KIDDERMINSTER maintained their charge on the second spot of the West Midlands Premier Division with a well-earned 6-3 home win over Solihull-based Old Silhilians.

They can be especially proud after keeping their cool in what was a hard fought battle that saw the opposition receive three yellow cards.

With skipper Chris Pocknell absent due to work commitments, vice-captain Martin Roberts took the helm, assisted by ex-skipper Gary Burkes and club coach Mark Moss.

Kidderminster dominated the opening spell and their superior ball pace, movement and fitness led to a breakthrough on 10 minutes.

Seb Knights produced the goal of the game when he opened the scoring with a finely struck reverse stick shot from the top of the 'D' which left the keeper motionless.

Matt Edwards soon made it two, pouncing to lift the rebound over the stranded keeper and into the rigging after having a shot saved.

Silhilians fought back hard and reduced the lead to nothing with two quick open play goals.

Kidderminster refused to lie down and soon began to stamp their authority again as Edwards scored two more for a quickfire hat-trick to make it 4-2 at the break.

In the second half, Kidderminster continued to lay siege to the Silhilians backline and Richard Wheeler capped a fine game with Kidderminster's fifth, fortuitously fooling the keeper with a mis-hit shot.

Silhilians by this time were playing for pride and found a third goal after being awarded a controversial short corner.

The game began to boil over as the visitors, frustrated by a now steadfast Kidderminster defence tried any means to break them down.

Kidderminster however stepped up a couple of gears towards the end, and Wheeler was unlucky to see what appeared to be a perfectly good goal disallowed, before Edwards completed the scoring with his fourth and his team's sixth of the game.

They travel to Bloxwich on Saturday hoping to maintain their recent run of good results.

l Kidderminster Ladies exacted some revenge for their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Droitwich by beating Droitwich seconds 2-1 in a friendly.

Despite falling behind to a deflection from a short corner, Kidderminster responded with a determined display.

They levelled the scores when Kate McGowan struck inside the D after a pass from Kay McDonald.

And McGowan added hers and Kidderminster's second before the break with a clinical shot from a short corner.

That completed the scoring and a strong defensive performance from the hosts, especially player of the match Kiera Edwards, secured the win.

Kidderminster Ladies travel to Stourport for a friendly at noon on Saturday.

l It was far from seventh heaven for the struggling seconds who were on the receiving end of a 7-0 stuffing against table-toppers Old Hales.

But despite the scoreline Kidderminster, who are fighting for survival, competed well and did not embarrass themselves.

They were unlucky not to open the scoring when Steve Mazurek had an effort ruled out and Old Hales never looked back with two first half goals and five after the break.