Hinckley travelled to Birmingham/Solihull on the back of a somewhat improved injury list and certainly the strongest set of replacements ever assembled. Ben Avent and Steve Harvey were back in the starting line up while Luke Coltman, Tom Morris and Sam Greasley, all themselves back from injury, warmed the bench initially.

The pitch conditions were no worse than the pitch at home last week versus Syston as Hinckley faced the breeze in the first half. Birmingham had certainly boosted their playing ranks with a virtual antipodian back line and a little more grunt in the pack than in the previous meeting of the two teams.

It took the visitors a little time to settle while the home side were certainly up for showing the crowd what they could do. Home kiwi Mitch McGahan opened the scoring with a well struck penalty for Bees as Hinckley lost Ben Avent to a leg injury.Tom Morris entered the game earlier than planned and then it was all Hinckley. The visitors were camped on the home line after being held up on several occasions as the Hinckley forwards turned the screw. A series of scrummage elected penalties by the visitors had Bees in all sorts of trouble and certainly their tighthead prop was lucky to stay on the field such was his lack of grip on the game. Eventually, a Bees backrow player kicked the ball virtually out of Huw Marsden’s hands as he went for the touchdown and a penalty try was awarded. Bizarrely, not the offender, but the home scrum half was yellow carded as Mark Lord routinely added the extras from in front of the posts.
McGahan missed a penalty while Hinckley responded with what they do best and kept the game tight driving the home pack back on a number of occasions and were in control. When in possession Birmingham kicked most of it away inaccurately and Hinckley were able to run back from deep with Sam Driver, Mitch Culpin and Callum Dacey setting the pace. Hinckley, however, had to endure a torrid spell in defence after loosing prop Liam Warren to a yellow card for a repeat infringement, which in the context of the game, was bewildering compared with what the hosts had got away with in the build up to Hinckley's penalty try. Luke Coltman entered the game as an extra nine minutes was added to the half as Birmingham/Solihull pressed. However, the leagues meanest defence held out again leaving the home side frustrated as half time was eventually reached with Hinckley holding a narrow 7-3 lead.

Now playing with a stiff breeze at their backs Hinckley took the game to the hosts with Lord converting a penalty goal to move the lead onto 10-3 after the home defence was caught offside.
From one of the rare home attacks a poor wide pass was picked up by Dacey who ran 70 metres backing himself to outpace the covering defence to score Hinckley’s second try. Lord’s conversion faded wide of the upright, but the visitors now lead 15-3.
Several bouts of handbags were in evidence as frustration crept into the forward exchanges as the hosts found it difficult to impose their will on the combative Hinckley pack. Mark Deaville, Matt Fearn and Huw Marsden kept control for the visitors at both breakdown and set piece during the concluding throes of the game. The home side were caught offside in front of their own posts and Lord converted his second penalty for a Hinckley 18-3 lead. Home heads dropped, Greasley entered the game and although Coltman was yellow carded in the 87th minute Hinckley controlled proceedings to see out the victory in the gathering gloom.

Conditions dictated the play and Hinckley adapted better to achieve the victory. Not a classic, by any means, but the fifteenth victory on the bounce and with the "mighty" Hales losing at ON’s the margin at the top of the league widened to twelve points and now Scunthorpe are Hinckley’s nearest challengers.

Next week Bromsgrove visit Leicester Road ko 2.15pm fresh from defeat at Syston today.