Droitwich 3
Stoke on Trent 18
Midlands Division Three play-off

DROITWICH failed in their attempt to gain promotion to Midlands Division Two at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground on Saturday.

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, failing to secure enough quality possession.

Playing into the stiff breeze in the first period, Droitwich looked clumsy and nervous, and it was the visitors who made all the running, although the home defence was strong with Nick Godfrey, Phil Horton and James Davies making some good tackles.

All too often, however, Droitwich infringed and gave away penalties.

They were fortunate that Stoke's kicker Steve Talbot had an off day, slotting only one of his four first-half attempts.

The one bright spark during the first period was a fine break by full-back John Critchlow, who raced 40 metres before linking with Steve Poke.

Poke found Sean Walker who was tackled into touch five metres from the visitors line.

Droitwich, though, could not maintain this pressure, and gave away a penalty.

With the clock running down on the half, Stoke sieged the Spa line, forcing a series of scrums before eventually muscling their way over for a try, which was scored by Martin Colley.

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

The Stoke defence remained strong and Droitwich were often guilty of choosing wrong option and sloppy passing.

Poke and Jon Andrews both went close but could not get over the line.

A long kick from the visitors relieved the pressure.

Critchlow fielded the ball and ran out of defence, but a wayward pass was not dealt with by the Spa midfield, allowing Stoke to hack the ball down field and Peter White scored 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 dissent 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 they never really looked like scoring.