Stourbridge 36, Birmingham and Solihull 33

STOUR held on by the skin of their teeth to seal a vital victory which should ensure their status at this level for another season, while at the same time sending local rivals Bees hurtling ever closer to the relegation trapdoor, writes Nick Pullen.

Make no mistake, this was a game both sides were desperate to win.

With four tough fixtures remaining, Stour were by no means out of the relegation mire themselves and defeat would have been a huge setback.

But this result went right down to the wire, with Stour hanging on for dear life after being reduced to 13 players.

That was after Stour had bossed the first half and built a 21-7 lead at the interval.

By the 56th minute, Stour had stretched the advantage to 36-14 and appeared to be home and dry.

But their now trademark collapse in the final quarter raised its head again to the point where Bees could have easily snatched victory at the death.

That said, Stour should have put the game to bed by that stage.

Stour finally took the lead after an error-riddled opening when fly half Gary Dipple spotted a gap in Bees defence and chased his own kick ahead to score.

Second row Ben Hughes increased the lead when bulldozing his way over on 24 minutes and then No.8 Drew Harper underlined Stour's dominance in the scrums by applying the finishing touch to a pushover try just before half time.

Dipple converted all three scores while Bees replied with a well taken try from replacement Ian Briggs following a fine backs move which fly half Adam Canning converted.

Bees then added a second try within two minutes of the second half, No.8 Steve Leach forcing his way over for Canning to convert.

Stour then appeared to put the issue beyond doubt with two more tries.

Ciaran Moore secured turnover ball close to Stour's line and sent Nathan Bressington on a length of the pitch sprint to score in the corner before skipper Nigel Mukarati breached Bee's defence again with a typical pick up and drive.

Dipple converted after landing an earlier penalty and that appeared to be it.

Credit to Bees who kept going. Canning carved his way through on 64 minutes for a try he converted himself to give them a glimmer of hope.

Then speedy winger Aquile Smith, a player who looks destined for a higher level, scored a try of the highest quality.

With Stour fading fast, they found themselves reduced to 14 when Sione Tuipulotu was yellow carded for a high tackle.

And their prospects looked more fearful when Bees secured a further try with prop Stefan Thorp crashing over, Canning's conversion reducing the deficit to just 36-33.

In the final moments, Bees camped themselves on Stour's line and looked set to score in the corner when full back Tom Jarvis produced a deliberate knock on and was duly yellow carded as well..

It could have easily resulted with a penalty try, but referee Luke Haskins, after consultation with his touch judge, chose not to award it.

Instead Stour had to survive one uncomfortable final play on their own line which Bees fluffed with a knock-on - much to Stour's relief.

The result leaves Bees staring relegation in the face, a prospect that would do neither club any good as Stour would have no obvious local derby next season.

Stourbridge: Jarvis; Bressington, Shillingford, Barkley, Cooksammy; Dipple, Handley; Sturdy, Page, George; Hughes, Moore; Mukarati, Uzoigwe, Harper. Replacements: Brookes, Depper, Tuipulotu, Hurrell, Cullen.

Bees: Evans; O'Malley, Connelly, Johns, Smith; Canning, Petty; Thorp, Crane, Bingham; Venter, Spink; Dacres, Scriven, Leach. Replacements: Dunne, Kettle, Ding, Briggs, Marrs.

Attendance: 325