Halesowen Town 2, Ashton United 3

A GOAL crazy start to the second half from visitors Ashton United gave Halesowen too much to do to take anything from their game at The Grove today.

The Yeltz left themselves with a mountain to climb by conceded three quick-fire goals in the first seven minutes after play had resumed.

The devastating spell caught the hosts napping and completely turned the game on its head in the blink of an eye.

Hales had taken a lead into the break after Ashton captain Jason Gorton sliced the ball into his own net when attempting to deal with a low Tom Tonks cross from the right wing after just five minutes.

Gorton's afternoon was to get even worse ten minutes later when the skipper clashed heads with team-mate Tom Wilson.

A five minute delay saw the defender get to his feet following treatment but be replaced by Mark Haslem soon after.

The early exchanges saw both sides take it in turns to carve out openings in an end-to-end encounter.

Ashton's Kevin Leadbetter was the biggest threat for the visitors and nearly got in behind on numerous occasions.

It was home stopper Matt Sargeant that was the busier of the keepers as he was called on to tip a Leadbetter drive over the bar before rushing out well to block an effort from forward Martin Pilkington after 26 minutes.

However, after seeing off the Ashton threat, it was the Yeltz that ended the half the stronger. They kept the visitors pinned back with Tonks' troubling long throws and took their fortuitous lead into the break.

The game was turned on its head as Ashton came out firing in the second half.

Three attacks brought three goals and had Hales shellshocked.

First Lee Rick curled a sublime effort into the top corner from the edge of the box in a central position after Curtis Tilt had failed to deal with a straight free-kick into the home penalty area.

Then, just two minutes later, Pilkington drilled the ball home from distance. A long ball from keeper Phillips was allowed to bounce before being worked out to the left to Pilkington. He then hit a first half strike past the despairing Sargeant.

Finally, in the 51st minute, Pilkington hit his second to complete Halesowen's capitulation.

He burst between two defender before finishing expertly into the far corner to give his side a stunning 3-1 lead.

The Yeltz answered back well as Ashton looked content with their two-goal advantage.

Three times visiting defenders had to hack the ball off the line as pressure continued to mount.

Tonks, Haseley and Hull were all denied by last-ditch clearances in the second half.

Halesowen did cut the deficit in the 66th minute through Aaron Griffiths. He was on had to finish at the far post after a Tonks long throw was flicked on by Hull in the area.

In the end, it all proved too big an ask for a Hales side well shy in the goalscoring stakes.

Yeltz fans coming to the game could not have predicted this one. They have seen their team concede just five goals in their last eight games to give themselves one of the best defensive records in the league. However, they have also watched on as John Hill's men have failed to find the net in their last four fixtures.

The uncharacteristic defensive lapses with the second half barely underway ultimately gave the Yeltz far too much to do in a game where they had looked more than a match for their play-off chasing visitors.

Halesowen: Sargeant, Green, Griffiths, Forde, Hull (c), Tilt, Charlton (Turner 83), Tonk, Christie (Bragoli 75), Haseley (Daniels 75), Jones.

Unused subs: Mackenzie, Pearson.

Ashton: Phillips, Wilson, Pearson, Gorton (c) (Haslam 19), Higgins, Young, Rick, Gee, Johnson (Oates 81), Pilkington, Leadbetter (Robinson 74).

Unused subs: Hill, Sherratt.

Att: 405.