Match Report Courtesy of Martin Easton....

KC’s tightened their grip on third spot in Mids 2 West (South) with a hard fought win in this dour local derby and now have a six point lead over their Wychavon rivals who,however,still have a game in hand.
In a cagey opening the significance of the fixture seemed to affect Kidder more than the visitors who profited from the home side’s anxiety and unforced errors to establish territorial advantage.Nevertheless,it was twenty minutes before they had their first opportunity to open the scoring with a presentable kick at goal after KC’s,having already won the ball against the head at a Droitwich scrum some thirty five metres out,needlessly helped it back with a hand but D’s No 10 hooked his effort wide.
Five minutes later Droitwich won another penalty,this time bang in front of the posts.Their No 11 took over the kicking duties and made no mistake for a deserved 3-0 lead.With over half an hour played a raking penalty kick to touch by flyhalf Andy McLellan gave KC’s decent field position for the first time but a lineout knock on conceded possession which was regained when they won Droitwich’s scrum,only to spill the ball in midfield.Kidder retrieved their errors by winning the ball against the head at three successive scrums and were at last playing their rugby in the visitors 22.Awarded a penalty,Kidder opted for another scrum and drove to the line where the visitors were again penalised.KC’s kicked to touch and at the five metre lineout an un savoury brawl broke out involving all thirty players.Kidder were awarded a penalty and once more chose to scrummage,ten metres out,and the visitors conceded another penalty.KC’s went for the scrum and,keeping the ball close to their forwards,were heading for the line until stopped illegally by D’s prop who was yellow carded and Droitwich could consider themselves fortunate not to have given away a penalty try.Strangely,instead of going for a another scrum against a depleted pack KC’s kicked for goal but missed and went into the break still trailing by three points.On the balance of play Droitwich probably just about deserved their narrow lead but KC’s really should have come away with something to show for their dominance in the closing minutes of the half.
Five minutes into the second period KC’s had a let off when Droitwich missed a simple penalty chance but the home side then began to build up some momentum. From a lineout on the visitors ten metre line they drove up to the 22 and kept up the pressure before being held up on the tryline. From the resulting scrum they appeared to have got over but had to settle for another set piece. Held up again, they went blind from the next scrum but knocked on and the chance was lost but Droitwich were slowing the game down at every breakdown and midway through the half Chris Pinner knocked over a penalty to level the scores.KC’s were getting on top and a long McLellan kick was backed up by a good chase to win a five metre lineout from which they drove to the line and inches from the whitewash scrumhalf Pinner picked up the ball from the ruck to touch down for a vital try.
Good lineout work and some tremendous cover tackling by Hillandale Caravans Man of the Match Tom Maher kept KC’s on the front foot and an arcing run by right wing Nick Martin resulted in a Droitwich lineout in their own 22 from which Kidder won turnover ball, forcing the visitors to concede a scrum. McLellan used the possession to drop a goal but the ref had already whistled for a KC’s penalty which Pinner converted to extend the lead to 11-3.Ten minutes later Carols went right from a scrum on Droitwich’s 22,then moved the ball back left from the ruck and McLellan arrowered over a drop goal which cleared the bar by inches to secure a priceless four points for the Marlpool Lane side.
The game was not a great spectacle but given the high stakes it was a match where the result was more significant than the manner in which it was achieved and although the usually fluent KC’s could only manage one try they could take great satisfaction from denying Droitwich a sniff of a chance of crossing the whitewash themselves.