TOWN Reserves travelled 70 miles to Staffordshire side Brereton on Saturday and played on a bumpy sloping pitch, and in a strong wind, which did little to assist passing football.

BRERETON SOCIAL 1, MALVERN TOWN RES 1

The home side hustled and bustled and had the best of the first half testing Mark Hooper with four chances, two of which were one-on- ones and the goalie stood his ground well. As luck would have it Hooper let the easiest chance of the half slip under his body for a relatively easy goal, which on the balance of play Brereton deserved.

Skipper Jamie Thomas led by example and steadied the defence as Malvern strung a few passes together. Ten minutes into the second half Chris Fellows squared to Ed Lyons, who had come in off his wing, and he tapped the ball home to level the scores.

Ollie Endacott fashioned a number of half chances, keeping the Brereton defence on their toes, but no further goals were added to the scoreline.

Malvern can take comfort from the fact that the average age of this reserve side is just under 19 years and it is showing a lot of promise.

Tomorrow (Saturday) the Reserves are at home to Ashbourne and play the same side a week later in the League Cup. This fixture is also at the Langland Stadium.