Stourbridge go away again in FA Trophy

The Glassboys were in the hat today after an impressive 1-0 win away to National League side Braintree Town took them into the last 16.

Avenue's tie at home to Nantwich on Saturday was postponed due to the weather, so the two teams will try again on Wednesday night.

And manager Gary Hackett claims the draw holds no fear for Stourbridge after their Braintree heroics.

They are now the lowest-ranked side left in the competition after Matt Dodd's second half goal earned them a famous 1-0 win in Essex on Saturday.

It was Stour's fourth victory over National League Premier opponents this season and earned them a place in the last 16 of the Trophy for the first time since 1973.

Hackett sees no reason why the run can't continue, saying: "Don't get me wrong, we are massive underdogs in this competition now.

"I suspect a number of teams will be hoping to draw us in the next round. But we will be dark horses against anyone. We have already shown we can raise our game and beat higher-ranking opponents.

"This season we have played five games against teams from the National League Premier and we have won four of them.

"A lot of people would say we were unlucky to lose the one we did against Eastleigh in the FA Cup.

"This is a draw we can look forward to. It promises to be another great occasion for Stourbridge."

Stour, who play in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier, had beaten Kidderminster Harriers in the previous round, while Hackett's men have also beaten both their local rivals and Dover in the FA Cup this term.

The manager admitted the latter result in particular has given his players an added confidence when they face higher-ranking opponents.

He said: "We had a confidence we could do it on Saturday. It is tremendous. When people saw the draw I think they might have feared the worst, but we have gone and proved ourselves yet again.

"I'm delighted for Matt, he is having a great season but does not get many goals and would like to add that to his game."

They have now beaten teams from the highest level of non-league football four times this season and this victory was, again, well deserved.

Continued issues with the pitch at Braintree's Cressing Road ground meant Saturday's game was the first held at the venue for several weeks.

While the surface proved tricky for both teams, Matt Dodd – on his 29th birthday – got the all-important goal when he scored from close range early in the second-half.

Stourbridge are into the last 16 of non-league football's premier cup competition for the first time since 1972-73.

And they are now one win away from equalling their best ever performance of a quarter-final place in 1970-71.

The win also means that the current run of five wins represents Stourbridge's best run in the FA Trophy.

The Avanti Stadium pitch passed an early morning inspection, but players were slipping regularly on the surface and the run of the ball proved unpredictable at times.

The Glassboys had to soak up a bit of pressure early on in the game, although the best chance for the visitors in the first half came on 16 seconds.

Michael Cheek was put through but Charlie Price saved the shot with his legs. Chris Lait went on a surging run, but his shot was charged down by the Braintree defence.

The next opportunity to score didn't come until 47 minutes, when a cross by Braintree's Dan Sparks was met by Cheek who should have scored but put his shot over.

Stourbridge looked comfortable though and more than capable of matching their higher level opponents, playing some good passing football.

They took their opportunity on 56 minutes when Karl Hawley put a low cross in, the ball came off Lait and Matt Dodd directed the ball into the net off the crossbar.

It could have been two when Sean Geddes saw a shot palmed away by Michael Crowe and a Kristian Green header hit the bar 11 minutes from time and bounced back out.

The final 10 minutes saw the Iron pushing forward, with Stourbridge looking to create what they could on the break.

But the Glassboys defence, led by skipper Stuart Pierpoint was resolute and the victory never really looked in danger.

Manager Gary Hackett was delighted with his men at the end. He said: "To come here and play like we did, particularly in the second-half, was a real achievement and I am proud of all the players.

"We could have won by more at the end but it was just a great result and it's nice to be able to have a run in this competiton, the players deserve every credit."