Bretforton 4, Stourport A 2

SATURDAY saw the first friendly match of the new season for new-look Bretforton.

They made an excellent start after only ten minutes when Tracey Hodgkin opened the scoring following an excellent run down the centre by Deb Slatter.

Bretforton produced a number of openings and had the majority of possession in the first half. Hodgkin was unlucky not to score a second following Andrea Cole's cross.

Gilly Wright, however, did find the net following good build-up from midfield as she side-stepped the keeper to slip the ball into the goal.

Stourport then pulled one back following a deflected free hit to make the interval score 2-1.

In the second half Stourport had more possession and subsequently the defence of Lorna Beddis, Bobbie Handley, Jane Wheeler and Kate Mitchell all had to work hard as they managed to contain the visitors.

Slatter made it 3-1 with a goal 15 minutes into the second period and this was soon followed by a lovely reverse stick strike from Sarah Hall.

Stourport, however, remained resilient and managed to score a second before the end of a game.

Evesham 1, Bretforton II 5

BRETFORTON started their pre-season friendly campaign with a pleasing result against their local rivals.

The game got off to a slow start until Liz Murray-White made a break down the right wing to draw the ball from the back line to find Sarah Bragg within the area to put the ball past the keeper.

The remainder of the first half saw Bretforton create more chances but the forward line didn't show enough aggression when it came to finishing.

After the interval the second goal came quite quickly with Sarah Hall making the running down the right wing to set up Bragg. Then, Hall made it 3-0 with a reverse stick flick over the keeper from a narrow angle.

Evesham came close to pulling a goal back when the ball found the back board, only to be disallowed because it was struck from outside the area.

A 16-yard hit, taken by captain Marion Icke, found the unmarked Hall who placed a perfectly timed cross for Bragg to complete her hat-trick.

Evesham's young and determined team pulled one back with an excellent hard shot from the edge of the area after having another effort disallowed.

Bretforton completed the scoring when Amy Trotman made a driving run through midfield and produced a fine shot which deflected up off the keeper for Sue Harper to pounce.

Bretforton continue their pre-season fixtures on Saturday against Swindon and host their annual tournament the next day at Bretforton Sports Club when half-a-dozen local clubs will be in action at an event that gets under way at 11am.