DESPITE recent heavy rain, Upton's revival continued in the 'boglands' of Bromyard in this North Midlands One league derby match.

BROMYARD 9pts, UPTON 14pts

Both teams have had a resurgence lately with Bromyard's youngsters beginning to mature and several of Upton's players returning to the fold, so increasing their squad in numbers and quality. A mouth-watering game is always in prospect with these two clubs, who were both founded a mere 21 years ago.

Bromyard kicked off and for the first 10 minutes put Upton under pressure and it was an old Upton player, number 10, Piers Gaunt who opened the scoring with a penalty after 10 minutes.

Upton took time to adjust to the wet conditions and last-minute changes forced by overnight unavailability as both teams tried to play an expansive game which was not easy, and certainly very tiring.

Upton's forwards started to get the upper hand with domination in the line-outs through Gerry Wheeler and the loose play of number seven, Ben Penson, who was everywhere, harassing the opposition, cleaning up and setting up moves.

On 30 minutes number 10, Mark Tether kicked a drop goal, but Gaunt soon replied with another penalty for Bromyard.

Upton upped the pressure with good possession from the rucks and mauls, clean service from debutant scrum-half Dai Hodges to Tether who is now getting back to his peak following an 18-month rest. Tether spotted open space and kicked high to set up a chase for centres Hugh Williams and Brad Raymond to put Bromyard under pressure. When Bromyard failed to field the kick, Williams kicked on and Tether was on hand to touch down. Rob Heeley's conversion attempt rebounded off the post to leave the half-time score at 6-8.

The second half was a frantic affair with Bromyard not wanting their Vice President's/Sponsor's day spoilt and Upton were equally determined not to relinquish the lead.

With the wind behind them, and Tether winning the battle of kicking and passing, it was not long before Upton increased their lead to 6-14 with two penalties from skipper Heeley.

This cushion of eight points put more pressure on Bromyard who tried to counter-attack, spurred on by their large band of supporters. Fierce tackling, particularly by right winger Nigel Watson, replacement flanker Ozzie Jones and Brad Raymond, who later left the field with a dislocated finger, meant that the home team could only get another penalty from Gaunt's boot to make it 9-14.

The heavy pitch took its toll and a number of offences and niggles started to creep into the game but Upton's superior fitness and determination enabled them to hold on for a well-deserved victory and two important points.

Tomorrow (Saturday) Upton aim to get revenge on Five Ways, the victors in the Junior Cup second round clash in October.