Halesowen Town's Worcestershire Senior Cup exit away at fierce rivals Stourbridge was of minor concern to boss Morell Maison as he prepares for a tough run of league fixtures which could see his side move into a promotion slot.

The Yeltz were beaten 2-1 by the Glassboys at the War Memorial despite taking the lead on 70 minutes through Zema Abbey.

But a late fightback meant the Yeltz were dumped out of the competition for the second year running by their rivals.

Maison said: "We have a crucial run of league fixtures so I took the opportunity to rest some of our key players.

"We only have a small squad and at times you have to balance up what your aspirations are for the season and ours is without doubt promotion.

"To be honest I thought it was a fairly dour match played on a dodgy pitch.

"It certainly wasn't an edge of the seat cup tie and it just didn't seem to have the passion of a cup tie."

The Yeltz will kick off a big week on Saturday when they welcome high-flying Hemel Hempstead Town to the Grove (3pm).

Maison is set to recall goalkeeper Mark Osborn, left back David Perpetuini, midfielder Darren Caskey and striker Dean Brennan for the crunch clash.

One player who will be missing that game as well as the visit to Bedford next Tuesday and the home game with Magnotsfield the following weekend (Dec 8) is experienced striker Paul Devlin who will be serving a three-match suspension after he was sent-off against Rugby Town earlier this month.

Maison said: "This is a massive week for us and one I'm looking forward to.

"We are on a good run of form at the moment and some good results in the next week would put us right in the promotion mix and maybe a few people will then sit up and take notice."