THERE WAS a feeling of déjà vu for Birmingham & Solihull as they conceded a last minute try to lose 27-29 at home to Sedgley Park.
For the third time this season the Bees have had victory snatched away from them at the death but the disappointment of the loss was compensated by two bonus points and a performance full of vitality against a strong Sedgley Park side.
The Bees got off to a perfect start in the first minute of the game when winger Jimmy Oliver crossed the line for the first score of the game which Adam Canning converted.
With possession interchanging it was Sedgley Park scored next, pulling level thanks to Benjamin Black who scored the first try for the visitors which was converted for 7-7.
Two minutes later Bees got their noses in front again thanks to a Canning penalty and they went further ahead when Jack Rally scored Bees’ second try of the match and despite Canning missing the conversion the hosts were 15-7 to the good.
Sedgley Park fought back with a try of their own through Ryan Parkinson and the conversion from Matt Riley was good bringing the the north Manchester side right back into contention at 15-14.
Bees responded immediately largely thanks to centre Rob Connolly who broke away and set up Rod Petty who did the simple job of shipping it to winger Alex O’Malley who score from Bees’ third try of the half.
There was still time for the visitors to score another three points before the break from a penalty after Matt Spink was yellow-carded for not pulling away.
After a surprisingly quiet start to the second half the visitor’s went ahead thanks to a try from centre Matt Riley which put them 20-24 in front.
A Rupert Giles try one minute later which was converted by Canning pushed Bees back in front again and it looked as though they were going to hold out for the win.
But sadly it was not to be and with one minute remaining Sedgley scored the winning try which was scored by Jimmy Oliver and although the conversion was missed the final level brought the game to an end.
Although they weren’t able to serve up a win as a birthday present for Director of Rugby Eugene Martin, there were still some happy returns in the form of two league bonus points and an excellent performance to build upon as they look forward to entertaining Leicester Lions at Portway this Saturday.
