HEAD coach Ian Bletcher has told Kidderminster Carolians’ players to build on their impressive performance against Midlands Division Two West (South) leaders Earlsdon.

The Marlpool Lane side were leading 21-12 at half-time before the hosts stunned them with a four try burst in seven minutes.

KCs never stopped fighting and two more scores saw them pushing for a late winner before Earlsdon settled a thrilling encounter with a touchdown late on.

But instead of being pleased with the performance, Bletcher felt his side could have earned more than just a bonus point.

He said: “I was pleased with the performance but it was also incredibly frustrating.

“For the first 15 minutes we were camped in Earlsdon’s half and were excellent but we could not keep up the intensity for all of the game.

“We had a good chat with the players in training and have made it clear that we must turn these performances into points or it’s going to be a frustrating season.”

KCs are eighth in the table after an inconsistent first half to the campaign, where they have won and lost five matches.

However, they will be aiming to go into the Christmas break on a high by beating Stourbridge Lions at home on Saturday (2.15pm start).

The Black Country side are fourth in the table and have also defeated Earlsdon this season.

Bletcher said: “We want to end the first half of the season on a high.

“We know the areas we need to improve on, we have to be more consistent. Against Earlsdon we won the first scrum impressively then lost the next two.

“Our defence was excellent but our intensity dropped off, so it’s another area to work on.”

Bletcher will have some positive selection headaches as Chris and Alex Baldwin return to action, while Mike Protherough is back from university.