PERSHORE were narrowly defeated 22-14 when they made the trip to Western Counties North leaders Avonmouth Old Boys.

However, the home side ended the game knowing how lucky they were to come away with a victory against the lowly Piddle Parkers.

The early stages didn't go well for the visitors and they were 10-0 down inside 10 minutes. After some persistent pressure, Pershore opened their account. A tap-penalty saw captain Toby Grace feed prop Karl Evans. From the ensuing ruck, Adrian Hanson popped the ball to number eight Martin Hope to barge through two tackles and score under the posts. Centre Scott Morris added the conversion.

The second-half saw the visitors dominate the early excha-nges and they nearly took the lead, but Hope was tackled short of the line. After 50 minutes, Pershore were down to 14 players after an off-the-ball altercation saw centre James Martin sent to the sin-bin. Pershore conceded 12 points during his absence, including a penalty try.

Lock Alex Peel worked tirelessly and was almost rewarded with a try but it was Luke Eversham who had his hands on the ball when the Pershore pack touched down after a driving maul. Morris again added the conversion.

Pershore had more chances to score in the final 15 minutes, but both Stefan Ellis and Adrian Hanson were held up over the line before the final whistle blew with Pershore losing 22-14.

n Pershore seconds and thirds both both won away at Droitwich.