It was a result that made everyone sit up and take notice in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South as Stourbridge went to AFC Telford United on Tuesday evening and ended up taking three points back to the Black Country courtesy of a resounding 5-1 victory.
The Glassboys have seen plenty of changes this summer with a new management team and a whole host of new players arriving at the club, but it was one of the few players that remain from last season who set them on their way with Harvey Portman notching an early opener.
“The boys were absolutely unreal on Tuesday,” Portman told us. “We said before the game that there was no reason why we couldn’t go there and get the win. It was a great time to play them on the back of their opening day draw and we knew that we could hurt them.
“Even we didn’t expect to win quite so convincingly! The first two games of the season have been class; the squad is very new and we’re still learning about how each other plays, but it’s been a case of so far, so good.
“I’m playing in a slightly different role to last season as then I was more of a centre half, but I’ve started the first two games of this season at left-back and I have to say that I am loving it there.
“It felt great to find the net on Tuesday. I don’t score many so hopefully this can lead to me chipping in with a few more as the season goes on.
“The progress that we have made since our first pre-season game has been massive. There’s still a lot for us to do, of course, but the Gaffer and his staff have really worked hard with us and we’re buying into their vision.
“The Gaffer is very big on building a togetherness and brotherhood between the group. It’s served him well in the past and we’ve been able to show signs of that in these opening games.
“With it being such a competitive League, this will stand us in good stead. Watching over the summer, so many teams at this level were signing quality players, either from higher levels or bringing in highly-rated lads from lower levels.
“No game is a given and we have to ensure that we work harder than our opponents on any given day to have any chance of getting a result, whether that’s at home or on our travels.
“This is a big club and we have been at this level for too long now. You can see the ambition from the Chairman by bringing in the Gaffer from a higher level and we aren’t here just to make up the numbers any more.
“We’re here to push on and get this club to where it belongs.
“From a personal point of view, I don’t tend to set targets, but as a team we’ll just keep working hard and try to win as many games as we can so that come April we’re in the play-offs and pushing for promotion.”
A trip to Stamford awaits Harvey Portman and his team-mates at the weekend.
IMAGE: Anthony Dunn
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