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Halesowen go five without a win on the road in a 2-0 defeat to Spalding United
Written by Ben Ditchfield
The Yeltz are now on their worst run on the road for almost five years and they have failed to score in three successive away games for the first time since November 2018 in their latest detrimental title race defeat, this time in Lincolnshire against Spalding United.
The Tulips opened the scoring half way through the first period. Bartosz Cybulski added his 12th league goal of the season, when the former Derby County academy talent received the ball following a link-up between Abduramane Sano-Sani and Dion Sembie-Ferris. Spalding's top scorer tripped over the ball, but quickly gathered it back into his path, which allowed him to hit through the legs of Ryan Wynter and past Dan Platt.
The second goal could not have come at a worse time for the Yeltz, but the chances dried up in the 18 minute period between the two goals. Spalding have had a purple patch in the 15 minute period before half-time, having scored 12 goals in that time slot, more than anyone else in the league. Sano-Sani played his part in the first, and added to his remarkable goalscoring tally of six goals in 12 Tulips appearances this campaign. A Kieren Donnelly flick on looked to find Musa Ceesay, but it missed the midfielder and allowed the hosts to counter. Reece Mitchell initially cleared a shot off the line from Joe Nyahwema, but he failed to stop Sano-Sani, who quickly followed it up into the net.
"In my opinion, i thought we were really poor today," said Yeltz boss Russ Penn. "We failed to show up in the first half against a very physical side, who play in these type of conditions really well. We thought we picked a team that would eradicate them and put us on the front foot, but we just were not on it, we looked leggy, tired and completely off it.
"Our away form against the top sides is really poor, and the performance in the first half proved the point. The second was better and if we had scored one of the chances we had, it would have been game on. It worked in the second half more than the first cause we changed shape and went more aggressive, but it was not to be, it is just important now that we move on and dust ourselves down ready for two big upcoming home games."
It was an end-to-end match in the early stages of the game, proved by the fact two big chances went begging for the two sides. Donnelly showed his ability to hold off the clutches of the opponent after a ball was played up to the Yeltz frontman. He moved the ball onto his right foot and forced a brilliant save from Aaron Chapman. Spalding proceeded to drive forward themselves at the other end, after a Yeltz ball forward to Ceesay was called offside. Chapman pumped the ball up the pitch to Nyahwema who whipped a ball into Sembie-Ferris, to head wide.
The Tulips failed to test Platt from their early effort, but eventually forced the Yeltz number one into a diving stop five minutes later. Nathan Fox, who covered virtually every blade of grass in his eye catching display, played a one-two with Nyahwema. When he received the ball back from Spalding's number 11, he found Cybulski in the middle, who forced the save from Platt. The Yeltz looked the most dangerous prior to the Tulips 25th minute opener, but Spalding had a number of efforts at goal themselves, that included a Kieron Freeman free-kick which was planted into Platt's gloves.
The Yeltz searched for the equaliser before the break, but failed to force a single save from Chapman. The second Spalding goal came as no surprise from the lacklustre Halesowen first half showing, but it could have got even worse for the side, as the game ventured into first half stoppage time. Nyahwema was allowed an awful lot of time on the ball, to play it into the box. Freeman, who scored his first league goal since 2019 last month, managed to get on the end of the ball, and hit a smooth strike that shuffled Platt across his goal to pull off a reflex stop.
Russ Penn's side needed a to find a spark to keep the game alive, as they headed into the second period. Ceesay and Josh Smile departed for Todd Parker and Charlie Wragg, and the latter only needed a matter of minutes to show his ability as an impact substitute, a trait he has shown in abundance since his loan move from Walsall. He turned Sam Cartwright, and should have got a goal back for the side, but after completing the hard work to fashion the chance, his effort was scuffed and went out for a goal kick.
His second involvement, early on in the second period, saw him win a corner, which was whipped onto the edge of the area. The Yeltz won a free-kick from the ball in, after a foul on Parker from Sano-Sani. Halesowen's set piece maestro Tee, played the ball into Ryan Wollacott, but as it made it's way to his head, the Spalding keeper made the alert decision to race out and get to the ball first. The loanee was involved a third time, on the half-way mark of the second half. He chased an aerial ball, which was initially headed away by Cartwright, but was quickly picked back up by Tee. The loose ball pick-up from the Yeltz number eight, allowed him to create a shooting angle on his right foot, and his effort was agonisingly put a matter of inches from nestling into the far post.
The Yeltz had a better outing in the second period, but failed to take advantage of the McKauley Manning's long awaited introduction just after the hour mark. Wragg failed to profit from a pin-ball scenario, that saw him fail to get a nick on the ball and divert in goalwards, which let the Tulips off the hook. A Tee free-kick was then cleared which allowed the hosts to break through Sembie-Ferris, but Mitchell did excellently well to block his goal bound shot from nestling into the back of Platt's goal.
An eye scratching moment happened minutes after, when a Yeltz corner was missed by Chapman. The Spalding keeper had a lot to be grateful for after his failed intervention, as multiple Yeltz efforts and a shot cleared off the line, saw the ball escape from the huge scramble and cleared away from danger. Mitchell shortly after made a huge last ditch tackle from a Liam Moore clearance from a Yeltz free-kick. A set piece situation which saw all but Mitchell come up into the Spalding half.
The chances of a Yeltz comeback became extremely thin as the side headed into the six additional minutes at the end of the match, but it still gave the side enough time to cause an anxious climax. Wragg chased after a ball, which seemed to set the forward on his way, but the ball evaded him and fell into the grasps of Chapman. The final effort of a miserable day in Lincolnshire for Halesowen, saw Manning's attempt to play Donnelly in over the top, thwarted by the intervention of Cartwright. The Yeltz managed to win the ball back and earn themselves a free-kick. The dead ball situation from Tee forced a remarkable stop from Chapman, which allowed the Tulips to see the match out and take all three points, to put a huge dent in Russ Penn's sides chances of putting pressure on the sides above.
Spalding: Aaron Chapman (GK), Glenn Walker (C), Nathan Fox, Liam Moore, Sam Cartwright, Dan Lawlor, Dion Sembie-Ferris (Khanya Leshabela 90+7'), Kieron Freeman (Jason Law 73'), Bartosz Cybulski (James Clifton 55'), Abduramane Sano-Sani (Lamine Sherif 66'), Joe Nyahwema (Callum Chettle 90+1')
Unused subs: None
Yeltz: Dan Platt (GK), Jak Hickman, Reece Mitchell, Josh Smile (Todd Parker 46'), Ryan Wynter (C), Ryan Wollacott, Milan Butterfield, Conor Tee, Kieren Donnelly, Musa Ceesay (Charlie Wragg 46'), Ben Cassidy (McKauley Manning 68')
Unused subs: Reece Flanagan, Adi Yussuf
Attendance - 516