Birmingham Senior Cup - Second Round

Halesowen Town 1-0 Redditch United

Cup holders Redditch were knocked out of this year's competition by a battling Halesowen side.

Home keeper Dean Coleman, who had a spell with Reds last season, was barely troubled all evening, with defensive lynchpins Stuart Pierpoint and Nicki Preston outstanding at the heart of the defence.

The sides exchanged chances around the half-hour mark, with Chris Smith firing over for Halesowen while Dennis Pearce drilled a powerful effort at Coleman.

Craig Wilding then headed a corner over the crossbar for the visitors on 39 minutes and that proved costly, with the Yeltz taking the lead just seconds later.

Nathan Lamey whipped a ball into the area and while keeper Lewis Solly and his defenders watched, Dave Haywood nipped in to fire home from six yards.

Halesowen should have added to their lead after the break, with Nick Smith meeting a corner with a powerful header that Solly did well to turn over his crossbar.

There was another close call for the visitors on the hour when Lamey's looping header hit the crossbar and the former Moor Green striker was denied by a crunching Pearce challenge when through on goal 10 minutes later.

The final 20 minutes saw Halesowen sit back on their lead but for all Redditch's possession, they were unable to break through the solid Yeltz rearguard.

And with the game deep into injury time, there was a chance for the home side to double their lead when substitute Alex Cowley broke clear only to send his shot wide.

Halesowen: Coleman, Johnson, Haywood, *PRESTON, Pierpoint (Forsdick 82), Cooper, Steane (Cowley 65), Lamey, C Smith, N Smith, Skidmore (Amos 71). Subs (not used): Forinton, Pope.

Redditch: Solly 6, CLARKE 7, Pearce 6, Scheppel 6, Knight 6, Flynn 6, Moore 5, Doyle 5, Rickards 5, Wilding 6, Charlton 5. Subs (Not used): Creighton, Jenkins, Taylor, Cornelius.

Referee: Mr I Keane (Wolverhampton)

Attendance: 227