Midlands Division Four West (South)

Alcester 9 Stoke Old Boys 3

Alcester won a very tight top of the table clash to move into second place in the league.

Games at Kings Coughton this season have been high scoring but not on this occasion as a tight battle between the two promotion contenders ment defences on top and clear try scoring opportunities restricted to only three or four.

The home side started playing down the slope and were awarded a penalty in kicking range, inside the first five minutes following an infringement at a scrum. Teenage centre, Jamie Harland, who has assumed kicking duties in the last couple of games, made no mistake with his first attempt at goal.

The Coventry men did all they could to slow down the home side’s early momentum, with plenty of stoppages in play. The red and blacks didn’t help themselves though in one such stoppage as no 8 Meka Pieri was yellow carded for a late tackle on the visiting full back.

Alcester doubled their lead when Harland struck another accurate penalty through the uprights.

In the closing stages of the half both sides had a player in the sin bin. Alcester’s Louis Smith saw yellow for a high tackle, before he was followed into the book moments later by a Stoke player.

The visitors noticeably upped their game in the early stages of the second half, becoming much more aggressive in contact and running harder at the home defence in possession.

They looked likely to score their first points, when their dangerous full back found space deep in Alcester territory, but home left wing Oscar Holland executed a brilliant last ditch wrap tackle to prevent the score.

The visitors got over the line again, but were once more held up in the tackle as the Alcester defence were showed great commitment to the cause and threw bodies at every contact situation to prevent their line from being breached.

As the half wore on tempers frayed, Stoke lost two players in quick succession to the sin bin during this time and following one infringement Harland was presented with a third penalty opportunity from range which he converted smartly.

Alcester also came the closest they had been in the game to crossing the try line, when no 8 Phil Birks was only inches short from a short range drive following a period of home possession through their forwards.

With Stoke’s full contingent of players restored, the feisty end to the game continued and this time Alcester flanker Ben Hope was singled out by the referee following another altercation, which meant that his side finished the game with fourteen men as he became the sixth player to receive the yellow card in the game.

The visitors got over the line for the third time in the closing stages from a driving maul following a line out take deep in Alcester territory, but once again the home defenders managed to get under the ball to keep their opponents out.

In the final play of the game and knowing that they were not able to claw back the full deficit, Stoke elected to kick at goal when they were awarded a close range penalty, a decision which secured the losing bonus point.

The man of the match accolade was given to a home prop Jack Horton.

Ahead for Alcester is the visit of league leaders Bromyard, who travel to Kings Coughton on Saturday January 7. The Herefordshire side are the only team to beat Alcester in league rugby this season, which was in the Kings Coughton men’s first league outing of the season, before they embarked on an unbeaten run which has now extended to nine league games.

Prior to then Alcester host their annual Boxing Day match between their Chairman’s XV and the Presidents XV, with the game kicking off at 12pm.