Hinton 4 Darlaston 1

HINTON halted their three-game West Midlands League Division 1 losing streak with a welcome victory over bottom club Darlaston, prolific scorer Jodie Dawe weighing in with a brace.

Although Hinton dominated territorially and played a lot of pretty football in the first half, they failed to find the net. As Hinton pushed more men forward, Darlaston took advantage and a couple of dangerous counter-attacks were only thwarted by some fine saves from goalkeeper Dave Spencer.

With the wind at their backs after the break, a more purposeful Hinton opened the scoring when Dawe converted a penalty after David Eckley was bundled over as he surged into the box.

Further pressure saw the hosts extend their lead when a clever pass from Andy Mowen was well controlled and finished by Phil Beavan.

Hinton welcomed back defender Mike Marsden after a long lay-off but, as they were reorganising, Darlaston reduced arrears when they bundled in a deep cross at the far post.

That was as close as they got with Darren Birch slamming in a fierce volley and Dawe bagging a fine solo goal to clinch a deserved win and halt the losing run.