On a dull yet warm and humid afternoon, the Portway side went into the half time break 7-6 up with a score line that was rather flattering to the home side.

Stockport had come into the game with nothing from their first two outings of the season, leaking 133 points in the process. Home fans were therefore perhaps understandably eager to see an early breakthrough, but the Bees were edgy and, at times, over eager in their execution and as a result Stockport had the better of the early exchanges.

The visitors took a 0-6 lead thanks to two Josh Longmore penalties and, with the combination of good defensive organisation and a superior performance at the scrum, kept play in the Bees territory for the majority of the opening 30 minutes.

Indeed it was only a Stockport error that led to the Bees try – Dai Evans pouncing on spilled ball when centre Elliot Fletcher was well tackled. Ever the opportunist, the Bees’ Welsh winger finished well from 30 metres out, too quick for stand-in Stockport winger Simon Green who had dropped from No.8 to the cover for the injured Myles Hall. Canning added the extras to give the Bees a narrow lead at the break.

Bees started the second period with more purpose than they had shown in the first, no doubt keen to shake off the lacklustre performance of a largely forgettable first 40 minutes. With Matt Spink now on in the second row, the scrum had perceptively more “go forward” and this allowed the home side to apply more pressure.

It was another Stockport error that led to the Bees’ second try. This time it was the turn of right wing Alex O’Malley to capitalize on loose ball at the base of the scrum – picking up and darting over from 10 metres out. With the increasingly dependable boot (and from the Yum Scrum ladies perspective, much admired legs) of Adam Canning adding the conversion, the Bees were finally shaking off the shackles of uncertainty as they took at 14-6 lead.

A third penalty for Josh Longmore after 20 minutes suggested that the north west side were not out of the game yet and, given the Bees’ recent history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the Portway faithful could be forgiven for fearing a potential wobble.

Those fears were to prove unfounded and just as the sun began to shine, so too the Bees rounded off what in the end was a comfortable victory thanks to two further and well engineered tries – firstly for replacement No.8 Steve Leach and then full back Chris Carlin - both converted by Canning.

This was despite finishing the game with 14 men, when referee MacGaffney finally lost patience with Bees scrum half Jack Jolly and sent him to the sin bin for persistent feeding at the scrum.

Whilst there is little cause yet to hang out the bunting, there was a palpable sense of relief post match that the Bees had finally got their first win of the season in the bag. Certainly the performance still lacked the fluidity and conviction that was evident in the latter stages of last season, but a win gives Eugene Martin’s side much needed belief and a platform to get the season back on track.

The bonus win puts the Bees up into eighth place in the NLN2 table, although they will face the difficult task of travelling away to high-flying Ampthill next week, who have taken a maximum 15 points from their first three games of the season.

Teams

Birmingham & Solihull – Chris Carlin (T), Alex O’Malley (T), Steve Johns, Rob Connolly, Dai Evans (T), Adam Canning (4C), Jack Jolly, Michael Stephens, Darren Forder, Ashley Scriven, Chris Goddard ©, Liam Dunne, Nick Bingham, Will Crane and Peter Koziot. Replacements (all used) Lewis Grinsell, Andy Kettle, Matt Spink, Steve Leach (T), and Ian Briggs.

Stockport – Jonny Edwards, Joe Cantwell, Elliot Fletcher, George Smith, Myles Hall, Josh Longmore, Mark Edwards, Simon Green, Callum Baldwin, Keiran Hibbs, David Hopkins, Alistair Green, Craig Anthony, Paul Millea and Andrew Fuller ©. Replacements – Oliver Longmore, Jordan Pearson, Ben Marsland, Conor Mitchell and Matthew Bebbington.

Referee – Brendan McGaffney