Stourport Swifts 3 Redditch United 4

WITH two of Redditch's four away wins this season coming at Stourport, Walshes Meadow is becoming something of a happy hunting ground for United.

There is something about this fixture which guarantees goals and both teams somehow managed to deliver a game which rivalled the 5-4 League Cup classic.

Once again the Reds took a sseemingly unassailable lead, though it took longer then ten minutes this time.

After 23 minutes it was Richard Field who applied the finishing touch, off the crossbar, to a delightful flowing move which had seen Lee Knight and Nigel Niblett playing themselves out of defence before finding Field via Kevin Jones and Stuart Grosvenor.

And former Swifts player-coach Brendan Hackett made it two with a brilliant 30 yard effort which flashed past Rob Clarke into the top right corner a minute after the restart.

Once again the visitors generously allowed Stourport back in with three goals in eight minutes.

Matty Southwick was first, lashing one past Neil Olden for another top drawer finish on 52 minutes.

Three minutes later Alex Cowley and Richard Gardner linked up down the left and when Quentin Townsend blocked the latter's shot he succeeded only in looping it over the stranded Olden for Gardner to take advantage. A smart free kick routine completed a crazy spell for Redditch as Swifts made them pay for Niblett's foul on sub Tim Langford.

Ian Cottrill rolled it to Gardner whose cross was deflected up off Olden only for Cowley to score with a powerful header.

This time it was United's turn to hit back with another former old boy, Lea Shaw, replying with a rocket from fully 35 yards.

And United, once more, saved the best to last with Knight capping a titanic performance by lashing an excocet free kick through Swifts' five man wall to claim a dramatic winner two minutes into added time.