Evesham 5, Stafford 0

EVESHAM continued their impr-oved form with a comfortable victory in Saturday's latest CS West Midlands contest.

Despite the absence of Simon Chatterley and Jamie Dodgson, the hosts soon made their intentions clear with a series of attacking moves that forced a string of fine stops from the Stafford keeper.

Opportunities were numerous and both Martin Husbands and Stuart Bearcroft came close before Chris Perry opened the scoring from a well-worked short corner.

It seemed as though the floodgates would soon open but, as the home side dominated, they began to play with too much confidence and stopped playing as a team.

It was disappointing to be only a goal ahead at half-time but coach Tim Drew soon settled his side and encouraged them to play their more successful passing game and utilise the pace of Ben Brown and Steve Miller down the flanks.

Evesham soon began to control the second half with as much ease as earlier and it was only a matter of time before the second goal arrived as Husbands scored from close-range after a skilful run from Perry.

Stafford lost heart and it now became a matter of how many Evesham would score.

Nick Lloyd was once again outstanding in his defensive midfield role and found his range of passing with a series of penetrating balls.

A long period of pressure soon resulted in a short corner that Seb Seneque skilfully converted with a shot that gave the keeper no chance.

Miller soon added a fourth as Evesham were once again rampant and a slick-passing move covering the length of the pitch resulted in Stuart Harris unselfishly providing an opportunity for striker Bearcroft to score a fifth.

Skipper Husbands said after the game: "It's good to have a large squad of players who are all capable of playing at this level.

"There's a confidence throughout the squad that when we play well we believe we can beat most teams, though next week will provide a sterner test at second-placed Leamington.

"There's a big difference between believing you can win and expecting to win. One gives you confidence - the other complacency!"

Division One

P W D L F A Pts

Stone 7 7 0 0 40 12 21

Leamington 7 4 2 1 18 13 14

Bromsgrove 7 4 2 1 22 20 14

Walsall 7 3 2 2 24 26 11

Redditch 7 2 4 1 14 10 10

Evesham 7 3 1 3 22 19 10

Rugeley 7 1 4 2 11 16 7

Barlaston 7 2 1 4 12 23 7

Droitwich 7 1 3 3 23 20 6

Stafford 7 1 3 3 12 19 6

Yardley 7 1 2 4 15 21 5

Kynoch 7 0 2 5 11 25 2

Division Two

P W D L F A Pts

Whitchurch 6 6 0 0 32 7 18

West Bromwich 6 5 1 0 33 8 16

Market Drayton 5 4 0 1 18 7 12

Pershore 5 3 0 2 29 15 9

Ludlow 5 3 0 2 20 10 9

Oswestry 5 3 0 2 13 20 9

Chaddesley Corbett 7 1 0 6 21 34 3

Atherstone Adders 6 1 0 5 6 23 3

Aston Univ 6 1 0 5 9 46 3

Newtown 5 0 1 4 8 19 1

Evesham Ladies 5, Upton 0

A SUPERB strike from Ness Dufty after just two minutes provided the hosts with the perfect start.

Evesham went on to dominate Saturday's contest as they produced some of their best hockey of the season.

Sustained pressure brought a second goal when Fran Goodman netted and more incisive attacking ended with Kayleigh Hateley quickly making it 3-0.

Errors at the back gave Upton the sniff of a replay following a series of short corners but the the Evesham defence held firm and earned the reward of a clean sheet.

Up the other end of the field, Emma Barker's strong run ended with a fine solo strike and a well-worked short corner struck by Dufty was finished by Goodman to cap a fine display.