ATTITUDE was the difference as Sedgley Park edged out Bedford Blues in a tight contest at Park Lane.

"We simply wanted it more than they did," said backs' coach Andy Northey, who paid tribute to the Tigers and Tim Fourie, Park's director of rugby, who suffered a nasty leg wound which required stitches.

"We had a positive attitude, we impressed our game upon them and we would not take a backward step.

"Tim epitomised what we were about. He showed that attitude in bucket loads. He suffered a deep cut early on - if he had been a horse he'd have been shot - but he would not come off and continued to play like the warrior he is. But then again, we had a team of warriors out there."

The Tigers started with Matt Riley, another player on loan from Sale Sharks, making his Sedgley debut at full back. Also making his first start of the season was Tom Albinson on the wing, while on the bench was Henry Monsell, featuring for the first time at first-team level.

After weathering Bedford's early storm the usually reliable, Phil Jones, was uncharacteristically off target with a 35-metre penalty attempt on 15 minutes, but 10 minutes later Bedford stand-off Ross Broadfoot was successful to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

But the Tigers plugged away and six minutes from half-time, a catch-and-drive from a five-metre linout was capped with Skurr touching down for his fifth try of the season.

At the start of the second half, Park once more had to withstand some intense early pressure before driving play down the other end, and they were eventually rewarded from a lineout 18 metres from the Blues' line. Ed Norris claimed possession and the rolling maul did the rest, with winger Jope, again, coming infield to claim the final touch for Sedgley's second try. Jones' boot was again unsuccessful but the hosts led 10-3.

The Blues introduce their replacements and began to build up a head of steam but it was not until the 73rd minute that it bore fruit. Chris Johnson claiming the touchdown to put the visitors within a conversion of parity. But full back James Pritchard's attempted two-pointer was way off target and the Tigers played out the final minutes of the game within Bedford's 22 to take the points.

Sedgley head down to Solihull on Saturday to take on the Pertemps Bees hoping to avenge the narrow 34-33 defeat at Park Lane earlier in the season.

Sedgley Park: Riley, Jope, Briers, Voortman, T. Albinson, P. Jones, J. Albinson, Evans, M. Jones, Halsall (Keys 74), Fourie, Norris, Newton (Bennett 65), Ponton, Skurr. Replacements not used: Roberts, Gazzola, Livesey, Duffy, Monsell.