Evesham 15pts, Redditch 10

EVESHAM maintained their position at the top of the table despite an unconvincing display against their Worcester-shire rivals.

The start of the match was played in driving rain and sensible play was the order of the day.

The home side got off to a dream start after two minutes when right winger Ben Holme gathered a poor clearance kick on halfway and raced past his winger and scored out wide.

Evesham then sat back and allowed Redditch to attack but they found skipper Luke Matt-hews, Jim Moulton and Phil Hammond in defiant mood as they put in some tremendous tackles.

The action moved to the opposite end where Matt Jacques collected Hammond's chip kick and raced past his winger to touch down for another unconverted score.

Number 8 Will Bailey was having a superb match and he found himself in the middle of all Evesham's attacking forays.

After such a surge forward, full back Adam Huttlestone was in support and he bulldozed over for a great score and a 15-0 lead.

Redditch's sole reply was a penalty late in the half but, to their credit, they came back into the match and mounted several attacks towards the home line.

Matthews, Chris Maritza and Ali Black continued to repel the onslaught but the visitors did finally cross the line for a converted try that made for an interesting final 15 minutes.

Evesham had many chances to finish the game off but poor decision-making at critical times saw the opportunities go to waste and they were relieved to hear the final whistle.

North Midlands (South) One

P W D L F A Pts

Evesham 8 6 0 2 138 73 12

Upton-on-Sev 7 5 0 2 136 67 10

Kings Norton 8 5 0 3 136 71 10

Woodrush 8 4 1 3 99 113 9

Tenbury 7 4 0 3 99 113 9

Bredon Star 8 3 1 4 99 131 7

Redditch* 8 3 0 5 80 105 2

Handsworth 8 0 0 8 44 209 0

*Points deducted.