Barwell 1 Stourbridge 1 - Report

An entertaining first half saw the Glassboys put some early pressure on the home defence with Brandon Hague looking particularly lively.

Barwell replied in style when Declan Towers overlapped Owen Story down the right. The midfielder delivered a fantastic cross but Mitchell Piggon was unable to steer his flick goalwards.

Wolves loanee Nicolae Carnat looked dangerous for the visitors, latching on to a long ball over the top before pulling his effort well wide of Liam Castle’s post while Barwell's Ryan Nesbitt saw his free-kick saved.

And it was Carnat who had Stourbridge’s best chance of the half, ten minutes before the break He let fly with a powerful effort from close range but Castle was up to the task, pulling off a fine stop to deny him.

The second half started at the same tempo to the game but it was the home side who began to dominate the opportunities with both Nesbitt and Jake Heath narrowly missing the target from distance around the hour mark.

Then, midway through the half, Stourbridge broke the deadlock under bizarre circumstances. Brad Birch made a run from what looked like an offside position, stopped, then took up the chase again after realising he had eluded the assistant’s flag. He duly rounded the keeper before tucking the ball away.

Buoyed by the goal, the Glassboys looked odds on to add to their tally with skipper Luke Benbow causing problems for the Barwell defence.

But with time running out, the home side grabbed an equaliser when substitute Ryan Baldwin turned the ball home from close range.

Barwell: Castle, Story, Nisevic, Stanley, Kay, Julien, Heath, Whitmore (Warmington 88), Piggon (Reid 61), Towers, Nesbitt (Baldwin 72). Unused subs: Bates, Hadland.

Stourbridge: Gould, Gallagher, Timmins (Hall 90+2), Hayden, Birch, Forde, Shearer (Cooke 88), Broadbent, Benbow, Hague (Cameron 64), Carnat. Unused subs: Cooke, Hawk, Antonio.