Bromsgrove men's 1st XI 0 Whitchurch men's 1st XI 4

A SECOND heavy defeat at the hands of one of their rivals seems to have ended Bromsgrove's hopes of winning promotion from the West Midlands Division One.

Defeat to title chasing Whitchurch leaves Bromsgrove languishing in fourth place and 12 points away from second place.

Defeat prompted captain Julian Court to declare his side's promotion hopes as 'over'.

He said: "We can't go up now. We're too far away from the top three.

"That doesn't mean we will stop trying, we'll keep plugging away until the end, but I think our chances of going up are over."

Bromsgrove went into the match on the back of a 5-2 defeat to third placed West Bromwich. Bromsgrove matched the leaders for long periods, but Dale Seymour opened the scoring.

Jon Chappell added a second, before completing his hat trick in the second half.

Court was particularly aggrieved that Whitchurch's third goal was allowed to stand, after an infringement from a short corner.

He said: "The third goal was the one that killed off the game.

"It shouldn't have been given and it was a crucial moment. The scoreline does not reflect what actually happened in the game.

"Their goalkeeper was really good and he was the difference."

Court believes that the difference between his side and the top three is a lack of a superstar.

He said: "West Brom, Whitchurch and Old Wulfrunians all have one or two outstanding players that make the difference.

"Man-for-man we have as good a team as any in this division but we need to find someone who can change a game in our favour with a moment of magic."

Bromsgrove return to action on Saturday, January 28, when they take on struggling side Rugeley away.

l Bromsgrove men's four team lost 3-1 to Kidderminster on Saturday.

Mike Woods bagged an equaliser, after Kidderminster had opened the scoring. However, two soft goals in the second half condemned Bromsgrove to defeat.