Evesham 1, Finchfield 9

EVESHAM ended the first half of their Coaching Solutions West Midlands Premier League campaign with a disappointing display that left the Vale side in the bottom three and the management scratching their heads!

Player/manager Martin Husbands said: "In sport you have good days and bad days. This was an exceptionally bad one. I think a break will do us good and give us time to reflect - we're still a decent side but playing pretty poorly."

Throughout the afternoon, the home side seemed flat and lifeless. There seemed little spirit in the side as they went through the motions without having the conviction or belief to take the game to the opposition.

Despite having a strong side available, Evesham played with a lack of confidence that the first half of the season had drained from them.

Tirelessly

Seb Seneque and Stuart Harris were again the outstanding performers as they worked tirelessly to inject some life and impetus into their side.

Yet, for all their effort, most of their teammates seemed incapable of passing the ball effectively and keeping possession.

Finchfield were well organised and physically strong and merely capitalised on the home side's errors as they picked up stray passes.

The opening few minutes were even but, after an initial burst, the rest of the half was damage limitation as the visitors struck three goals in the space of 15 minutes to leave the home side chasing the game.

Stuart Bearcroft, back from injury, provided some glimpses of pace and skill along the right flank and it was his pinpoint cross that was met by Jon Vickery coming in from the left wing to put the ball away.

Yet, despite only being two goals behind at half-time, rather than play with confidence, the hosts played like a team waiting to lose the game.

The introduction of Nick Lloyd - making his comeback after six months out - gave some stability but even he could not stem the tide. However, as the goals kept going in, at least Evesham battled with some dignity until the end.

Coaching Solutions West Midlands

League Premier Division

P W D L F A Pts

Solihull Blossom 8 7 1 0 31 9 22

Warwick 8 4 4 0 33 14 16

Finchfield 8 4 2 2 31 14 14

Stone 9 4 2 3 33 22 14

Walsall 9 4 2 3 23 16 14

KH Pickwick 9 3 2 4 19 26 11

Kidderminster 8 3 2 3 18 26 11

Sikh Union* 9 8 1 0 40 18 10

Evesham 10 2 0 8 11 52 6

Droitwich 9 0 1 8 10 29 1

Old Halesonians 9 0 1 8 10 33 1

Disheartened skipper Steve Miller added: "At times this season we have shown that we can play a good passing game but if we cannot do it consistently then we will always struggle. You can't win if you can't keep the ball!"

Evesham take a break now allowing them time to regroup and reflect in advance of resuming their campaign against league leaders Solihull Bloss-omfield on January 14.