KIDDERMINSTER Carolians go into Christmas rooted to the foot of Midlands Three West North after gifting Old Saltleians a 10-6 victory.

Poor decision-making and off form kicking brought misery to the Marlpool Lane men.

Within the first few minutes they threw away the chance to score a try from a five yard scrum by attempting to drive over rather than pass to the winger who was virtually unmarked.

And late in the second half, a weak kick ahead, and then a poor move from a penalty close to the Salts line ruined any chance of two valuable league points.

The team worked hard throughout the game, but Salts give little away and although the game was littered with kickable penalties too many were missed.

KCs took the lead in the 15th minute with a Tom Oakes penalty, only for James Mason to level the scores 10 minutes later to make it 3-3 at the break.

Coach Andy Stooksbury came on as replacement for Oakes and put KCs into the lead with a penalty on 56 minutes.

And it was looking as if KCs were going to enjoy the rare luxury of back to back wins following last week's victory over Wednesbury.

But a very poor kick ahead close to the visitors "22" was snapped up and when the ball reached Old Salts skipper Lee Coton he raced the length of the field.

Even though Ambrogio Neri made a brave attempt to stop him, Coton crossed the line and Mason gave them a 10-6 advantage with the simple conversion.

With 15 minutes remaining, KCs did all they could to get back in front and were awarded a penalty close to the visitors' line. But instead of opting for the scrum or a full blooded frontal attack they ended up giving the ball back to Salts.

One silver lining on another cloudy afternoon for the club was the appearance of Rob Parker who made some superb tackles.

KCs do not return to league action until their trip to Lichfield on January 8 and luckily the gap between the bottom and safety is still small enough to recover.

They will be hoping to lift the gloom at Marlpool Lane when the first take on the seconds in the traditional Boxing Day match on Sunday.

l The result, if not the entertainment factor, was worth waiting for as Cleobury Mortimer won their re-arranged clash against Handsworth 13-6.

Despite the dour contest, the North Mids South One contest, which was postponed the previous weekend, keeps Cleobury's promotion hopes alive.

Cleobury are third in the league, just two points behind pace-setting duo Stourbridge Lions and Kings Norton.

Handsworth came with a containing, spoling game-plan allied to a solid scrum and it was Cleobury who did most of the attacking.

The home side dominated the lineouts, holding their own in the scrums, but every time they created something the last pass went to ground, the move broke down or the defence made an excellent tackle

Points were few and far between and only a Julian Harding penalty separated the teams at half time with Cleobury 3-0 up.

After starting the second half in control, Cleobury eventually forced their way over the line with Steve Morris touching down to make it 8-0.

Handsworth gave the hosts a scare by hitting back with two penalties to reduce the defecit to 8-6.

But a second try, this time scored by Pete Howman after a good kick by Colin Smith, made sure of another important win for Cleobury.

l Stourport tumbled out of the North Midlands Cup at the first hurdle after a 39-13 defeat to Bromyard.

The loss follows a 20-12 friendly win over Five Ways when Matt Willis got two tries and Phil Randle and Melvin Bourne one each.

There are no competitive matches involving local rugby clubs until the new year, although some of them will be playing friendlies and inter-club matches over the festive period.