KC’s came out on top by the skin of their teeth in this relegation dogfight,winning away for the first time at the last attempt and also notching up their first double of the season to open up a ten point gap over bottom of the table Earlsdon.
KC’s started promisingly,driving deep into Earlsdon’s 22 from a first minute lineout but an unforced error allowed the home side to clear their lines and with ten minutes played they posed a real threat themselves when their fullback found himself one on one against his opposite number.Nick Martin made the tackle but KC’s were offside at the resulting ruck and had a let off as Earlsdon’s No 10 struck a post with the straightforward kick at goal.He soon had a chance to make amends when KC’s were penalised again and this time made no mistake.KC’s scrum was then wheeled to give Earlsdon the put in and a front row offence at the reset scrum enabled the hosts to double their lead to 6-0.Five minutes later Kidder’s forwards turned the tables,winning turnover ball against the head,and Andy McLellan landed a thirty metre penalty when Earlsdon’s prop offended at the retaken set piece.KC’s then ran back a kick out of defence and a strong burst by Jake Evetts almost put in skipper John Mounter at the left corner.He was not quite able to make the line and Earlsdon really should have cleared the danger when the ball went loose but Martin pounced for an opportunistic touchdown and McLellan’s fine conversion put KC’s ahead 10-6,a lead which they held to the break as the hosts’ kicker missed another penalty chance.
Two minutes into the second half KC’s won a penalty and McLellan found a good touch on Earlsdon’s 22.From the lineout KC’s drove almost to the tryline and when they were stopped scrumhalf Mark James fed McLellan who dropped a goal to extend the lead to 13-6.An Earlsdon lineout in Kidder’s 22 gave the hosts a good attacking platform but KC’s,with a try saving tackle by Evetts the highlight,defended well to keep them at bay and the tide seemed to turn in Kidder’s favour when the hosts’ No 7 was red carded for a dangerous late tackle on McLellan.However,as is so often the case,the fourteen men raised their game to keep the pressure on KC’s and Carolian nerves were really jangling when Earlsdon ran in an unconverted try to reduce the deficit to 13-11.The Coventry side appeared to have won the game when they crossed again but the “scorer”was brought back by the Earlsdon touch judge’s flag for a foot in touch and a relieved Kidder,who made positional changes to bolster their defence,survived a final ten minutes of frenetic harum-scarum rugby to clinch a vital win and they now have two home games to round off their League campaign.