BIRMINGHAM and Solihull Bees avenged their early season defeat at Coventrians with a hard fought 12-7 win against the same opponents on home soil.
The Bees struck through Cole Elleman in the first half before Jonnie Mills scored the game-winning try in the second period at Portway.
And the result means Solihull remain top of the Counties 3 Midlands West (South) table having clinched a 14th win from 15 matches this season.
Bees were camped in the Coventrians half for the first quarter of an hour as the visitors defence held firm and the referee’s whistle halted Solihull in their tracks at key moments.
However, the home side eventually found a way through when Jake Lowe broke the line and produced a sublime offload in the tackle to release Elleman who dotted down with Lewis Edwards adding the extras.
Solihull played some free-flowing rugby following the score before a skirmish in the middle of the pitch resulted in Bees player Pete Gordon being sent to the sin bin just before half time.
And Coventrians made the most of their numerical advantage to score under the posts as the visitors piled on the pressure following a quickly taken penalty to level the scores at seven-all at the break.
Both teams pressed for a crucial score in the second period but were unable to make the most of some promising situations.
As the game moved into the final quarter, Solihull finally found the score they were looking for as Ali Cook, Alex Groves, Ryan Sleaford and Adam Trombley produced some big hits to help Bees dominate the midfield battle.
And this was the platform from which Bees scored as Edwards gained 60 yards of territory with a kick before Mills crashed over the line following a penalty although the conversion was missed.
Coventrians pressed for a late try and put the Bees defence under huge pressure as James Panter’s troops resolutely held firm with the final whistle greeted with loud cheers from the watching home crowd.
Prior to the club’s first-team match, the Hornets played a Camp Hill Development side in difficult conditions.
Andy Pearce scored the Hornets only try just before half time when he broke the line and sprinted home from 40-yards out with the first team and coaching staff watching on.
Both teams struggled to keep hold of the ball in the second period before Camp Hill levelled the game late on with a try of their own.
Solihull are next in action away at Harbury on Saturday, January 21 with kick-off at 2.15pm at Waterloo Fields.
