MISSING three regulars did not help Cleobury Mortimer 1sts as they went down 11-5 to leaders Droitwich in Midlands Four West (South).

Fly-half Colin Smith and centre Paul Harding were called out to work for the Environment Agency, while Colin Todd was missing due to a family illness.

And Cleobury knew they had to produce a stunning display to come away with anything with Jon Banford introduced to the back-row.

Determined Droitwich dominated the early stages but were let down by odd handling errors only to open up a lead midway through the half with the help of the weather conditions and inconsistent refereeing.

The Droitwich full-back picked up in open play and ran sideways across the pitch behind his own players, preventing a tackle and scoring on the left wing.

Though the conversion failed, it was not long before this lead was extended through two penalties but the sense of injustice felt by Cleobury carried them through.

They were assisted by the elements in the second half but a stout defensive performance by Droitwich kept them at bay most of the time.

The visitors were missing Todd at line-outs but were taking control in loose play and rampaging all over the pitch.

Debutant Chris Gittins provided a strong tackling influence in the second row but there was no score until very late in the contest.

An excellent move saw full-back Rob Norris come into the line at pace and he put winger Kevin Shields in at the corner.

Despite a couple of close shaves, Cleobury's efforts to press for the winning converted try went unrewarded and they missed out on an unlikely victory.

Cleobury Mortimer 2nds 34 Bewdley 1sts 0

Newly formed Bewdley were struck by a powerful display from Cleobury 2nds who returned to their home ground after a number of away games.

Cleobury rattled up 34 points in a dominant first half as James Allen, returning from university and adding pace from outside centre, crossed for two tries.

Allen's partner in the centre, Mat Griffiths, also weighed in with a try and the pack were completely on top.

Skipper Steve Phillips led from the front to register his fifth try of a productive season, forward Anthony Griffiths added a first try for two seasons, while fly-half Allen Shields scored another and converted two in total.

The second half became riddled with errors as the team looked to add to personal tallies against a determined Bewdley who grew in confidence and nearly grabbed a try through Martin Saunders.