novmr

STEVE Giles marked his 400th appearance for Shawbury United with a trademark goal - his
361st strike for the club - but there was to be no happy ending to his big day as Bustleholme
ran out 3-2 winners at the Butler Sports Ground.

Shawbury's below par display came as a bitter disappointment to joint managers Alan
Smith and Delwyn Humphreys as they failed to take a golden chance to cement their top five
place in the West Midland League Premier Division.

Shawbury have no problems winning on their travels , having already won six away games ,
but they have now claimed victory in just two of their seven home games this term , losing
three of them , a worrying trend the management team are keen to correct .

Smith pulled no punches with his verdict on Shawbury's performance , particulary their
lacklustre first-half showing on a day they only had themselves to blame for the result .

Smith fumed : " The first halfwas without doubt our worst 45 minutes of the season by far.
We were shocking .

" We were out-played , out-thought , and out-fought , and there can be no excuse as we
conceded three bad goals .

" We are not holding any individual to blame as it was just a poor team performance .

DISAPPOINTING

" It was very disappointing as if we had put more effort into the first half we could have
won the game so we have only ourselves to blame .

" But we cannot take anything away from Bustleholme as they took advantage of our poor
first half and finished their chances well."

Bustleholme took an early lead with a goal from a corner , but Shawbury were soon level
when Giles marked his 400th appearance for the club with yet another goal , a remarkable
361st in Shawbury colours .

It was the only highpoint of the first period for the hosts as Bustleholme twice hit back to
move 3-1 ahead at the halfway stage.

Shawbury were much more determined in the second half and James Mackenzie , their
recent signing from Colwyn Bay , gave them hope by grabbing his first goal for the club.

But there was to be no fightback as Shawbury suffered their fourth defeat in 15 league
games this season.

Shawbury hope to bounce back when they travel to Lye Town on Saturday.

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Shawbury's poor performance took the gloss off striker Steve Giles's 400th game for the
club as they slipped to a disappointing 3-2 home defeat against Bustleholme .

The loyal frontman marked the milestone with a goal- but later found himself limping out of
the action with an achilles injury during a miserable afternoon at their Wem based club.

Manager Alan Smith paid tribute to Giles for a " wonderful achievement " although he
admitted the Shawbury stalwart would of liked to to have celebrated the occasion in winning
fashion.

" Steve's done magnificently and he is a great servent for this club with the amount of
games he has played and the goals he has scored ," said Smith , who presented the player
with a silver salver after the game.

" It's a shame we couldn't have marked it for him with a better performance and a better
result but never mind.

" He did get us a goal which is nice is a way to cap his 400th game off but we did lose him
with an injury during the game which was frustrating for us and for him."

Smith pulled no punches about the team's general disply describing "the worst 45 minutes
of football we have produced since I've been involved."

Shawbury conceded an early goal from a corner and, although Giles pulled then level on 18
minutes, they let in another pair of soft goals to trail 3-1 at the break.

A stern half time talking to from Smith and joint manager Delwyn Humphreys did the trick
and a much better second half showing saw James Mackenzie pull another goal back but it
was too little, too late.

"I think it was one of those days where things just didn't happen for us and we had a
collective off day, " added Smith.

" We improved as the game wore on but we'd given ourselves a mountain to climb. "

SHAWBURY United goal-machine Steve Giles will be hoping to mark his 400th appearance for
the club this weekend by adding to his remarkable haul of 360 goals.

The prolific Giles , a tremendous servent to Shawbury down the years , has turned down
offers from other clubs to remain loyal to Shawbury , playing a key role in the climb the club
have enjoyed through the divisions.

Now his joint managers Alan Smith and Delwyn Humphreys , both big admirers of Giles , hope
the little striker crowns his 400th appearance for the club with another goal when Shawbury
take on Bustleholme at the Butler Sports Ground in Wem on Saturday 2.45pm.

Giles , almost inevitably , was on target last weekend as Shawbury , inspired by a hat-trick
from his in-form strike partner Andy Oakley , ran out 4-1 winners at Smethwick Sikh Temple to
rise fifth place in the West Midland League Premier Division table.

Shawbury were delighted to notch a six th away win of the campaign as their superior
fitness came into its own.

BATTLED

Joint boss Smith said : " Smethwick are second-bottom but it was anything but easy as
Smethwick battled hard and were in no mood to give us the three points.

" The game was no classic and it was proved again that there are no easy games in this
league , but it was our fitness that won it for us. "

Shawbury took a 13th minute lead when Oakley , who joined the North Shropshire club after
a spell in the Belgian league , fired home a stunning 25-yard thunder-bolt .

A fine save from visiting keeper Mark Jones kept Smethwick out just before the break but
the home side managed to pull level five minutes into the second half .

That was the cue for Shawbury to up their performance level and Oakley's second goal of
the game , a sharp finish from a set piece , restored their advantage .

Giles then got in on the act with a blistering shot from 18 yards which whistled past the
keeper and there was still time for Oakley to complete his hat-trick on another productive
afternoon for on-song Shawbury.

Shawbury United have taken over as Shropshire's leading representatives in the Express &
Star Premier Division.

A record of just one defeat in the last 10 games , coupled with Newport's recent slump , have
seen the team jointly managed by Delwyn Humphries and Alan Smith climb into the top five.

Smith is delighted to see his team above county rivals Newport and Market Drayton Town but
refusing to take anything for granted.

He said : " It's nice to be No 1 in Shropshire but there is still a long way to go.

IMPRESSIVE

" It is all going very well at the moment but we know there are some awkward times around
the corner when we are going to face difficulties. "

Shawbury were not at there best on Saturday but still managed to maintain their impressive
recent run with a 4-1 victory at second from bottom Smethwick. Andy Oakley opened the
scoring with a 25 yard thunderbolt but the hosts were back on level term just after half-time
from the penalty spot .

But United then took control and two more from Oakley to complete his hat-trick and one
from Steve Giles guaranteed the three points.

SHAWBURY UNITED'S joint manager Delwyn Humphreys has set his in-form side the target of being
handily placed to mount a strong push for West Midland League Premier Division honours in the new
year.

The Butler Sports Ground club are sitting pretty in seventh , with games in hand on several of the
teams above them , much to the satisfaction of Humphreys and his fellow boss Alan Smith.

" I'm happy where we are at the moment , sat just in behind the leaders , " said Humphreys . " I've
told the players we have to keep winning and i want to be in the top three by around Christmas time
so we can have a good push in the new year . "

Humphreys is hopeful his Shawbury side can crank up the pressure on the leading pack by picking
up three more points this weekend when they travel to second-bottom Smethwick Sikh Temple .

In many ways the North Shropshire Club are glad to be on their travels again as they have won five
of their seven away league trips this season , scoring 19 goals in the process.

" We're very strong away from home for some reason , " said Humphreys . " I don't really Know
why , perhaps there's no pressure , but we show a really good team spirit in our away games . "

Shawbury's latest successful excusion came last weekend when they ran out 2-1 winners at
Wolverhampton Casuals .

PRAISE

" It was the best we've played all season , " declared Humphreys . " The lads did all we asked of
them and we could of won by five or six in the end , but we don't seem to kill teams off . "

Humphreys , the former England non-league captain , reserved special praise for some of the
youngsters that came into the side, describing the contributions of Craig Sanders , Chris Skitt and
Lee Hamner as " tremendous " .

Former Telford United striker Andy Oakley , troubled by a hamstring injury for much of the season ,
scored both Shawbury goals either side of half time .

He showed good composure to round the keeper for the opener latching on to a Steve Giles
through ball . Then Oakley applied the vital touch to a whipped in free kick from James Bajcer to
double the lead .

Wolves Casuals pulled a late goal back , having earlier missed a penalty , but Shawbury , who gave
a debut to new signing James Mackenzie , the former Colwyn Bay striker , as a sub , held on for
another encouraging win.

SHAWBURY United have lined up a mystery replacement for goalscoring midfielder Nicky Guy
who has quit the club to sign for Newport Town.

Shawbury's joint manager Delwyn Humphreys admits losing Guy , a summer signing from
Shifnal Town , is a big blow , but stressed clubs like Shawbury cannot cope with sides prepared
to pay players.

Humphreys said : " Nicky's made a world of difference for us this season and had scored
eight goals from midfield. Probably half of them were penalties and there were a couple of free
kicks in there too but you've still got to put the ball in the back of the net .

" He lives over towards Newport way and has a lot of friends at Newport but i was hoping he
wouldn't go- but we just can't compete with the money Newport were offering.

" I don't think people realise how difficult it is for clubs like Shawbury to sign good players in
the first place and then keep hold of them when they've got the chance to earn a bit of money
from playing elsewhere.

" There are a few still about like Mark Pragg , our midfielder , who has turned down money
from other clubs to continue playing for Shawbury , and that's great .

" It's disappointing to have lost Nicky and it's a big blow but we've told him that if things don't
work out for him there that he's always welcome to come back and play for us . "

Humphreys added Shawbury are closing in on a replacement but preffered to keep the
identity of their target under wraps until a deal is completed .

Shawbury , riding high in the Premier Division of the West Midland League , return to league
action after last week's 2-0 County Cup win over Oakengates with a trip to lowly
Wolverhampton Casuals on Saturday .

Shawbury joint boss Alan Smith who has identified Kington as the team to beat in the race for the
title.

The Herefordshire club were 4-1 victors over United on Saturday and Smith believes he saw
enough qualities to suggest they are the favourites to lift the crown come May.

He said: " We didn't play too badly ourselves but missed some chances but they were a very
good team . They have some outstanding players and their movement off the ball was excellent.

" They are probably the best team we have seen this season and they are my tip for the top
without a doubt.

" I don't want the lads getting downhearted because we have lost to a very good team who who
will take some stopping and i am sure we will bounce back. "

A brace brace from Mark Davis and one each for Danny Hill and Kevin Gwillim earned the points
for Kington with Phil Denson grabbing a consolation goal for visiting Shawbury.

DELWYN Humphreys had no complaints after his Shawbury United side's eight-game unbeaten run
came to an end with a 4-1 defeat at Kington Town , the new West Midland League Premier Division
Leaders.

Joint manager Humphreys admitted the best team won on the day , but wasted no time to
challenge his players to embark on another impressive unbeaten run , starting with Saturday's
Shropshire County Challenge Cup second round tie at home to Oakengates.

Humphreys said: " I said to the lads after the Kington game that once you come off the back of an
eight-game unbeaten run that the most important game is the next one. We have to try and put
another good run of results together now.

" It's going to be a cup final for Oakengates coming to play us on a nice pitch on Saturday. If we
haven't got our heads right on the day , there could be an upset , but we'll make sure we approach
the game in the right way , and we want to win the County Cup again this year. "

Shawbury were without some key players for their trip to Herefordshire to take on a strong
Kington side , but Humphreys confessed that probably had little to do with the final scoreline. " It
was a bit of a footballing lesson , " said Humphreys.

" We knew Kington would be one of the toughest sides we would face this season and they
certainly were.

" Sometimes when you get beat by a better side you just have to hold your hands up and say that ,
and that was the case last weekend. "

Kington quickly opened up a 2-0 lead but Shawbury battled back and clawed a goal back just
before the break when central defender Phil Denson volleyed in from close range.

Shawbury had a good 15 minute spell early in the second half and almost equalised when James
Bajcer forced a good save out of the home goalkeeper.

It proved a turning point in the game and Kington added two more goals to complete their victory
and take them above Malvern Town to top of the table.

Humphreys added Kington could of had a few more goals in the end but reserved a special
mention for two of his side's players.

He said Mark Pragg was again " superb " in midfield and that striker Steve Giles " worked his
socks off up front ".