WORCESTER Warriors again came up agonisingly short as their winless streak in the Gallagher Premiership stretched to 17 as they were beaten 17-18 by Leicester Tigers in front of 3000 fans at Sixways.
For the first time since December, the east stand was packed out and those in attendance were treated to a thrilling battle but ultimately, another loss for the Warriors.
First-half tries from Jamie Shillcock and Ted Hill had seen Worcester hold a 14-6 lead at the break but a second-half brace from England prop Ellis Genge gave the visitors a narrow win.
Shillcock had a chance to win it late on with a long distance penalty but it fell short and so did Worcester's challenge as the away side held on.
Leicester travelled to Worcester having lost on their last two occasions and things were looking glum for them again after just four minutes when Shillcock scored in the corner thanks to a brilliant wide pass from fly-half Fin Smith and a neat offload from winger Perry Humphreys.
Tigers dominated for large parts with plenty of territory and got themselves on the scoreboard through Zack Henry's boot, 7-3.
The away side had the upper hand at the scrum against a new look Worcester front row, who handed a debut to new signing Jay Tyack, but for all their dominance in that area, they couldn't make it count.
Henry did reduce the gap to a single point on the 31st minute to make it 7-6 before the try of the day was scored.
Warriors had a line-out mid-way between the Tigers' 10 and 22 metre line before Ted Hill carried hard at the line and bumped through the defender in midfield before again smashing through Henry's attempted tackle as the skipper crashed over,much to the joy of the home crowd.
The conversion was good from Shillcock and it was a 14-6 lead at half-time.
The impressive full-back nudged a long distance penalty from half-way three minutes into the second period before the key point in the game just moments later.
Tigers set-up a driving maul inside the Warriors 22 and rumbled forward and were only halted in their tracks by Worcester hooker Niall Annett, illegally, and referee Karl Dickson sent him to the bin.
It was a matter of seconds before Tigers converted their extra man into a try, however, as Ellis Genge crossed from close range to bring the scores to 17-11.
Warriors were up against it now but managed the ten minute period well but just as Annett returned, Genge had his second, again from close range as the Tigers pack continued to batter their opposite set of forwards. Henry converted and for the first time in the game, the visitors lead.
With 20 minutes remaining, Worcester were not done and in the final stages Shillcock had the chance to take the lead with another mammoth kick, but his effort fell just short.
Hill came so close to scoring in the corner with four minutes left after a marauding run down the left flank, but was stopped by Dan Cole. The ball came off a Tigers boot and gave Worcester a lineout five metres out.
Replacement hooker Isaac Miller was tasked with the throw but it was not straight and that ended the home side's challenge as the away side held on for a dramatic win.
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