MALVERN Town Ladies entertained third-placed Burlish Olympic Ladies FC in the first game of 2006.

MALVERN TOWN LADIES 2, BURLISH OLYMPIC LADIES 1

Malvern started brightly and had several early chances to take the lead. Sam Shail came closest but her shot went just over the crossbar. Skipper Tracey Evans also had a good opportunity but her long- range shot was just wide of the target.

Malvern continued to dominate and took the lead in the 30th minute after some good work from Ella Buckle and Stacie Doyle found top goalscorer Emily Prosser, who lobbed the keeper from an acute angle.

Burlish tried to find a way back into the game and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. A clever kick saw Malvern's wall beaten but keeper Jenny Shail saved well.

Malvern went 2-0 up in the 42nd minute after Dom Boulton put Prosser through. She rounded the keeper and fired into an empty net.

Burlish hit straight back in the 45th minute after finding a hole in the Malvern defence and slotting a low shot beyond Shail.

The second-half saw most of the possession lie with Burlish. Malvern struggled to get out of their own half but some great defending by man-of-the-match Jenny Griffiths kept the Burlish strikers at bay.

Heidi Barlow, Sharon Coxhead and Sarah Rouse also worked tirelessly to limit Burlish to any shots on goal. Burlish came close to equalising when a long-range effort just missed the post.

Malvern welcomed the return of Becky Crack, who came on in the 75th minute for the first time in over a year, after a serious injury had kept her out. Malvern eventually held on to take all three points. It was a great team effort to beat a strong Burlish side.

Malvern face Droitwich away on Sunday in the quarter final of the County Cup, kick-off 2pm. Malvern are sponsored by First Floor Flooring & The Soccer Site.