Cheltenham Saracens’ automatic promotion hopes were dealt a severe blow on Saturday as three first-half goals handed Worcester Raiders a 3-0 win.

Raiders currently sit second in the league with Sarries in fourth, meaning a win for the Cheltenham-based side would have gone a long way in reducing the gap to the top two but they are now fifteen points off Studley in first place, albeit with two games in hand.

Saracens bounced back from that defeat by beating Moreton Rangers 2-1 on Tuesday night, with both sides ending the game with ten men.

Rangers went into the game having suffered a heavy 8-2 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers, but an improved Cirencester Town Development on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Bourton Rovers’ poor form continued with a 2-0 loss at home to mid-table Littleton.

A goal from Michael Boyd proved to be enough for Littleton, who increased Bourton’s winless run to a whopping fourteen games.

However, Bourton did bounce back from the game with a 3-3 draw with Hereford Pegasus on Tuesday.

Bourton fought back from two goals down before taking the lead, even scoring directly from a corner, before Hereford levelled the game with just minutes left on the clock.

Bishops Cleeve claimed yet another win in their pursuit of the title on Friday, running out 2-0 victors over Chipping Sodbury Town, with goals from Jack Watts and Kevin Slack proving to be enough for Cleeve.

They then followed up their win with a dull 0-0 draw with Westfields as both sides found themselves unable to break the deadlock.