BIRMINGHAM and Solihull Bees surrendered a 17-point lead in a 38-27 defeat against high-flying Barkers Butts.
Tries from Cameron May and Adam Trombley and 12 points from the boot of James Widdop proved in vain for the Bees at Pickford Grange Lane.
And the result means Solihull sit seventh in the Counties 2 Midlands West (East) table.
The visitors made the perfect start as May scored the game’s first try after just four minutes and Widdop converted after the Bees charged down a clearing kick on the Barkers try line.
And Solihull crossed for a second try three minutes later when Trombley dotted down and Widdop added the extras.
However, the home side responded straight from the restart as a Barkers player ran in from 30-metres out to halve the deficit.
Widdop then kicked a penalty to stretch Solihull’s lead after the referee penalised the home side for interference at the maul.
And the visitors scored their third try on 25 minutes after the hosts had a player sent to sin-bin as Widdop’s conversion put the Bees 17 points ahead.
However, a pair of quickfire tries from Barkers before the interval closed the gap between the teams to three points.
And the home side crossed again at the start of the second period to take a narrow two-point lead.
Another Widdop penalty edged Bees back in front only for Barkers to score another try on 67 minutes to reclaim the lead.
And the referee awarded the hosts a penalty try soon after with Solihull’s Storm Atkins sent to the sin-bin after his deliberate knock-on denied the home side a certain try.
Birmingham and Solihull Bees are next in action against Southam on Saturday, October 4 with kick-off at 3pm at Portway.
