Express & Star

On to the next one for Stourbridge, says Neil Mitchell

Stourbridge head coach Neil Mitchell felt his team's away defeat to Sedgley Park was 'harsh and frustrating' after the game finished 27-24 to the hosts.

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"Looking back on the weekend, I thought that the final try was highly questionable," said Mitchell.

"The referee was 30 yards away, he couldn't realistically give an accurate judgment at that range.

"The game was decided by small margins but I felt my team's performance deserved more than just the solitary bonus point.

"Our defence was better than theirs and we had leaders on the pitch.

"I was particularly impressed with James Henry Bishop Othuha and Nigel Mukarati – they both showed the vigilance that will, hopefully push us over the line in the future.

"Nevertheless, we lost and we have to move on and focus on the next game in hand."

And that's a tough one, a National League Two North clash at home to Chester who have won their last five on the trot.

"Of course they are statistically the in-form team in the league," added Mitchell.

"But they had a rough start and we've normally done quite well against them, winning the last two.

"I'm not too worried about them, of course we'll look at them and will identify their strengths, but we're more focused on our own performance and I feel we have the ability to thwart their momentum."

With the Saxons currently sixth, Mitchell is looking for his team to push on. "It's a highly open league, one win can change a lot and I feel we have the quality to challenge the teams above us," he added.

"We're only seven points from the top position and in the upcoming fixtures we will be facing a number of those top teams including Caldy as well as Chester.

"I'm hoping if we can get something from these games we'll be well on our way."

Lichfield picked up back-to-back wins, Saturday's 24-20 defeat of Bridgnorth at home following a 23-15 success which ended Birmingham and Solihull's three-game winning streak.

Although Lichfield are third from bottom their recent form shows them capable of putting together a string of wins and climbing the National League Three Midlands table.

It's the other way round for Old Halesonians, who are higher in the standings but have now lost their last two matches.

After previously losing to high-flying Sheffield they failed to respond at the weekend and suffered a shock 22-5 home defeat to Syston.

Confident Old Hales started the game with their customary enthusiasm.

However, with Syston adopting a simple game plan of set-piece pressure and kicking for space, Hales failed to adapt and their plan of running at the opposition failed to materialise.

With the home team hampered by injuries it meant a number of individuals were playing out of position and the quality in their set-pieces was diminished.

Yet Hales managed to score the opening try following a scrum to lead 5-0 only for the visitors to level before the interval.

Syston added two converted second-half tries plus a penalty, awarded after Andy Holloway took out a Syston player off the ball.

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