Halesowen Town kicked off 2008 with 90 minutes of champagne football has they thumped promotion rivals Team Bath 3-1 to send sent shockwaves up and down the BGB Premier Division.

The Yeltz gave their student visitors a footballing lesson courtesy of a brace from Dean Brennan and one from Rodney Hicks in front of a crowd of 571 at the Grove.

The win has pushed Halesowen into second place and manager Morell Maison is now eying up the top spot.

He said: "I thought it was a superb performance against a very strong Team Bath side.

"When you consider they were unbeaten away in the league and only conceded three goals before the match shows how well we played because on another day we could have won six or seven.

"People were telling me afterwards that was the best performance from a Halesowen side in many a year which was very pleasing to here."

Following a major overhaul of the squad since his arrival in October the manager now believes his team is taking shape having won eight of their last 10 games.

He added: "The team are playing well and everything is starting to take shape.

"When you look at the side we have got a vast amount of experience down the spine of the team with a mix of exciting youngsters who I have high hopes for."

The Yeltz travel to Rugby Town this Saturday (3pm kick off) and Maison believes a good January could see them go from a play-off side to major championship contenders.

He added: "We have worked hard to get where we are and I believe we will definetly get in the play-offs but if we can consolidate in January I believe we can be champions.

"I really feel if we can get to the top of the league we will be a very difficult team to topple."

The manager will be sweating over the fitness of striker Eldon Maquemba who went off with a leg injury an hour in to the Team Bath game.

The Portuguese import has netted five times since his move to the Grove in November but he is now a major doubt for Saturday.

Over the Christmas period a trio of players have left the club.

Goalkeeper James Dormand has joined Stratford Town on loan while Decio Gomes (Willenhall) and Junior Brown (Rushall Olympic) have also moved on.