REDDITCH RFC suffered a narrow 22-15 defeat against higher-division Keresley in round one of the Central Plate competition.
Tries from Stu Brooks, Clarke Parker and Joe Looker proved in vain for the Kingfishers at Bromsgrove Road.
The fixture at Bromsgrove Road was one of seven to go ahead which saw 20 walkovers from 27 scheduled fixtures.
Keresley play in a higher league than Redditch and comfortably beat the Kingfishers in the last meeting between the two teams.
And the visitors scored the game’s first try following sustained pressure on the Redditch line.
However, the home side responded, running up the hill on the second team pitch, as Brookes touched down after good work from Harry Irvine.
And Parker touched down after juggling the ball moments later to turn the game on its head.
Keresley reclaimed the lead, making the most of the slope, before Looker crossed for Redditch’s third try.
And both teams lost a player to the sin-bin before the break to prevent try-scoring opportunities with the Kingfishers three points ahead.
Redditch defended for long periods in the second half before Keresley kicked a penalty to level the scores.
With extra time looming, Redditch took the ball to the Keresley line only for the visitors to work their way back up the field.
And Keresley capitalised on mistakes from Redditch to score a late try and snatch the points.
Redditch are next in action against Kings Norton on Saturday, October 4 with kick-off at 3pm at Bromsgrove Road.
