REPORT: Quorn 2-2 Halesowen Town
By Dan Sheward
Quorn showed real grit and determination on Tuesday night as they battled back to earn a 2–2 draw against a strong Halesowen Town side at the Stotto Stadium. Fresh from a 2–0 win against Bury Town, Ryan Beswick’s men were eager to replicate a similar result, and there was a spot on the bench for new forward Kai Fifield, after netting his first Reds goal at the weekend.
Halesowen arrived sitting seventh in the table and full of confidence after a convincing 3–0 win over Banbury United, but it was Quorn who made the perfect start. It took just four minutes for the Reds to open the scoring. Captain Reece Fyfe picked up the ball in midfield with the Referee playing an advantage, staying composed, Fyfe, making his first start since an injury in the Enfield Town match, clipped a superb ball over the top for Simeon Cobourne. The Reds’ number 11 made no mistake, racing through and slotting low past Daniel Platt into the bottom corner to make it 1–0 against his former club.
The visitors reacted quickly and looked dangerous on the break, forcing Deen Master into an early booking after he halted a counterattack. From the resulting free kick, a short passage of play meant Jason Cowley almost produced something special, his looping effort was tipped over by Tom Allsopp in the Quorn goal.
The game soon turned scrappy, with neither side able to settle. Halesowen made their pressure count in the 16th minute though when a deep switch of play found Kyle Finn on the by-line. The winger managed to keep the ball in and picked out Cowley, who cut inside and whipped an unstoppable strike into the top corner.
Quorn almost hit straight back. Zak Goodson headed narrowly wide from a teasing Master delivery, before Cobourne again broke through on goal, only for Platt to race off his line and smother the chance.
As the half wore on, Quorn began to find their rhythm. They controlled possession and created the better openings, with Cain Noble going closest before the break, his late run into the box meeting a perfect Cobourne pass, but the finish flew over. Level at the interval, there was everything still to play for.
Halesowen came out flying after the restart, winning a string of corners and causing real problems in the box. A frantic goal-line scramble saw Master hack clear, but the pressure told soon after. In the 55th minute, another dangerous delivery from the right found Cowley at the back post, and the striker powered home his header to give the visitors the lead and complete his brace.
The goal jolted Quorn back into life. Cobourne almost equalised moments later, cutting inside and firing low only for Platt to pull off a superb save. Manager Ryan Beswick turned to his bench, bringing on Fifield for Noble as Quorn chased the game. The tempo lifted, with both sides trading blows in a frantic, end-to-end spell. Goodson and Cobourne both went close, while Halesowen struck the post and saw a penalty shout waved away as the contest opened up.
Beswick made a second change with Rodrigo Gonçalves replacing Billy Kee, and Quorn pushed forward relentlessly in the closing stages. Fifield came within inches of scoring, breaking through down the left and forcing another strong stop from Platt at his near post. At the other end, Halesowen missed a golden chance to seal it, dragging wide with only Allsopp to beat.
Deep into stoppage time, Quorn refused to give in and got their reward. From a late corner swung in by Master, the initial clearance led to a ball swung back in. A scrappy attempt to get rid of the ball fell kindly to Silvio Bello, who struck it sweetly through the crowd and into the net to spark celebrations, making it 2-2 with pretty much the last kick of the game.
A dramatic finish and a fully deserved point for the Reds, who showed real character to keep going right until the end. Beswick’s team end the night sat 3rd place in the league with focus shifting to an away trip to Bishop’s Stortford on the 1st of November.