WORCESTER City ground out a 2-0 victory over Haughmond this afternoon. We rate the players…

MATT GWYNNE 7

Displayed greater confidence. Not called on all that much but an early parry from a point-blank header seemed to restore his belief. A solid performance.

GEORGE FORSYTH 7

Seemed to be in the right place at the right time to deal with rare hairy moments for City. Added drive going forward too. Another assured display.

TYLER WEIR 7

Added impetus going forward with just one slip at the back in the first half. Got clattered and was clearly in pain but battled on. His run and hook for Lee Hughes deserved to be finished off.

MARK SMITH 6

The recent reshuffle around him looks to have done Smith good. Played with authority despite not having a massive amount to do.

WAYNE THOMAS 6

Like Smith, his presence gave his colleagues the platform to play and dominate. A welcome return.

NATHAN HAYWARD 7

Forceful in the middle and found the right man more often than not. Gave opponents the eyes with clever reverse passes that sometimes outfoxed his team-mates too.

JOSH SARMENTO 5

Blighted by illness again. Tried but was out of sorts by his high standards. Withdrawn after little more than half an hour.

MAT BIRLEY 7

Got City playing in a tough battle that saw Haughmond sit back. His experience helped City realise patience would be a virtue.

STAR MAN – LEE HUGHES 8

Tireless running and of course that golden touch at key times.

Would have been easy to get frustrated against a tightly-packed defence but Hughes led from the front.

JAMES BALDWIN 7

Perhaps this was not Baldwin's most technically-assured display but the same could be said of City.

Nevertheless, he kept plugging away, took the knocks and played a part in both goals.

ALEX TOMKINSON 7

Bright without things quite dropping for him. Good movement, switched wings and tried all sorts to move Haughmond’s backline.

Subs: Moran 7 (Sarmento, 31), O’Donnell 7 (Baldwin, 76), Albert 6 (Hughes, 85). Unused subs: A Griffiths, Lewis.

Haughmond: Sam Jones 7, Carpenter 7, J Griffiths 6, Simms 7 (Fletcher, 66, 6), Williams 6, Rogers 7 (A Jones, 66, 6), Owen 6, Howells 6, Hole 6, Renshaw 6 (Phillips, h-t, 6), Parry 6. Unused subs: Hewitt, Sean Jones.

Attendance: 336.

Ref: Adrian Hall 7/10.

Match rating: 3/5.