OLD LEAMINGTONIANS produced some of the best rugby they have played all season but again they failed to capitalise on their chances and fell to a narrow 13-7 defeat at Droitwich in the Midlands 2 West (South) division.
The league’s basement boys had to settle for another losing point which keeps them rooted at the foot of the table with just two games remaining.
The first half proved to be a pretty even affair with the visitors having the better of possession and but a determined defence from both sides prevented any early scoring.
It took until moments before half-time until the breakthrough was made after Droitwich were awarded a penalty which was converted to give the hosts a 3-0 lead at half-time.
The second half started with Droitwich adding another penalty score within five minutes to increase their lead but it was OL’s that scored.
A Droitwich move was fumbled and centre Keiran O’Connor picked up the ball, broke through the defence and ran 60 meters to score between the posts for a well taken try which was converted by Bradley James to put OL’s into a deserved 7-6 lead.
OL’s dominated the second half but as the game went on it became increasingly frustrating that they could not convert their possession into points.
And when they did force the Droitwich pack over the goal line the match official determined that the ball had been held up.
OL’s repeatedly forced their opponents back into their own 22 metre area but they could not finalise the move due to a combination of determined defence and unfortunate errors.
Droitwich continued to respond and from a misdirected attacking kick ahead by OL’s the home side were able to gain ground for the length of the field and from a series of mauls pushed OL’s back over the goal line to score a push over try to regain the lead with a conversion.
And whilst OL’s continued to dominate the match they failed to add to the scoreline and had to settle for yet another losing bonus point .
This Saturday OL’s host Leamington RFC in a game that could determine the fate of either or both clubs.
