DROITWICH exited the Midlands Intermediate Cup at the third round stage after tasting defeat at Lichfield.

The opening exchanges were even with returning centre Mark Strutt running strongly.

A number of forward drives saw Droitwich get some momentum with Matt Jupp and James Shewell being particularly effective, although the visitors went behind to a penalty when they failed to deal with a loose ball and strayed off-side.

Just before half-time, a good line-out take by Phil Horton saw the visitors’ pack drive forward for James Protherough to touch down. Young Bobby Scott-Walker added the extra points.

This seemed to give the Spa outfit some confidence, but an unfortunate interception in the Lichfield half saw the hosts race 60 metres to touch down.

A late penalty was the final nail in the Droitwich coffin as they ran out of time trying to claw their way back into the game.

A hard working performance by a much-changed side gave the coaching team heart, but ultimately Droitwich are out of the cup.

Scrum-half Steve Poke said: “We put in a lot of commitment in difficult conditions, hopefully we can carry this kind of effort forward to our league campaign.”