STRUGGLING Malvern RFC get a welcome break from their poor Midlands One league campaign today (ko 2pm) when they entertain holders Chester in the EDF Intermediate Cup.

There may not be valuable points at stake but after nine straight league matches without a win and rock bottom of the league table, Dave Robins' side look to go on a confidence-boosting cup run.

Join sports editor Mark Stanford from 1.30pm for LIVE! coverage of Malvern RFC's cup clash from Spring Lane.

LIVE! Malvern RFC v Chester.

4.25pm: MATCH REPORT: MALVERN RFC gained their first win of the season, knocking out EDF Intermediate Cup holders Chester 21-16 in a great display at Spring Lane.

Tries from Tom Beechey, Greg Summers and Luke Greenwood were enough to see off Chester as Malvern kickstarted their campign with a morale-boosting victory.

Dave Robins' side showed great organisation with the forwards dominating line-outs and scrums with second row James Hynes directing traffic for the home side.

Full-back Chris Hooper also had his kicking boots on, a point which may have cost Chester the win as their fly-half Tom Foden missed numerous penalty chances and conversions.

With no league points at stake, Malvern played with confidence and flair in large parts of the match, dominating the play and kicking for touch intellegently on many occasions.

Despite Chester taking an early lead through a Tom Foden penalty and a try in the 29th minute from Richard Moore and a further touch down from Ross White, Malvern re-grouped and stormed into a two-try recovery just before the break.

First Thomas Beechey crossed the line in the first minute of first-half stoppage time and then two minutes later Greg Summers resembled an Olympic sprinter when he stormed through the midfielder, running over to the left-hand corner and going over after an impressive 40-metre run.

Malvern could have been forgiven for not wanting the first period to end but carried on their fine form when Luke Greenwood finished off a four-man sweeping move across the pitch for his side's third and final try of the match.

Despite a late penalty score from Foden, Malvern hung on for a tense but well-deserved victory.

But Malvern will hope that this afternoon's victory can be transferred to their Midlands One league campaign when they host Bedford Athletic next Saturday.

3.34pm- FINAL SCORE: MALVERN 21-16 CHESTER: Malvern advance to the third round after knocking out the holders. The Malvern players and coaching staff storm the pitch with scenes of great celebration as they get their first win of the season.

Match report to follow.

3.33pm- It's a tense finish here at Spring Lane as Chester exert the pressure in Malvern's half with only a try score between the sides in the dying moments.

3.26pm- SUBSTITUTION: Malvern's Thomas Drew goes off to make way for Dave Smith in the 74th min.

3.19pm- Chester's Tom Foden misses a penalty kick just inside Malvern's 22.

SUBSTITUTION: Malvern's Luke Greenwood goes off and makes way for Vaughan Thomas in the 67th.

3.06pm- Malvern's Chris Hooper misses a penalty kick from a difficult angle on the left side in the 55th min.

3.03pm- PENALTY SCORE: MALVERN 21-16 CHESTER: Tom Foden scores for Chester in the 52nd from 25 metres.

3.01pm- SUBSTITUTION: Chester's Simon Verbickas comes on in the 50th min.

2.58pm- TRY! MALVERN 21-13 CHESTER: Luke Greenwood finishes off a sweeping move in the 47th min involving Hooper and Beechey from the right-wing and culiminating in a touch down between the posts.

Great play. Hooper converts from almost directly between the posts. Chester are on the rack now.

2.52pm- RE-START: Chester's Tom Foden with the re-start kick. Malvern immediately start the half how the last one finished, taking the game to the cup holders.

2.48pm- HALF-TIME: MALVERN 14-13 CHESTER.

2.45pm- TRY! MALVERN 14-13 CHESTER: Malvern don't want this half to end as Greg Summers sprints through going from the middle of the park to the left-wing and no-one can catch him as Hooper converts. Malvern take the lead for the first time.

2.43pm- TRY! MALVERN 7-13 CHESTER: The hosts get the try they deserve as Thomas Beechey goes over in the left-hand corner and Chris Hooper converts in the first minute of injury time.

2.41pm- Malvern's full-back Chris Hooper misses a penalty kick attempt from 27 yards in the 39th min.

2.32pm- TRY! MALVERN 0-13 CHESTER: The wheels are coming off for Malvern as sloppy play in their own 22 by Hooper gives the ball away and Ross White goes over fo his side's second try. But Foden fails with his second successive conversion attempt on the half hour.

2.32pm- TRY! MALVERN 0-8 CHESTER: A bitter blow for Malvern as Chester's Richard Moore dives over the right-hand corner of the tryline but the touch down is not converted in the 29th min, just as Malvern had taken control of the possession.

2.24pm- Malvern's Richard Fleming is sin-binned in the 22nd min.

2.18pm- After an early penalty score setback, Malvern are standing up to the Chester attack and having a few bright moments for themselves too.

2.13pm- A great, surging run from Malvern's Tom Beechey in the 11th doesn't have the reward of a try he deserved as he dashed 40 yards, kicked the ball forward during that run but was thwarted by a Chester tackle a couple of metres before the tryline.

2.09pm- Malvern's James Hynes picks up treatment for a knock to his knee but he's ok to continue as the home side peg Chester back into their own half-good response from Malvern.

2.06pm- PENALTY SCORE: MALVERN 0-3 CHESTER: Early setback for Malvern as Chester's fly-half Tom Foden scores with a routine penalty kick direct in front of the post from 20 metres in the 4th min.

2.05pm- Chester have made the brighter start as they are camped out in Malvern's 22 and have already won a line-out.

2.03pm- KICK-OFF, Malvern's Cameron Pimlow gets us underway.

1.58pm- The teams are out on the pitch, Malvern line up in marron shirts, shorts and socks and Chester line up in red and white shirts, black shorts and red, black and white hooped socks.

1.45pm- TODAY'S TEAMS: MALVERN: 1-Thomas Drew, 2-Luke Greenwood, 3-Joseph Ling, 4-Gareth Taylor, 5-James Hynes, 6-James Martin, 7-Stephen Strong, 8-Owen Jones, 9-Jamie Gwynne, 10-Cameron Pimlow, 11-Greg Summers, 12-Richard Fleming, 13-Ryan Watkins (c), 16-Thomas Beechey, 15-Chris Hooper. Replacements: 17-John Clark, 14-Andy Murphy, 18-Dave Smith, 19-Vaughan Thomas.

CHESTER: 1-Gavin Hughes, 2-Dewi Williams, 3-James Whitelock-Wainwright, 4-John Beckwith, 5-Gareth Sanger, 6-Chris Lewis, 7-Gareth Martin, 8-Ross White, 9-Tom Chappell, 10-Tom Foden,11-Gareth Coy, 12-Simon Verbickas, 13-Liam Lawton, 14-Ed Champler, 15-Sean Green (c). Reps: 16-Richard Moore, 17-Gareth Evans, 18-David Legat, 19-Marcus Lyon.

REFEREE: Andrew Attwell (Warwickshire Society).

1.37pm- BOSS' THOUGHTS: League form goes out of the window this afternoon as Midlands One bottom side Malvern play third placed Chester, the curent EDF Cup holders.

Malvern director of rugby Dave Robins said: "We are the underdogs which is an advnatge to us.

"The league pressure is off, we're on our own patch and we can hopefully go out there and pla rugby and get a shock result, which is what it would be."

1.32pm- Welcome to this afternoon's LIVE! coverage of Malvern's EDF Intermediate Cup second round clash with Chester from Spring Lane. Before the kick-off at 2pm we will have Dave Robins' thoughts on the match and today's teams.