REDDITCH reeled off a heartwarming 13-7 success at Harbury in their battle to beat the drop from Midlands 4 West South.

The last time these teams met last October, Harbury ran up 50 points so this result was a measure into how much Redditch have turned their season around.

Sam Gladwin opened the scoring with a well struck penalty but other attempts proved less profitable.

Too often Redditch needlessly kicked away possession, while lineouts and scrummages also failed to provide sufficient ball. Yet despite all these failings, Redditch still proved the dominant side for most of the game.

Some of Redditch's tackling was over zealous at times and one over committed effort saw Nathan Marthews rewarded with a 10 minute break as did one of Harbury's players for throwing a frustrated punch.

Harbury clawed their way back into the game and camped on Redditch's line, who in turn could only stop them scoring illegally, Will Ballion being shown a yellow card as the hosts were awarded a penalty try.

Redditch tried to respond with Ballion, Marthews and Josh Keaney all setting off on storming runs but the score remained 7-3 to Harbury at half time.

The second half saw Redditch drive the ball into the corner of the pitch from which James Mills sniped his way over to score on the blindside.

A second try soon followed when full-back Gladwin joined in the line to finish off a slick handling move for an unconverted try.

The final few minutes proved a tense affair as Harbury finally woke up to the fact they were going to lose and threw everything at Redditch.

Jack Duffy picked up a yellow card for bringing down a maul as Redditch held on by their fingertips.

A final scrum proved crucial as Harbury prepared for a pushover attempt only for Redditch to take the ball against the head and clear to safety before running down the clock successfully.

Redditch still remain second from bottom but can close the gap on Birmingham Civil Service providing they can beat Pershore at home this Saturday.