HOCKEY: Bromsgrove 1st XI 3 Bartlaston 1st XI 0

BROMSGROVE secured their place in the West Midlands Division One for another season with a comfortable victory on Saturday.

After flirting briefly with the bottom two the Boars' second straight win in a row made sure they cannot go down.

The result came as a relief for stand-in captain Matthew Russell.

He said: "It was our top priority to make sure we didn't go down.

"We're not a bad side but we have made things hard for ourselves."

Bromsgrove made sure of safety with simple tap-ins for Pete Hall and Bevan Edwards.

In the second half Russell completed the scoring from a penalty corner.

Mark Robinson though could have added another, as Bromsgrove wasted a host of chances, when he somehow shot wide from a yard out.

Russell said: "It was definitely the miss of the season and Mark got some stick for that afterwards.

"We should have scored more, but I was happy with the way we played."

The captain is now hoping his side can secure a place mid-table.

Bromsgrove cannot catch up with this Saturday's opponents, Redditch, to end the season in the top five.

While Redditch are the side directly above Bromsgrove they have an unassailable 11 point lead and a game in hand.

The captain though is hoping his team can go one step further than their 3-3 home draw with Redditch in the first half of the season.

He said: "Now that we are safe I want us to get a few wins under our belt and make sure we can finish as high as we can.

"Redditch will be a tough game as they have been flying high all season."

Russell may be faced with a selection problem for Saturday's trip to Redditch.

Regular captain Julian Court and Ben Husbands are expected to be available after missing the last few games.

However, Russell has been impressed with young debutants Olly Adams and Graham Johns.

He said: "For young lads they have came in and not been fazed at all.

"One thing is for sure, that we will have some competition for places."