KIDDERMINSTER Carolians RFC came within a whisker of pulling off the result of the season but were edged out 33-30 at promotion-chasing Barkers Butts on Saturday.

The Marlpool Lane side played their part in a thrilling end-to-end encounter as they pushed a team firmly in second place all the way.

Despite defeat, there is no doubt there is an air of confidence around KCs after impressive performances against Spartans and Barkers in successive weeks.

KCs played their part in an action-packed match which saw the sides share ten tries and also picked up two richly-deserved bonus points, their first of the season away from home.

Barkers got off to a flying start with two converted tries inside the first 10 minutes for a 14-0 lead.

The away side looked in big trouble but hit back when Tom Scandrett was tackled just short of the line after collecting his own grubber kick and Andy McLellan was on hand to cross for a try, which he converted himself to halve the deficit.

The hosts then ran in their third try for a 12-point lead, but KCs bounced back when Craig Wilkinson grabbed a vital touch down.

A sparkling passage of play which started with a scrum in their half, saw KCs pass the ball through countless hands before Scandrett scampered over for an exciting try which brought the away side to within two points of their opponents.

With the interval approaching, a McLellan penalty completed the comeback to put KCs ahead 20-19 and they profited further when a Barkers player was sin-binned on the stroke of half-time for a stamping offence.

Unfortunately, KCs’ good work was undone by a disastrous start to the second half, which saw them miss a presentable penalty opportunity and then gift Barkers a breakaway try under the posts, which was converted, to put the hosts back in front 26-20.

Worse was to follow when a quickly taken lineout, which should not have been allowed because the ball rebounded onto the pitch off a spectator, caught KCs napping and allowed Barkers to grab a converted try and leave the away side trailing 33-20.

KCs responded well to the setback and their running game was causing the hosts plenty of problems, allowing Tom Maher to surprise their defence with a try.

Maher then offloaded to prop Carl Whitehead and his try narrowed the gap to 33-30 but although KCs pushed for the winning move, they ended undeservedly on the losing side.

KCs will now be aiming to bag their first away win of the season when they take on fellow strugglers Droitwich in the league on Saturday.