In a bizarre afternoon of sport, where the only ingredient missing was the reincarnation of ITV’s Jeremy Beadle, to advise the Spa squad that they had all been “game for a laugh”, Droitwich, despite a monumental individual effort from the “elephant in the room”, managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.

Since their narrow defeat at Banbury, Leamington have put in solid performances to beat both Dunlop and Bedworth and were therefore full of confidence going into this clash with one of the top sides in the league. Their recent resurgence has been mirrored by a settled squad; however today, they were hit once again by injury and unavailability, thus causing potential disruption.

Spa certainly started the game in high tempo, with “Patch” Northover just failing with a penalty attempt in the first minute. They continued to attack the home 22 metre area and following a forward surge where Gez Robinson and James Gaynor featured, the ball was sent out to winger, Dyneal Fessal who was held up just short of the try line. Spa were putting the big physical Droitwich side under constant pressure and were awarded a penalty, which Northover slotted over to give themselves a deserved lead.

The simple restart may have been a defining moment for Spa, although it probably went unnoticed at the time. Leamington stalwart, Danny Phillips, fielded the ball cleanly, while under pressure and set his forwards up for another surge up field. This typically forceful determination was to become the norm throughout the match and was to prove Spa’s “ace up the sleeve” on a day when “cards” of all sorts were on show. Another Spa star, Mike Kelly, took clean possession from a Droitwich drop out and set his forwards up for a charge. Robinson and Gaynor continued to impress and quickly adapted to the pace of the game. Their seamless intervention into the squad enabled the Spa forwards to compete in all areas of play. In particular, they added strength to the scrum, allowing Tom Greevy, Phillips and Maxwell to concentrate on own game. This was complemented by Robinson’s play in the line-out and the relentless harrying of Kelly, Danny Ruyssevelt and Chris Dickinson from the back row.

Northover was having another fine game for Spa, continually probing the Droitwich defence for any chinks and tackling like a demon to stop their advances. Also, when tested, the Spa defence held up strongly with Tom Daplyn and Tarquin Snell putting in timely, robust tackles to stem the home side. But as the half progressed, it was certainly Spa who were having territorial advantage and Mark Baldwin, reverting to Centre, continued his fine vein of form with some searching runs.

With their narrow lead intact, Spa had a real scare in the 34th minute as the home side created their first attack of any substance. They broke at pace down the nearside flank and first Phillips put in a solid tackle to disrupt the flow, before Northover cleared the danger with a kick to touch.

Spa quickly regrouped and set up another attack on the Droitwich defence. Alex Carroll, Daplyn and Northover combined to create the opening, however during this foray, both Carroll and Daplyn sustained injuries. Droitwich took advantage of the situation by moving the ball up field, at pace, and with Spa now back peddling, the home side hit back with a converted score.

This was harsh on Spa, in view of the way they had controlled most of the game to date. However, further problems were to manifest themselves as influential Hooker, Nick Maxwell, acting as “peace maker” following melee, received a straight red card from the match official. This was certainly a potential game changing situation.

Half Time: 8 – 3

Playing with a man down, against 4th place in the league was a tough order; however Spa had the best of openings in the second period. Dyneal’s clean catch on the far wing and pass inside set the scene. Baldwin took over and “ghosted” through the Droitwich defence before slipping the ball to Charlie Gray, in good support, who raced in under the posts to draw Spa level. Northover drilled home the conversion and once again Spa had the lead.

Droitwich, hit back immediately and camped in the Spa half for what seemed an eternity. However, despite their clear advantage in manpower, they were finding it difficult to breakdown a stubborn Spa. The defensive umbrella put up by Leamington seemed to be coping and when they were able to break out, Dyneal was proving a thorn in the home side, with some direct running.

Spa then fell behind to an “interesting” piece of play, as Droitwich appeared to impede Snell from making a tackle on the left winger, who was able to take full advantage and race in from distance to score. Droitwich did, however, miss the all important conversion attempt.

Points down and having played the second period a man down, the pressure increased on Spa as Greevy was hit with a yellow card. However, despite this predicament the squad showed immense character by hitting back with a flurry of attacks.

With the game entering its final stages, Greevy returned to play just as Daplyn received a yellow card, which appeared to be the final nail in Spa’s coffin.

Enter Mark Baldwin.

With minutes remaining Spa were in a good position, just outside the home 22 metre zone. Baldwin took the ball and at pace, powered into the Droitwich area before finding Northover with a superbly timed pass. The Spa man slipped his pass to Snell, who, with little room to manoeuvre, dived over in the corner. Northover was just off target with the touchline conversion attempt but Spa were now ahead and nothing, mortal or otherwise, was going to keep them from taking the spoils.

Unbelievable drama and probably what heart attacks are made of. Somehow, with all the cards stacked against them, Spa had engineered another win that has enabled them to move a further place away from the relegation positions.

Full Time: 13 – 15

Next week Spa continue their adventure with the rearranged league fixture, now to take place at Shipston-on-Stour, kick-off 3.00pm.