Worcester Wanderers 7 Hereford 15

HEREFORD coach Bob Stewart was delighted with his team after their success in the double-header earned them four Midlands One West points to take them up to second place in the table as well as securing a North Midlands Cup semi-final spot.

“I’m proud as punch with the boys, particularly the scrums and defensive play," he said. "There is still more to come”.

Five penalty goals from the boot of Morgan Goodall secured the win in a match between two teams who both have promotion aspirations.

The match was never a classic, but illustrated the determination of both teams to succeed.

A Worcester indiscretion gave Goodall the chance to make up for an earlier miss and, on the half hour, he registered his second penalty with a good strike from just inside the Worcester half.

Two further successful penalty attempts took the Wyesiders’ lead to 12 points.

As the interval approached the Worcester pack put in increased effort which earned them two penalties which they elected to run and which the excellent Hereford defensive pattern contained.

Just before half time a home prop was yellow carded for persistent offending and Hereford lost Ben Osborne for ten minutes for making a tackle from an off-side position in the “red zone”.

Hereford started the second period with a number of promising three-quarter movements, all of which ended with handling errors before an interception allowed Worcester to run the ball back to just short of the Hereford line.

Forward pressure forced a succession of penalties resulting in a yellow card for Jamie Bullock and a penalty try.

The conversion took the home team to within five points but then of a Worcester attack was halted by a fierce tackle from Mark Philo which dislodged the ball.

From the ensuing scrum a Worcester offence gave Goodall the opportunity to seal the Hereford victory with his fifth penalty.

"The pack as a whole were instrumental in this excellent win, which showed the commitment and determination of each and every member of the squad," said spokesman Robin Davies.