THE fates of both local sides took a step towards inevitability when Evesham thrashed Pershore 5-2 to take themselves clear of any lingering relegation concerns in BodyKraft West Midlands One.

But the defeat leaves Pershore staring the down the relegation barrel.

Although the hosts gained revenge for a defeat earlier in the season, the difference bet-ween the two teams was slight and certainly less than the scoreline suggests.

Pershore's lack of a goalscorer was never more evident, while Evesham grabbed the luck that was on offer to ease to a deserved victory.

Stuart Bearcroft, so often the architect of Evesham's best moves, was again strong but contained well by Gareth Rushton and Graeme Rushin.

Dave Hindle and Steve Ridsdale pressed energetically down the right flank but Evesham's strong, low tackling prevented the threat from forming.

Two goals shortly before half-time were no less than Evesham deserved but were disappointing for a resilient Pershore defence. A single goal would have been a fairer scoreline but Martin Husbands' short-corner strike was sufficiently mishit to fox Chris Graham in the Pershore goal.

The game was effectively over when Evesham ran in their third shortly after the restart but Pershore refused to give in.

Their grit was almost rewarded when they pulled a goal back through Jamie Hughes and the second goal arrived shortly afterwards as Jamie Hughes pounced.

Having left the field on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline last week, Pershore were determined not to repeat the situation and pressed for the equaliser. However, Evesham were simply too canny and broke twice in quick succession to seal the victory.