Match Report Courtesy of Martin Easton....

KC’s faced another stiff challenge when drawn away in the 2nd Round of the RFU Intermediate Cup against an abrasive Wolverhampton side who top Mids 2 West (North) with four bonus win victories out of four and although they outscored their hosts by three tries to two they went down to a narrow defeat despite having opportunities to progress to the next round.

KC’s made a sleepy start and went behind after five minutes.They won a lineout in their own half but lost possession and Wolverhampton moved the ball to their right wing who evaded some weak tackles to cut inside and score at the side of the posts for the opening try,easily converted to give the home side a 7-0 lead.
Kidder began to liven up and threatened for the first time when the hosts overthrew a lineout and scrumhalf Chris Pinner made good ground before finding Balders in support who offloaded to open side Rob Phillips who was bundled into touch just short of the tryline.KC’s used the field position to exert more pressure and appeared to have scored when their forwards drove over but they were adjudged to have been held up,the first of many questionable decisions which baffled both sides all afternoon.Now under pressure and infringing persistently,Wolverhampton were reduced to fourteen men when their No 8 was yellow carded and KC’s kicked the resultant penalty to touch to set up a lineout drive which was finished off by hooker Stu Such to cut the arrears to 7-5.
On the half hour Wolverhampton knocked on in midfield and KC’s hacked the ball into their 22.From ruck ball flyhalf Andy McLellan put in an astute grubber kick but Nick Martin,possibly impeded by a Wolves’ defender,was just beaten to the touchdown.Kidder were, however,not to be denied and another lineout drive ended with a first senior try for prop Stuart Simms to put them ahead for the first time,10-7,but just before the break the hosts retook the lead.The home side’s strong running centres had been dangerous whenever in possession and from a scrum on KC’s 22 their No 13 broke through Kidder’s midfield far too easily to cross for a try which was well converted and gave Wolverhampton a 14-10 interval advantage.
Eight minutes into the second period a Wolves penalty extended their lead to 17-10 but from a scrum on halfway McLellan kicked deep into their territory to put their fullback in trouble and win KC’s a five metre scrum.From the set piece No 8 Layton Wilkinson set up a ruck and Kidder worked the blindside to put Phillips over in the right hand corner and bring them to within two points,17-15.For the next quarter of an hour KC’s forwards camped on Wolverhampton’s line.The hosts defended well but conceded countless penalties in the process,somehow managing to keep fifteen players on the field,and KC’s declined opportunity after opportunity to kick the three points they needed to regain the lead until they eventually decided to have a pot at goal.Unfortunately,the kick drifted wide and from the restart Wolves got their hands on the ball again and took play back up to KC’s 22 where they remained until the final whistle,denying Kidder any chance to respond and almost scoring again themselves on a couple of occasions.
In the final analysis,this was a very closely fought contest between two evenly matched sides and the crucial difference was that,not for the first time this season,KC’s failed to take their goal kicking opportunities.They have now scored twenty four tries in six games,quite outstanding,but have converted only six and have also missed a number of penalties and in tight games this can be the difference between winning and losing.
KC’s return to league action on 20th October away at Upton on Severn.