Hackett out to avenge Greenbacks loss (From Stourbridge News)

Hackett out to avenge Greenbacks loss

2:00pm Thursday 21st March 2013 in Football

GARY Hackett says Stourbridge’s worst performance of the season will prove motivation at Bedworth United this Saturday.

The Glassboys boss believes October’s 1-0 defeat by the Greenbacks at the War Memorial was his side’s poorest of the campaign.

Flash forward five months and Hackett’s side lie second in the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division, knowing victory against a Bedworth side scrapping for their lives at the opposite end of the table would be another step in securing a play-off place.

He said: “Bedworth is the most important game of the season because it’s the next one.

“At this stage the stakes are always raised though we are battling for different reasons.

“The teams at the bottom have more to lose than those at the top and they will be feeling a different pressure to us.

“The pressure we are under is quite nice in a way but it is no fun at the foot of the table.

“On top of everything I feel our most lacklustre performance of the season was when we played Bedworth at home.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice and we want to put that right.”

Striker Ben Mackey will look to continue the bright start to his Stourbridge career after bagging a hat-trick as the Glassboys crushed Weymouth 5-0 last weekend.

The recent arrival from St Neots Town opened the scoring after just 22 seconds as Stour landed a considerable blow against another side chasing the play-offs.

Hackett said: “You don’t get many better debuts than that.

“Ben has come in at a critical time for us and has got himself very fit.

“He certainly hit the ground running and it was a fantastic performance from us against a side in good form.”

Mackey failed to find the net on Tuesday as Stour were bundled out of the Birmingham Senior Cup by Sutton Coldfield Town at the semi-final stage in a nine-goal thriller.

Goals from Sean Geddes and Luke Benbow helped the Glassboys fight back from 3-1 down early in the second-half but the hosts scored twice in the opening period of extra-time to restore their two goal lead.

Jamie Oliver’s late piledriver only served to set up a grandstand finish as Stour paid the price for some uncharacteristic bad defending.

Hackett said: “It was a bizarre evening in many ways.

“At times we attacked like Barcelona but defended like the Dog and Duck.”