DIRECTOR of rugby Adam Drew reckoned his Droitwich side would have beaten Bromsgrove if two of his key men had not sustained injuries.

Droitwich lost 31-15 to their local rivals in an intense Midlands One West clash at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground last Friday.

But Drew felt his team’s hopes of winning were dashed when lock Phil Horton (groin) and Pete Knight (hamstring) were forced off in the first half.

“We were 10-0 up and playing really well but lost two key players through injury,” Drew said.

“I did not expect us to get that close. With a minute to go we had a kick to possibly get a bonus point.

“But they scored in the last 30 seconds which was not a true reflection of the game.

“I am really pleased with our efforts and resolve.

“It was a great performance from us but I do believe if Phil and Pete had not gone off we would have won because they are such good role models in the team.”

Drew said his side were also down to the “bare bones” on the bench with prop Ruben Staite (head), captain and second row Sam O’Brien (neck) and full-back Luke Penn (ribs) also ruled out.

But Droitwich went toe-to-toe with the visitors as Knight and James Shewell crossed the whitewash.

“I have got no problems with losing,” Drew said.

“It is a long season so it is probably better for us to lose now and get things right which we will do.

“The one thing it did prove to me was we are good enough to hold our own in this league.

“To maintain your performance you have got to have depth to your squad and we were really stretched.

“At the point when Pete came off I thought we were going to lose because I didn’t think we could contain Bromsgrove.

“But we did play remarkably well without him and Phil. I am really pleased with our efforts.”

Drew said he would make a “full evaluation of the damage” to his team ahead of Droitwich’s derby at Worcester on Saturday (3pm).

“Phil will be out until November and we are going to rest Pete for a week,” Drew added.

“Ruben might be back into the fold but Sam will be out.

“It is what it is. There will be no excuses. We have got to play what is in front of us.

“We are not frightened of playing any of these teams.

“We may have certain players missing but other players have got to rise to the occasion.

“We are looking forward to the challenge.”