LAWN'S shot for the Regional League One title was stalled as Hucclecote edged them 31-29 at Next Generation on Sunday.

Still recovering from the scars of a bruising battle with Plymouth Pilgrims the previous week, Lawn faced a strong squad which featured a couple of their Premiership players.

And after a first quarter in which both teams made mistakes, the sides were level at eight goals each.

Hucclecote won the next quarter by three goals, but Lawn's exceptional fitness was a feature again.

However, injuries to six of their seven players started to show, coach Mark Singer having to make a couple of changes going into the last half.

While the Lawn defence continued to turn balls, the sharpness of the Hucclecote defence meant neither team scored for the first eight minutes of the third quarter.

Lawn managed just four goals, thanks to the superb shooting of Kerrie Easey and Amy Richardson, while Hucclecote hit seven.

Lawn were six goals down going into the last quarter but defended superbly and scored seven goals without reply.

But a goal up with three minutes to go, the home side paid the price for missed opportunities as Hucclecote edged home.

Lawn captain Alex Leonard said: "It's a shame that we weren't match-fit as we feel we would have had the edge.

"Unfortunately, we had a tough game against a physical team last week, but it was a very good defensive performance from both teams.

"The situation is still in our hands to win this league as we are still top. We just have to win all our final games.''

  • After beating Lawn the previous week, Pinehurst made it a double over local rivals with a one-point win over Moredon at Dorcan in Regional League Division Two.

Pinehurst were always assertive on attack, with Julie Turner having an excellent game at shoot, recording over 90 per cent shooting average.

Captain Jenny Ponting said: "If we can reduce the number of unforced errors, we are confident in countinuing our unbeaten run and stretching our leads.'' SWINDON & DISTRICT NETBALL LEAGUE RESULTS Division One: Croft A 42, Fairford A 22; Delta Blue 29, Highworth A 32; Moredon A 43, Moredon B 25; Pinehurst A 27, Park A 49; Raychem A 44, Lawn A 29.

Division Two: Abbey Meads A 33, Moredon C 14; Corsham 14, Burmah A 38; Croft B 16, Malmesbury 28; Ferndale A 36, Raychem B 36; Highworth B 37, Lawn B 19; Raychem C 39, Fairford B 43.

Division Three: Pinehurst B 26, Nationwide 36; Croft C 41, Burmah B 39; Highworth D 33, Highworth C 20; Lawn C 67, Park C 42; Raychem D 20, Kennet Valley 39; Team Wheatsheaf 15, Lawn D 25.

Division Four: Burmah C 8, Abbey Meads B 42; Croft D 22, Highworth E 10; Fairford C 16, Lawn E 30; Haydon Wick 25, Ferndale B 53; Moredon D 17, Raychem E 40; Thames Water 19, Abbey Meads C 20.