HOCKEY: Stourport Men saw their eight-game winning streak in Midlands Division One come to an end when they were held 1-1 by local rivals Worcester.

Stourport knew that it was going to be a tough encounter against their local rivals and so it proved to be in the first half, which saw Worcester take the lead inside the first 90 seconds.

From then it became an end-to-end affair with little outcome for either side in the way of clear-cut chances.

After a strong teamtalk by player/coach Kali Taker and non-playing coach Paul Edwards, the hosts piled on the pressure and were rewarded with a David Knott goal midway through the second half.

Worcester were on the back foot but defended resolutely with their centre-backs and goalkeeper performing admirably against the marauding Stourport attacks.

A second goal seemed to be on the cards and only a matter of time, Knott thought he had bagged it only to see his effort ruled out by a confusing umpiring decision.

Worcester had to settle for the occasional breakaway but found the Stourport defence of goalkeeper Alex Cook and defenders Will Terry, Andy Cavendish ,Chris Parry, Dave Stokes and Simon Claris too much of a fortress to crack.

In midfield, Dan Hurley and Phil Baldwin denied the opposition space and time on the ball, while upfront Knott, Chris Hill and Dan Petrie time and time again forced the Worcester defence to make successful last effort tackles.

On Saturday, Stourport play Edgbaston in Birmingham in a 1.30pm start.