Stratford 4, Yardley 3

STRATFORD entertained bottom of the table Yardley in Saturday's DTZ West Midlands Premier League clash.

Known for shaky starts, the home side played some breathtaking hockey in the opening 20 minutes of the encounter scoring four goals on the way.

They played with patience and movement, which tore Yardley's defence ragged.

Their first goal came from a free hit outside the circle when captain Stuart Guise found Dave Black, in plenty of space, to convert with a decisive shot.

Stratford continued to apply the pressure and were awarded an array of penalty corners. In form Ed Grigg was unlucky not to score from one when his shot was blocked on the line by an opposing foot, but Mark Leary coolly stepped up to convert the penalty flick.

Guise then made it three with another slick corner routine after some neat work from the mobile Gordon Snoddy.

Stratford's fourth also came from a penalty corner, with Leary getting his second after lifting the ball over the advancing keeper.

At this point the home side were cruising but a lack of concentration gave Yardley a hope as the pegged one back from a penalty corner. This gave them confidence and they soon scored another.

Looking so comfortable at 4-0, with Nick Turner again in fine style in Stratford's defence, they suddenly found themselves 4-2 up but with a game on their hands.

The second half started brighter for the away side as they clawed another goal back.

As the game went on Stratford found Yardley's keeper in fine form as he saved one shot after another and were unlucky not to extend their lead when Guise had a shot cleared of the line.

This produced a frantic ending to the game and Yardley nearly pinched a draw but found goal keeper Mark Dudley in fine form as he pulled off an exceptional save.

The result was important for Stratford as they consolidated third place and kept pressure on Worcester, but they need to concentrate on putting in more consistent performances.

West Midlands Premier

P W D L F A Pts

Wolverhampton 11 11 0 0 52 12 33

Worcester Norton 12 9 2 1 38 23 29

Stratford 12 6 2 4 36 28 20

Kingswinford 10 5 1 4 27 20 16

Aldridge 12 4 4 4 39 36 16

Wombourne 12 5 0 7 31 34 15

Evesham 11 4 1 6 22 33 13

Handsworth Eagles 12 4 1 7 29 43 13

Bromsgrove 11 3 2 6 21 33 11

Walsall 12 3 2 7 23 35 11

Yardley 11 1 1 9 12 33 4