Bromsgrove 17 Luctonians 19

Midlands Division One

BROMSGROVE were denied their first victory of the season in the Midlands Division One by a last gasp penalty at Finstall Park on Saturday.

The Boars seemed on course for a win that would end their 15 match losing streak in the league this season.

They had out-scored their opponents two tries to one but were edged out by dogged Luctonians' kicker Jeremy Wheadon, who collected 12 points.

A late penalty handed Bromsgrove's fellow relegation rivals the points and left them hopelessly stranded at the bottom of the table.

Director of Coaching Iain Hall felt the penalty was harsh.

He said: "We didn't deserve to lose on Saturday. The penalty was a mistake by the referee, as the player didn't have his hands on the ball.

"But in terms of performance it was excellent. The first seven minutes of the game we were superb. We had pace and could change the angle of direction for our attacks.

"The team is improving with every game and the confidence is growing."

Defeat was certainly unfortunate for the Boars, as the team produced one of its best attacking displays of the campaign.

The home side started strongly but was stunned when Luctonians opened the scoring with a try. Bromsgrove's defence was opened up by Ricky Henagi's kick down the left wing, which he chased and touched down. Wheadon converted the try.

The Boars though showed spirit to bounce back in the first half. Bromsgrove's forward line pushed Luctonians' back and Mark Shakespeare was on hand to touch down.

New Zealander Kent Summerfield converted the try to level the scores.

Both Summerfield and Wheadon scored penalties to make sure the game remained on a knife-edge at half time.

Bromsgrove's opponents edged ahead when Wheadon converted a penalty.

But the home side was not about to give up and Nick Durston grabbed a touch down, which Summerfield converted, to put them ahead in the match for the first time. With ten minutes to go Bromsgrove were within sight of their first victory, but Luctonians set out to ruin the team's day when Wheadon scored a penalty. Bromsgrove seemed on course to win the game but the visitors were awarded a penalty in the game's dying seconds, which Wheadon duly converted to break the home team's hearts.

l Bromsgrove take on mid-table Luton away from home on Saturday, February 18. Tom Churchill is set to miss the rest of the season after injuring knee ligaments in Saturday's narrow defeat.

Andy Bridge is set to replace him, while Nick Copson and Alistair Hall are expected to start.