An injury-hit Cleobury Ladies National League side battled to their tenth straight win in a row on Sunday when they beat fellow promotion hopefuls Salford 3-2 at home in a predictable five sets.

The victory was made all the sweeter by the fact the away side were reduced to only five fit players - a huge disadvantage in a six-aside game!

The Christmas break left both teams looking and feeling decidedly rusty and the first set was full of mistakes. Cleobury showed glimpses of their exciting early season form at the but it was Salford who capitalised on the errors to edge out the set 25:21.

The second set was equally unmemorable with both teams still throwing in frequent errors. Cleobury managed to string together a run of points in the middle of the set and pull ahead, thanks mainly to the powerful hitting and stuff blocks of Clare Jones. The small two point lead proved to be enough and Cleobury took the set 25:23.

The third set was almost a carbon copy of the second and Cleobury edged ahead to take a 2:1 lead.

The fourth set saw Cleobury begin to tire, their lack of substitutes and Christmas over-indulgence was taking its toll. Salford took full advantage and forced the play at the net, which required last-gasp defending from Sophie Cooke and Becky Brookes.

The Cleobury side looked short on ideas and at 20:13 down were contemplating another tiring fifth set. One bad landing later and Cleobury's predicament deepened as key defender Ellie Boddey went down injured, later

to be confirmed with a fractured bone in her foot. Cleobury had two choices, forfeit the game as they could not field six players, or hope Ellie could hop on and off court during each point to satisfy the rules.

Cleobury's predictable never-say-die attitude came into play and Ellie needed no encouragement to fight through the pain for her team-mates. Cleobury played on but lost the fourth set soon after 25:16.

Another fifth set then. Only five fit players but still the same amount of court to cover forced Cleobury to switch to beach-style defending. Against the odds and displaying new passion, Cleobury took an early 5:2 lead. Sophie Cooke combined with setter Becky Brookes to find the floor repeatedly on the wing allowing Cleobury to turn around first at 8:5 up.

Ellie Boddey, now in obvious pain, put on a brave face as concerns from the referee as to the state of her health were fuelled by a call from the opposition to claim the match. Cleobury were determined to make Salford finish as they sensed they were gaining the upper hand. Cleobury continued to dominate the net, Lyndsey Rankin sending home another middle attack. Back court, however, they were forced into ragged defending to ensure they stayed in the point.

And finally at 15:11 they had their reward as they took a remarkable set against such close rivals.

It was another victory in what is proving to be a club record-winning streak. And the question no-one dares to ask....could this be their year?