Old Wulfrunians 2, Evesham 5

AN OUTSTANDING opening 20 minutes during which Evesham scored three times settled Satur-day's final league match before Christmas to move Evesham within distance of the top three.

Skipper Martin Husbands said: "This was a clinical performance and although we conceded two careless goals towards the end - we put the game out of reach very quickly."

The visitors began brightly with Jamie Dodgson proving a handful along the right flank, while Seb Seneque and Matt Baumber dominated midfield and they could have scored in the opening two minutes.

They soon opened their account when Ben Brown - playing his last game before travelling for a year - provided pace and poise on the left to set up Husbands who made no mistake from five yards.

This settled the visiting side and Dodgson's unstoppable run provided a golden opportunity for Mark Brown to clinically beat a stranded goalkeeper.

The absence of injured Nick Lloyd was compensated by the return of Chris Perry and his vision and passing launched many attacks.

Evesham's first short corner saw Matt Baumber return to scoring form with a precisely placed drag flick and the three-goal lead effectively finished the game.

However, Evesham were intent on pressing forward and, although they became less composed in the hunt for goals, the outstanding Dodgson soon provided a chance for youngster Liam Burtenshaw to score his first senior goal.

With the game won, Evesham made a number of positional changes that had the effect of disrupting the flow of their game.

In addition, individuals sensed glory and the passing deserted the Vale side for some time. However, a second short corner saw a Seneque effort stopped illegally on the line and Brown superbly converted the penalty stroke.

Eventually, Evesham's complacency allowed Old Wulfs to score twice in quick succession but, at the other end, Husbands and Dodgson were only denied by good goalkeeping.

The winners resume their league campaign at home to Stone on Saturday, January 15.

West Midlands Premier Division

P W D L F A Pts

Wednesbury 12 10 2 0 40 13 32

Old Hales 12 7 1 4 29 24 22

Stratford 12 7 1 4 24 19 22

Kidderminster 11 6 2 3 41 38 20

Stone 11 5 3 3 45 34 18

Warwick 12 5 3 4 25 20 18

KH Pickwick* 12 6 0 6 24 23 17

Solihull Bloss 12 5 1 6 31 26 16 Evesham 12 5 0 7 27 29 15

Bloxwich 12 3 3 6 26 44 12

Old Sils 13 2 0 10 12 32 6

Old Wulfs 12 1 2 9 23 45 5

*Points deducted.