STOURPORT earned their first ever away win at Doncaster on Sunday to stay in touch with safety in Division One of the National Hockey League.
The 1-0 success was dominated by midfield exchanges and a solid defensive performance by the Stourport back line.
Their defence of Ben Senior, Gwyn Williams and Dave Tuckett-Good, backed up ably by Stu Hendy in goal, limited Doncaster's chances to just a handful despite the Northern side enjoying the majority of possession throughout the first half.
When Stourport did get the ball, they were found wanting in the final third, too often squandering possession attempting to force the play against opponents that tackled consistently well through the game.
The last action of the first half saw Stu Hendy turning the ball round his post from Doncaster's penalty corner specialist and top scorer, Stuart Boddy.
In the second half, Stourport continued to flatter to deceive in the final third with captain Phil Lashford squandering a good opportunity after Peter Gibbin's mazy run.
It looked like it would be Doncaster's day when Boddy found himself one on one with Stourport keeper Hendy who again denied the forward, smothering his shot wide of the goal.
Doncaster missed a gilt-edged chance when the post denied their left winger with the goal at his mercy.
Stourport went to the other end and Gibbin's pass found Westhead who squared to Rob Allen who calmly slotted home.
It was his first National League goal and hopefully could prove to be very important at the end of the season with Stourport desperate to preserve their current status.
Stourport played out the last four minutes with a packed defence and hung on for their first three points of the year.
They remain in ninth place in the league but within one win of fifth, making next week's game at home to Nottingham every bit as important as Sunday's victory. The game is on Saturday at 12.30pm at Stourport Sport's Club.
Dan Packwood put in a five-star performance with five goals as Stourport seconds won 7-5 at Bournville with Phil Baldwin and Luke Martin also on target.
There was a 3-0 win over Edgbaston for the thirds with Ben Kenyon bagging a brace and Rob Lashford also scoring.
A double from Dave Wardle helped the fourths earn a 3-3 draw at Leek with Max Totney also on the mark.
The fifths game was cancelled while the sixths had a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton and the sevenths were beaten 1-0 by Kings Heath.
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