Match Report courtesy of Martin Easton......

Banbury 5 KC’s 11

KC’s produced something of an upset at Bodicote Park in this fourth round tie of the Midlands RFU Intermediate Cup,dumping the leaders of Mids 2 West (S) out of the competition on their own patch to progress to the semi finals.
On another wet miserable afternoon Kidder began with the benefit of a vicious wind at their backs and when Banbury knocked on just outside their 22 in the very first minute No 8 Layton Wilkinson,who had a storming game,made good ground from the scrum to spark off a series of attacking phases which ended with winger Arthur Morgan being tackled into touch at the left corner.Although KC’s stole the lineout, Banbury were awarded a free kick but against the wind could make little distance and the visitors used the lineout possession to launch another series of attacks which this time they were able to finish off as fullback Andy McLellan came into the line to crash over wide out on the left for a 5-0 lead with only four minutes played.
Banbury’s re-start held up in the wind and was knocked on but from the scrum they lost the ball forward themselves and a long kick by McLellan into the home side’s deep in goal area,a useful tactic in the conditions,forced them to take a 22 drop out which returned posssion to Kidder who were promptly penalised for a crossing offence which enabled Banbury to get their hands on the ball for the first time.They were,however,able to make little headway against a solid KC’s defence and from turnover ball the visitors won a penalty in the hosts 22 which scrumhalf Chris Pinner converted to extend the advantage to 8-0 with eleven minutes on the clock.
A repeat long kick by McLellan induced another Banbury 22 drop out from which Pinner found an excellent touch ten metres out.Banbury’s throw was not straight but from the scrum KC’s knocked on in the backs and the hosts lively scrumhalf then scampered from one 22 to the other before being stopped and a fine relieving kick by McLellan sent them trudging back into their own half again.A couple of lineout steals gave Kidder momentum but knock ons,misunderstandings when players were not on the same wavelength and penalties conceded hampered their progress and after both sides had been warned about infringing at the breakdowns openside Mike Protheroe was yellow carded.Banbury then put together some useful phases of their own without ever being able to breach KC’s defence and after they had been repelled by yet another McLellan howitzer illegal use of the elbow gave Pinner another penalty chance from twenty five metres and he made no mistake.
A crunching tackle by hooker Joe Kingstone on Kidder’s ten metre line stopped another Banbury attack in its tracks and a strong run up the left by Laurence Hughes followed by a kick ahead resulted in a drop out by the home side which was actually blown backwards to give KC’s a scrum which came to nothing but a strike against the head by Kingstone then gave McLellan a drop goal opportunity which never threatened the posts and the halftime whistle blew without any further scoring.
Banbury had put 105 points past Droitwich the previous week but had been kept pretty quiet by KC’s and had never remotely threatened a score in the first forty minutes.However,the crucial question was whether an eleven point lead would be enough?
From the very start of the second half Kidder set out their stall as they retained possession for the best part of five minutes,combining pick and goes with short passes just to progress from their 22 to the halfway line.They were given a dose of their own medicine when a long Banbury kick obliged them to drop out but a great forwards drive took them back up to halfway.They looked in trouble when the hosts No 9 burst away from the fringes of a ruck on KC’s ten metre line and it took a timely tackle by Arthur Morgan to prevent a try but Kidder were getting penned into their own 22 and when they were stripped of the ball trying to counter Banbury went from right to left and then back again to find flanker Sean Bannister in space out wide and he crossed for a try which opened the door for the home side with at least twenty five minutes still left to play.
With the pitch now turning into a mudbath,KC’s brought on fresh legs with Jack Tunstall and Ben Turner replacing Simon Clarke and Matt Rigsby but only two minutes later they were let off the hook as Banbury badly missed a shot at goal from the ten metre line and they made the most of their escape,using lineout ball to drive into Banbury’s 22.After kicking a penalty to five metres they worked the ball infield and the forwards got over the whitewash but were held up and at the scrum they knocked on to enable the hosts to clear.
From a scrum on their own ten metre line Banbury kicked dangerously into KC’s 22 but George Morgan engineered a fine exit before going off injured and Kidder then stole a five metre throw to keep the home side at bay once more.They continued to show admirable discipline,keeping the ball at close quarters and looking after it really well,and they appeared to have seen the game out as the clock ticked past forty minutes but then had to endure an agonising eight minutes of time added on during which they were almost at breaking point and conceded five penalties.Presumably wanting to score near the posts to make the conversion easier,Banbury tried to run all of them rather than kicking to the corner but a defiant Kidderminster held out for a memorable win.
This was a monumental team effort by KC’s particularly in the second half,based on totally committed defence,sheer hard work and a bloody minded determination not to be beaten by a side who had previously lost only twice this season.They were up for the challenge,played the conditions better than their opponents and at times their ball retention through countless phases was quite outstanding.
The Veterans XV made it a good afternoon out in Oxfordshire by also winning their match, 25-0.
Next week Kidder return to league action with a home fixture against Harborne – KO 2.15 pm.