EVESHAM remain ninth but are now far too close to the Midlands Two West (South) relegation zone for comfort after a 32-25 defeat to Leamington, whose success at Albert Road all but ended their own fears of the drop.
The Avonsiders, however, are just two places and one point above the bottom two with four matches remaining after Saturday’s frustrating setback.
It was a case of one that got away for the Vale men as they started in fine style before the visitors hit back.
Early tries for Alex Jackson and Josh Sands, with Mike Diston adding a conversion and two penalty kicks, took the home side into an 18-5 lead after 30 minutes at a windswept Albert Road.
However, the visitors fought back well to reduce the deficit to a single point at the break.
The second half was a tense affair as both teams went all out for victory and Jackson touched down again for Evesham and Diston converted the score, but it was not enough to win as the Warwickshire side emerged victorious.
One consolation for Evesham was a losing bonus point which does at least keep them ahead of Southam on points difference and Old Coventrians by a point.
Next up for Evesham is a visit to fourth-placed Nuneaton Old Edwardians on March 23 before a crunch home clash against Old Covs the following weekend.