Title & Tagline by Andy McLellan
Match report Courtesy of Brian Pinner

Kidderminster Carolians lost this tight encounter by the narrowest of margins, and will consider it a lost opportunity to put some space between themselves and the other teams near the foot of the league table.

The home side started on the attack, and KCs had to withstand a series of forward drives close to their line in the first 5 minutes, until a crunching tackle from Nathan Small brought some relief. KCs then started to work their way up the field, and kept the ball alive through a number of phases to threaten the Salts’ line, but could not convert the pressure into points.

Much of the play for the next 20 minutes took place in the middle of the pitch, with KCs’ forwards holding their own in the set pieces, but their backs struggling to make any breaks against a solid defence. Salts forced a number of turnovers at the breakdown, as KCs left the ball carrier isolated, but they were unable to create anything from their possession.

Tom Maher and Mike Protheroe provided quality lineout ball for much of the game, but despite being able to put out a first choice back line, KCs created very little in the way of scoring opportunities. Unlike the previous week there were no offloads as players went to ground, and the resolute Salts defence were always there in numbers to slow the ball down, or steal possession.

KCs’ defence was also strong, forcing Salts to kick away possession in an effort to gain ground, but KCs were able to clear their lines with some excellent clearing touch kicks from Freddie Morgan and Andy McLellan.

When the deadlock was finally broken after 35 minutes it was real family affair, as Freddie Morgan followed up his own clearance kick to tackle the ball carrier, and force a turnover that gave brother George some space to make ground. When he was tackled on the half way line he popped the ball up to Arthur Morgan, who outpaced the covering defence to score a try in the right corner, giving KCs a 5 – 0 half time lead.

With the slope and light breeze in their favour in the second half KCs would have been expecting to increase their lead, but it was not to be. An early penalty chance from 40 metres out just drifted wide of the posts, and a few minutes later a strong run by Jake Shellis created a half chance for George Morgan, but he was tackled just short of the line and then penalised to allow Salts to clear to touch.

The second half was punctuated by long stoppages for a variety of injuries, and neither side were able to create any continuity, as unforced errors halted any attacks before they had chance to develop. The Salts hooker had to leave the field with a head injury after 25 minutes of the half, and this led to uncontested scrums for the remainder of the match.

The home side started to dominate territory and possession as the game neared its conclusion, and the KCs’ tackling was found wanting on a few occasions. KCs were penalised at a ruck when they had a good attacking opportunity, and Salts kicked to touch from the penalty. They secured good ball at the resulting line-out and worked their way up the touch line, keeping possession through numerous phases. A try for Salts looked inevitable, only for the final tackle to prevent the touch down, until KCS finally ran out of energy and numbers and Salts forced their way over. The successful conversion proved to be the match winner, giving the home side a 7 – 5 victory. KCs strived to create one more scoring chance, and with the final play of the match Jake Shellis was put through the defence for a clear run at the line, only for the pass to be ruled forward.

KCs will be disappointed to only come away with a single bonus point from this match, when a win was there for the taking. They will need to find ways to break down an organised defence when players are not able to beat their opposite number on an individual basis, as was the case in this game. Their next match is against Old Yardleians, at home, with an earlier kick off time of 2:15pm now that the clocks have changed.