DROITWICH failed in their bid to gain promotion to Midlands Two, going down 18-3 to an efficient Stoke on Trent side in the Midlands Three play-off game at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground.

What will disappoint Droitwich the most is not the so much the result, but more the manner of their defeat.

They never got into the game and failed to secure much quality possession, while the little they did get was often squandered.

Playing into the stiff breeze in the first period, the hosts looked clumsy and nervous and it was the visitors who made all the running.

The home defence was strong, though, with Nick Godfrey, Phil Horton and James Davies making some good tackles.

All too often, however, Droitwich gave away penalties and were fortunate that the Stoke kicker had an off day, slotting only one of his four first-half attempts.

The one bright spark during the first period was a fine 40-metre break by Jon Critchlow. The full-back passed to Steve Poke, who then found Sean Walker but the latter was tackled into touch five metres from the visitors' line.

With the clock running down to half-time, Stoke put the Spa line under huge pressure, forcing a series of scrums before muscling their way over for a try.

Turning around 8-0 down, Droitwich must have believed they could use the strong wind to gain territory and the initial exchanges belonged to the home side as fly-half Duncan Hughes slotted a penalty.

However, a long kick from the visitors relieved the pressure as Critchlow fielded the ball and ran out of defence, but a wayward pass was not dealt with, allowing Stoke to hack the ball down field and score under the posts.

This was a body blow for Droitwich who, for the first time in the match, had threatened to get out of second gear and make a game of it.

To add insult to injury Droitwich were penalised and some back chat saw the free-kick upgraded to a penalty for the visitors to increase their lead.

It was now a lost cause and Droitwich tried everything to get back on terms, but never really looked like scoring.

The final whistle brought the curtain down on a failed promotion bid, but Droitwich will be disappointed they could not produce some of the quality rugby they have shown at times during the season.