Donnelly showed yet more signs of promise, as Ponticelli set free the Yeltz number 9, which allowed Conor Tee to pick up the ball in a dangerous area, before it was cleared.
Halesowen had not lost since March 2023, when leading at the break and had lost just two of the 30 games since the start of last season when scoring the first goal in a game. The side showed no signs of stopping the records early in the second period, on top of adding three goals, the side were able to dominate the ball in the middle of the park and cancel out their opponents.
Russ Penn's side limited their opponents to just the one chance, which came through their top scorer Harvey Sayer, who's blocked shot found the palms of Platt.
A Late second half chance, saw a Conor Tee effort cleared following some neat build-up between Ponticelli and second half sub Adi Yussuf, which later greeted the full time whistle to round off the perfects nights work for the Yeltz, that lifts the side from 8th to 2nd in the table, ahead of a huge month of fixtures.
Lowestoft: Sam Blair (GK), Dylan Ruffles (Robert Eagle 81'), Harry Barbrook, Owen Murphy (Kyle Haylock 46'), Travis Cole, Louis McIntosh (Benjamin Haddoch 81'), Joao Rangel (Gabe Overton 66'), Joe Duffy, Jake Reed, Harvey Sayer (Finley Whiteley 81'), Sam Johnson
Unused Subs: None
Yeltz: Dan Platt (GK), Ben Cassidy, Reece Mitchell, Josh Smile (Jak Hickman 74'), Ryan Wynter (C) (Nat Kelly 78'), Ryan Wollacott, Todd Parker, Conor Tee, Kieren Donnelly (Adi Yussuf 84'), Jordan Ponticelli, McKauley Manning (Musa Ceesay 61')
Unused Subs: Gabriel Bajrami (GK)
Man of the match - Kieren Donnelly
Attendance - 354