The pressure of a survival battle is bringing the best out of Bridgnorth.

And captain James Childs is hoping it could be enough to guarantee their West Midlands Premier status this weekend.

Bridgnorth entertain title-chasing Finchfield (1.30pm) knowing one more victory from their remaining three games will all but ensure they avoid relegation.

And they find themselves in that position after an excellent 5-1 victory at mid-table Kings Heath Pickwick on Saturday.

“It was a very good win, especially as we were under pressure to get a result,” said Childs, whose team will have to do without midfielder Rob Foster on Saturday.

“All the guys were really fired up for it and worked their socks off and we took our chances when they came along.

“We haven’t played badly all season but we have been making little mistakes. We managed to stop those errors last week and it’s put us in very high spirits for the Finchfield game.”

Bridgnorth took early control of the game and a reverse stick shot from Matt Ealey saw them take a deserved early lead.

Kevin Thomas doubled the advantage but Kings Heath were back in contention when they pulled a goal back just after half-time.

But any fears that Bridgnorth would collapse were mis-placed as Ealey added two more strikes to complete his hat-trick, and James Speke rounded off the scoring late on.

Shrewsbury now find themselves on the same number of points as Bridgnorth, but endured a weekend which contrasted sharply with their Shropshire rivals.

They were thumped 7-1 at Old Halesonians on Saturday, Alwyn Howarth grabbing a late consolation, before going down 3-1 to bottom club West Bromwich on Sunday after James Bird had given them the lead.

“We got exactly what we deserved on Saturday,” said captain Steve Rivett.

“We were dis-jointed, there was no structure and I don’t think anyone could put their hand up and say they played to their potential. Sunday was different and we were much improved.

“We felt we were in control for a lot of the game but we conceded an equaliser.

“Instead of settling for a point, we went searching for the winner and got caught twice in two minutes. It was very hard to take because we had performed well.”

Shrewsbury entertain Kings Heath Pickwick on Saturday (2pm) with player coach Jon Davis unavailable and Rivett himself a doubt.

But experienced midfielder Matt Sillence could be available.

By JAMES GARRISON