DROITWICH Spa almost pulled off one of the shocks of the season as they narrowly lost 22-16 to league leaders Old Laurentians.
The visitors were unbeaten in Midlands Two West (South) having won eight out of their opening nine games.
But second from bottom Droitwich were not overawed by their opponents and as the second half wore on they looked like the side most likely to claim the win.
As expected, Laurentians started on the front foot and mounted heavy pressure onto the home sides’ defence. But to their credit, Spa dug deep and kept the away side at bay for 20 minutes before they eventually scored under the posts after a charge down in midfield.
After the early onslaught, Droitwich began to make attacks of their own as Sam Davenport went close. And their endeavour was rewarded when Nick Godfrey broke off the back of a scrum to beat one man and then find a neat inside pass to Russ Brown, who scored in the corner.
Scott Walker landed the conversion before slotting home two more kicks from considerable distance to put Spa ahead at half time.
However, as the pitch got heavier in the second half, Laurentians’ greater fitness levels began to tell as they regained the lead with a try.
Scott Walker dispatched another penalty, but a lapse in concentration from the young Spa side allowed the visitors to score a further try.
A penalty then followed as Old Laurents gave themselves a six points cushion. Gregor Macleod and Chris Danksy looked to find a response for Spa as they went for the win in the final stages, but they could not break through the visitors’ defence.
