CLEOBURY Mortimer maintained their push for promotion from North Mids South One by starting 2005 with a 13-7 win at Birmingham Exiles.
But the victory was far from convincing for Cleobury who made hard work of seeing off the division's bottom team.
Still getting rid of the excesses of the festive period it was a lethargic start to the game as Colin Smith missed a penalty which would have settled their nerves.
Eventually the breakthrough arrived when No 8 Paul Hulland touched down a push over try for his 16th score of the season, but Smith failed with the conversion.
And although Exiles responded with a converted try, a Smith penalty gave Cleobury a slender 8=7 lead going into the break.
The second half was a one-sided contest with Cleoubury bombarding the home team line and only some excellent Exiles defending kept them at bay.
Despite their dominance, a few Mortimer mistakes had crept in and it took a try from Colin Todd following a catch and drive from a lineout to make sure of the victory.
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