MALVERN Town remain in control at the top of the Harvey Travel World Midland Alliance after beating Herefordshire rivals Westfields 3-1 at the Langland Stadium on Boxing Day.

MALVERN TOWN 3, WESTFIELDS 1

Striker Mark Owen marked his return from bronchitis with two goals to leave Westfields still struggling near the foot of the table.

Runaway leaders Town enjoyed much of the play in the first-half without creating a good chance until they took the lead two minutes before the interval.

Midfielder Darren Bullock found Phil Preedy with a fine pass and the wide-man fired past young goalkeeper Simon Hamer.

Derek Craddock missed a chance to equalise right on half-time but the game looked out of Westfields' reach in the 65th minute when Mark Owen netted his first goal for Malvern since October 8, when he scored twice in a 5-3 win against Quorn.

An elated Owen scored again with a fierce drive in the 73rd minute, notching his 14th league goal of the season.

Westfields continued to work hard, however, and gained a consolation goal in the 80th minute when Tom Harding crossed from the right for Paul Price to fire home.

A Duncan Preedy volley was brilliantly tipped over for a corner as Malvern comfortably saw out time to record a double against Westfields and their 17th league win out of 19 starts.