Worcester Warriors 31 Exeter Chiefs 21.

WHILE Worcester Warriors will cherish this long-awaited victory they will be aware that a more dangerous Exeter Chiefs side lurks around the corner.

After 14 years and 12 straight defeats Warriors finally ended their wretched record against Exeter with a win in the Anglo-Welsh Cup on Saturday.

Josh Adams bagged two tries while David Denton, Tom Howe and Luke Baldwin also crossed the whitewash in the Sixways success to keep Worcester’s hopes alive of progressing to the semi-finals.

But this performance was not emphatic enough to strike fear into the defending Aviva Premiership champions ahead of their league meeting on Saturday, February 10.

Considering the sides that both teams put out this was a match Worcester simply had to win to gain confidence.

While they welcomed back stars like Francois Hougaard, Ryan Mills and Donncha O’Callaghan, Exeter gave opportunities to youngsters Harvey Skinner, Harry Strong and Sean Lonsdale.

But it was the youthful visitors who went 14-0 ahead inside 20 minutes and held the edge at half-time too.

Impressive showings from Adams and Denton helped to turn the tide but it took until Baldwin’s 78th minute score to settle the contest.

The victory will no doubt give Alan Solomons’ men a psychological lift going into the trip to Sandy Park in two weeks’ time.

But Exeter will be strengthened significantly with several of their key men returning and will be ready to pounce on any errors their opponents make.

Prior to this match, Worcester’s last win over Chiefs came at the County Ground in 2004.

And Rob Baxter’s side were keen to extend this long wait as they struck inside the opening three minutes.

Matt Cox pulled off a superb tackle to deny Tom O’Flaherty who looked set to charge through after gathering a loose ball.

But Exeter continued their forward momentum before Tom Lawday forced his way over from close range, with Joe Simmonds adding the extras.

The ball spent a lot of time in the air as both sides exchanged kicks but some weak tackling then allowed Exeter to notch a second as Strong powered over and Simmonds converted.

Despite the deficit Warriors turned down numerous kickable penalties to set up attacking line-outs as they looked to drive to the line. And their persistence paid off on 32 minutes.

After Exeter stopped a maul, Jamie Shillcock exploited space on the opposite wing with a crossfield kick to Dean Hammond. The wing gathered and fed Adams who dotted down in the corner.

Chiefs were also reduced to 14 men after Ollie Atkins saw yellow for an infringement in the lead-up to the try – and Worcester took advantage.

Cox made hard yards before Denton dived over the try-line. Shillcock converted to get his team within two points of Chiefs.

Warriors then went ahead at the start of the second half with another converted try. Gareth Milasinovich used all his power to force Exeter on the back foot before Howe darted through to score.

The away side hit back on 62 minutes when Shaun Malton slipped through Darren Barry’s grasp and charged over. Simmonds converted as Exeter regained the lead at 21-19.

But Warriors were dominating possession and that pressure soon told.

After a series of pick and goes near the try-line, Adams swept in for his second which Shillcock converted.

Wilhelm Van Der Sluys was then sin-binned for a high tackle before Warriors wrapped up the win when Baldwin burrowed over late on.