HEREFORD staged a late show when they played their first home match of the season but it was not enough to stop Sutton Coldfield coming away with the spoils at Wyeside.
The visitors fought back having been down 12 to 5 at the break to scoop a narrow 21 to 19 victory.
Hereford's head coach Sean Lynn praised his side's character for gaining a losing bonus point but admitted Sutton Coldfield played the better rugby.
The game had started well for Hereford who opened the scoring after 10 minutes when they won a Sutton lineout and the loose ball was picked up by Lewis Jordan to dive over for the first try.
Sutton were soon back in the contest when some uncharacteristically weak tackles allowed them to open their account with a try before teenager Levi Hughes scored his first senior try to extend Hereford's lead.
A lack-lustre 25 minutes after the break was where the game was lost as Sutton registered a brace of converted tries to take a nine-point lead.
Hereford’s performance did pick up in the final quarter and sustained pressure forced several penalties in the red zone.
Referee Marc Hurn eventually lost patience and awarded a penalty try reducing the Sutton lead to two points.
But, with only injury time remaining, Hereford were unable add any further score and Sutton hung on to claim their first ever win at Wyeside.
Lynn said “I am disappointed with the result, but credit to Sutton Coldfield, they came back second half.
"They played the rugby, capitalised on our two yellow cards in the second half and that was the game changer.
"The boys showed good character in the last quarter and pulled back to gain a losing bonus point.
"Sean Day was back running some good lines and it’s a young side and this season will be another learning curve.
"We play some good rugby and now we must learn to turn the pressure into points.
"Overall it was a disappointing result, but we did get something from it.”
Hereford travel to Whitchurch on the weekend, hoping that an earlier victory away at Stourbridge will be a good omen for their away form.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here