Atherstone 5, Redditch 15

REDDITCH cemented a mid-table position and safety in the Midlands Division Four West (South) with five games remaining.

Despite playing against 14 men for the majority of the game it was a hard-fought slog against an abrasive Atherstone pack.

The Kingfishers came out of the blocks the quickest and took an early lead as man of the match Lewis Saddington jinked his way over from ten yards out.

This followed two strong set pieces from the Redditch pack which provided a good platform for fly half Saddington to attack from.

Shortly after the restart, a disagreement from a number of forwards led to flurry of punches from the Atherstone ranks which resulted in an instant dismissal to one of their back row players.

Redditch continued to have the better of the first period, but struggled at times to convert their dominance into points.

The away side were bolstered by the return of Simon Fitzpatrick who added weight to the set piece and the pressure told as a penalty try was awarded to Redditch after a number of scrums folded on the Atherstone line. Josh Holt added the extras.

Atherstone won the second half by upping the intensity and starving Redditch of possession. The visiting defence soaked up a lot of pressure but Atherstone scored a try before a Holt penalty ensured the win.