Evesham 8pts, Stratford 7

EVESHAM pulled off probably their biggest win since a victory over Shrewsbury three seasons by beating local rivals and champions of Midlands West Three (South) Stratford last Saturday.

Stratford had earlier in the season beaten Evesham by a comfortable margin and were confident of victory to the extent they had brought the champagne along with them for the post match celebrations.

But the bubbles went flat early on as Evesham's defence was proving to be very formidable and the powerful scrummage, which had been at the heart of their victory earlier, was thwarted from the word go by an impressive display from a committed Evesham eight.

Gary Diston, at scrum half, had one of those games when he was in the right place at the right time, pulling the strings behind a well drilled pack of forwards.

It was Diston who first of all held up his opposite number over the Evesham line and then got a hand under the ball as Stratford once again failed to score from close-range in the first ten minutes.

Evesham weathered this early onslaught and you could see the confidence grow in the side as the visitors started to make mistakes under the pressure applied by the home side's aggressive defence.

Second row Andy Sheward was again putting in some big hits in the loose and Huw Davey and Neil Robinson stifled the Stratford flow of possession by being first at the breakdown.

Evesham also started to attack and it was Diston who was unlucky not to score when he broke down the blindside only to be tap tackled as he outpaced the defence.

The home side also had a series of penalties which they elected to run and were again unlucky as first Chris Maritza was held up short and then Sheward had the ball knocked from his grasp.

Winger Doug Payne had one of the better chances of the half as he dribbled the ball almost to the try line only to get an unfortunate bounce.

Turning round 0-0 it was no surprise that the table toppers were getting anxious and they changed their game plan away from the tight forward game of the first half.

This played into Evesham's hands as they coped well with the width the visitors tried to put on the game and in fact gained more territorial advantage.

Centres Ian Hurley and Paul Turpitt were coping well with the Stratford midfield and it was their pressure which led to Evesham's try. The ball was moved wide by Stratford but a loose pass fell to Payne who didn't need asking twice and he gratefully snaffled up the ball and won the sprint to the line from halfway. Phil Parsons was unlucky to see his conversion attempt strike a upright.

Evesham created other chances and both Ben Whatmore and Diston were stopped only yards from the line.

Stratford saw time running out and gave away a rare penalty in the their own 22 which Parsons converted to make it 8-0.

In the final play, Stratford finally managed to breach Evesham's defence and score a consolation try but it was too late with the final whistle going just after the successful conversion.

The game was sponsored by Black & White Volkswagen.

The club are staging their annual dinner on Friday, April 27 when the guest speaker will be former Welsh international and British Lion Gerald Davies.

Tickets priced £30 are available from Carol Horseman on 01386 423603 (evgs) or 01386 765888 (day).

Midlands Three West (South)

P W D L F A Pts

Stratford 14 12 0 2 483 113 24

Leamington 15 10 1 4 325 188 21

Keresley 15 10 0 5 320 249 20

Old Covs 15 9 0 6 336 219 18

Nuneaton OEs 15 9 0 6 305 275 18

Bedworth 15 6 1 8 263 250 13

Old Leamings 16 5 2 9 223 346 12

Evesham 15 2 0 13 175 336 4

Kings Norton* 14 2 0 12 88 542 2