A visit to family in the Cotswolds, meant I could come with my father, son and nephew to watch Worcester Raiders, of the Hellenic League Premier Division at the impressive Sixways Stadium.

The future of the Sixways stadium has been somewhat in the balance since the financial demise of the Worcester Warriors RFC. It is still being used as the home of Worcester Raiders, with the club signing a new five year deal, as well as the Worcester Women’s RFC and the ground must surely have a future as it is truly impressive and provides an exceptional space to watch live sport.

Worcester Raiders are managed by Karl Gormley and have added well to their squad over the close season. They opened the season with a good 0-0 draw away at Pershore Town last week and followed this up with a strong Performance in a 3-2 win against Belper in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary round.

Hereford Lads Club were formed in 1925 as a way of engendering gentlemanly conduct and sportsmanship in young lads. The club was promoted to the Hellenic Premier League in 2021 and manager, Danny Moon, has prepared a team he believes can compete at the top of the table this season.

The first half was a dour battle with few chances, save a penalty for Worcester Raiders, which ended up being denied by a late off side flag from the assistant referee. Hereford Lads Club looked to have come to simply claim a point but put up a secure defensive wall which the home side found hard to break.

It was the away side who looked more likely to score on the odd counter attacking chance they created, however as the half time whistle blew the scores were still even.

The second half continued in the same pattern as the first half. Finally a break in the 69th minute saw Worcester Raiders break the deadlock with a fine finish by Isaac Cooper.

The last twenty minutes saw chances for both sides but in the end it was the Worcester Raiders side who were able to close out a 1-0 victory, to make it four points from six in the opening two games.