A good away performance from Needham Market earns the Suffolk side a well earned point against Stourbridge.
Manager Kevin Horlock made 3 changes to last Saturday's defeat at Coalville Town, Harry Knights, Jamie McGrath and Tom Fitzgerald started on the bench as Jacob Lay, Noah Collard and Ross Crane returned to the starting eleven, while Kaan Bennett returned from injury in the bench.
In truth the game was a tight affair with very few shots on target.
The first chance of the afternoon fell to the home side, Reece Styche broke through on the right-hand side of the box only to laser a fierce strike at a tight angle just wide of the bottom far corner after just 2 minutes.
Needham on the other hand had a great chance on 10 minutes, Ross Crane weaved through well down the right wing before smashing a great low ball across the face of goal which just evaded Jacob Lay running in at the far post as the ball went just wide for a goal-kick.
While Reece King headed over from a Stourbridge corner two minutes later, the Marketmen went agonisingly close on 15 minutes. Great play from the away side, sporting their yellow away kit, saw Kyle Hammond threaded through into space down the right-hand side of the box, the fullback drove onto the byline to deliver a sumputous cross into the six yard box which Noah Collard headed onto Ross Crane only for the winger to head just over the bar from point blank range at the right-hand post.
The first shot on target however arrived at the other end, a terrific flying save from Marcus Garnham after 35 minutes, across to his top right-hand corner saw the goalkeeper smartly beat behind Tyler Lyttle's dangerous free-kick from 30-yards, which was curling into the top near corner.
Four minutes later, a passage of head tennis in the Glassboys' penalty area saw Dan Morphew head the ball goalwards only for goalkeeper Charles Price to claim his effort well.
The Marketmen who controlled possession well, and were on top from midway through the first half, had the last chance of the first half a minute into stoppage time. A great left wing free-kick from distance was lofted across to Keiran Morphew at the far post who headed the ball dangerously towards goal in search of Patrick Brothers, the midfielder got there first, only for see the goalkeeper narrow the angle well to smother and then gather possession.
In truth the game never fully sparked into life, although there were still a handful of good chances after the restart.
The first of which fell to the away side five minutes after the interval, Luke Ingram latched onto a great defence splitting pass into the penalty area, only to fire his shot over the top right-hand near corner.
The Marketmen then went close to breaking the deadlock on 54 minutes, Ross Crane broke through onto the right-hand side of the box only to see his low shot blocked away by Christopher Knight, while the resulting right wing cross into the six yard box forced the same defender to just turn the ball over his own crossbar for a Needham corner.
While Needham enjoyed a spell of successive corners on multiple occasions, the home side did create some good chances with a good strike from inside the box well blocked on 67 minutes.
Four minutes later a good save from goalkeeper Marcus Garnham preserved Needham's clean sheet, diving down smartly and quickly to his right-hand side to beat away Reece King's low strike across goal before Jason Cowley could only the rebound fire over the crossbar on the volley.
Again, Garnham thwarted the home side with another great stop on 76 minutes, a right wing free-kick was lofted in dangerously to the far post finding Joel Kettle towering above only for his header to be beaten away well by the shot-stopper down to his bottom right hand corner.
The Marketmen meanwhile saw a good through-ball towards substitute Jamie McGrath gathered well by Price after 80 minutes, while another great chance for Needham followed 3 minutes later with the winger's low ball across the face of goal cleared behind for a corner.
Patrick Brothers then saw a fierce strike from the edge of the box crucially headed over for a corner in the 84th minute, before Kaan Bennett saw a close range shot well blocked from a corner two minutes later.
The last chance for either side soon followed in 87 minutes, after Jamie McGrath's shot in the box was blocked the forward showed great tenacity to win it back and tee up Patrick Brothers in the right-hand edge of the box only for the midfielder's curling audacious strike towards the top far corner to be superbly held by the diving Price.
A deserved point for the Marketmen to end a run of four consecutive away games, as Horlock's side now look ahead to two home games in a week - starting with the visit of Hednesford Town on Tuesday (7:45pm).
Stourbridge:-
1 Charles Price
2 Tyler Lyttle
3 Demico Burton
14 Alexander Prosser
5 Joel Kettle
6 Christopher Knight
7 Reece King (c)
8 Alexander Moore
9 Jason Cowley
10 Reece Styche
11 Darryl Knights (73' Walters)
Subs:
12 Finley Holmes
15 Jack Wilson
16 Harry Lewis
17 Joseph Hull
18 Dexter Walters
Needham Market:-
1 Marcus Garnham
2 Kyle Hammond
3 Jake Dye
14 Christian Frimpong
5 Keiran Morphew (c)
6 Daniel Morphew
7 Jacob Lay
8 Noah Collard (77' McGrath)
9 Luke Ingram (60' Bennett)
10 Patrick Brothers
11 Ross Crane
Subs:
12 Tom Fitzgerald
15 Harry Knights
16 Jamie McGrath
17 Taykaan (Kaan) Bennett
Booked: Cowley (45'+3'), Ingram (59'), K.Morphew (79'), Kettle (88').
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