We hadn’t seen this one coming. After four straight wins without conceding a goal, Workington were torn apart in 27 torrid minutes.

Five goals from a Stourbridge side, keen to show they had not got one eye on next weekend’s FA Cup tie, had the game wrapped-up well before half-time.

The Reds' defence, which has been watertight and effective in the winning run, was made to look fragile and insecure in a first-half show which was just about as bad as it could get.

There was no consolation in the fact Reds did not concede in the last 63 minutes of the game – the damage had been done.

Stourbridge have been on a good run themselves and it was the pace out wide from Matt Dodd and Kayleden Brown, plus the guile of the League’s top scorer Luke Benbow, which proved most troublesome to the Reds defence.

It all started to go wrong for Reds as early as the fifth minute when they conceded a penalty. The pacey Dodd stepped inside Gari Rowntree just inside the area and went down under the challenge.

Referee Sarah Garratt had no doubts about the award of the spot kick and Benbow duly sent Aaran Taylor the wrong way to give the Glassboys an early lead.

From that point, the home side launched a series of quick attacks which continually stretched the Workington defence, pulled apart like no other time this season.

The second goal came on 16 minutes after Taylor, with the help of Jake Simpson, had combined to block a shot from Leon Broadhurst. But when the ball was shifted wide to Brown, he produced a pinpoint cross for Jordan Archer to rise and head home.

To add to Workington’s woes, Sam Smith had suffered an ankle injury in the build-up and was forced to leave the action, replaced by Kyle May.

The veteran defender looked as shell-shocked as the rest of his team-mates as Stourbridge proceeded to score three more goals in an eight minute spell. They looked like scoring every time they mounted an attack.

On 19 minutes, a free-kick from the right was flung into the Workington area, where rugged home defender Jack Duggan leapt highest to head against the bar. It should have been cleared but Duggan reacted quickest to hammer the rebound into the net.

Dodd caused more chaos out on the Stourbridge right after 22 minutes and his low cross was tapped in at the far post by Brown.

The best goal of the lot came on 27 minutes. The ball was played forward to Benbow on the edge of the area and he swivelled before volleying a superb shot beyond Taylor into the bottom corner for his 15th goal of the season.

If the five goals and the injury to Smith weren’t bad enough, Reds also had one of their key players Conor Tinnion booked. It’s his fifth of the season, so he will miss Saturday’s home league clash with fifth-in-the-table Hednesford.

Workington did not concede again but Stourbridge, with Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Northampton on the horizon, withdrew their two best players Dodd and Benbow, and cruised through to full-time.

At least Reds did have one or two moments in the opposition half. Joe McGee, one of Reds better performers on a truly miserable day, should have scored but shot weakly at goalkeeper Matt Gould.

Rob Wilson hit one from 30 yards but watched it rose just over the angle of post and bar, while Scott Allison was denied by Gould after a fine pull-down at a corner and as he turned to shoot the home keeper smothered the ball at his feet.

Reds had been on course for a play-off spot before Christmas but a lot will depend now on how they react to this painful defeat.

Stourbridge: Gould, Green, Westlake, Tonks, Duggan, Scarr (Pierpoint 75), Dodd (Heath 58), Broadhurst, Benbow (Hague 67), Archer, Brown. Subs (not used) Smikle, Canavan.

Workington: Taylor, Simpson, Rowntree, Calvert, Smith (May 17), Wilson, Newby (Douglas 45), McGee, Ryan (Waterston 70), Allison, Tinnion. Subs (not used) Symington, Hebson.

Referee: Sarah Garratt

Crowd: 644

Star man - Joe McGee