Tenbury United 0 Parkfield 3

INEXPERIENCE and lack of striking power were again in evidence when Tenbury competed well against West Midlands League Division 1 title favourites Parkfield for much of the game at Palmer's Meadow, but suffered another defeat. The home side gave away a couple of soft goals and also failed to tuck away a few good chances.

The first half was well contested with Johnny Welsh seeing his fine effort well saved by the visiting keeper. The only goal of the half came midway through, a free-kick was headed across goal, and when the home defence failed to clear the ball, a Parkfield player tapped it into the net.

Looking for an energetic start to the second half, Tenbury got exactly the opposite, with the visitors grabbing a second goal from a situation that could have been avoided on a couple of counts. A weak back-pass created a problem that the defence failed to clear, allowing Parkfield to net their second goal.

The uphill task was now looking well beyond the home team, but one consolation was the reappearance of Nicky Stocker for a 20-minute run-out after injury. In fact he had the best chance, working his way into a one-on-one with the keeper, but failed to hit the target.

Whilst Tenbury toiled away looking for inspiration, it was the visitors who provided the spark to score a third goal. They showed lively pace and accuracy when a quickly taken free-kick caught the United defence napping.

This week sees the first of two crucial games in United's relegation struggle, they visit bottom side Darlaston on Saturday, and follow up against another candidate Wolverhampton United.