A DEPLETED Birmingham and Solihull Bees suffered a 32-14 home defeat against Claverdon.
Tries from Cameron May and Will Heath proved in vain at Portway with the Bees missing 18 players including five to season-ending injuries.
The result means Birmingham and Solihull sit ninth in the Counties 2 Midlands West (East) table.
Solihull were without first team players Lewis Edwards, Calum Antonio, Adam Trombley, Alistair Cook, Kody Turner, Brad Sinclair, Dan O’Sullivan, Ryan Sleaford, Mason Dhani-Ali and John McDonagh.
And captain Joe Davies, Deglan O’Brien Will Steele and Zane Raimondi were all unavailable for selection.
To add to Solihull’s injury woes, PJ Hatch suffered a broken collarbone in the first half and received treatment in hospital.
The Bees conceded a pair of converted tries before the break but remained in the game despite failing to trouble the scoreboard in the first half.
Another Claverdon try at the start of the second half stretched the away side’s lead before May responded with Solihull’s first try with Archie Beddard converted.
The visitors ran in two more unconverted tries to take the game away from the Bees before Beddard succumbed to an eye injury.
Solihull crossed for their second try when Joe Davies released Ollie Nesbitt who in turn created space for Heath to score under the posts as the latter converted his own try.
Claverdon kicked a late penalty to extend their lead as the Bees produced a valiant effort but ultimately came up short.
Bees head coach, George Littlechild, said: “I was delighted with the way the team reacted to the changes in positions for many of the players due to the injuries and how they tried to stay in the game also how the crowd kept encouraging the boys. It was great to see.”
Birmingham and Solihull Bees are next in action against Coventrians on Saturday, October 19 with kick-off at 3pm at the Black Pad.
