THE BOOT of Coventry Welsh kicker Luke Horan ensured a nervy end to Saturday's semi-final.

Almost 500 fans witnessed Horan peg Uttoxeter's lead back to 14-12 midway through the second half with his fourth successful penalty.

Steve Harris then demonstrated his ability with the boot to edge Uttoxeter away once again.

And although Coventry were just one converted try away from stealing the win Uttoxeter – who had looked unlikely to concede a try virtually all game – held firm.

The Oldfields outfit sent out a strong squad, with only James Williams and Tom Lampitt unavailable, due to hamstring and shin injuries respectively.

Following a minute's silence to mark the tragic death of young Uttoxeter player Danny Edwards in a car accident, the town side kicked off.

Welsh took possession, but were given no time by winger James Gill who tackled the receiver, pinning the visitors in their own 22.

Uttoxeter failed to capitalise on their early possession and conceded a penalty, allowing Welsh to clear.

The visitors were soon on the attack and Uttoxeter conceded another penalty – this time in their own danger zone – and Horan converted to give Welsh an early 3-0 lead.

From the restart, Uttoxeter attacked in similar fashion.

Fly-half Mike Conlon attempted a cross-field kick and the Welsh winger fumbled.

However, Uttoxeter were unable to capitalise on the mistake, though play was brought back for an earlier infringement.

Uttoxeter again wasted another attacking opportunity and again conceded a penalty, enabling the visitors to clear.

Shortly after, the visitors extended their lead to 6-0, when Horan executed another fine penalty kick.

Uttoxeter were determined not to let the match escape them and re-focused their attack.

From 10 metres out, Uttoxeter continued to attack through their powerful pack and showed better discipline to build pressure.

The committed efforts of the pack paid off when the Welsh blind-side flanker conceded a penalty and was sin-binned.

Full-back Harris was on target with his first kick of the game and the visitors' lead was narrowed to three points.

Welsh failed to make 10 metres from the restart, giving Uttoxeter a scrum on the halfway line.

Scrum-half Chris Owen spun the ball blind to Harris, who broke the gain line.

Mike Davies and Mat Nance recycled well and Owen was able to change the direction of play.

Conlon passed out to Pete Allen who spotted a gap and made a break into the Welsh half.

The ball was recycled again and Uttoxeter continued to crank up the pressure.

The visitors conceded another penalty and Harris was on target with the kick once more, as Uttoxeter made the most of their numerical advantage.

Another sloppy restart gifted Uttoxeter the put-in at the scrum.

Davies picked up from the base and ran sideways before being brought to ground.

The Coventry Welsh tackler failed to roll away and Uttoxeter were awarded a penalty 45 metres out.

Harris continued his perfect kicking to slot over his third of the afternoon and give Uttoxeter the lead for the first time.

Welsh then put together an attack and Uttoxeter conceded another needless penalty.

The visitors kicked for the corner and then won their line-out.

Tim Carr, Rob Scragg and Nance put in some big hits to keep the attackers at bay.

Eventually, Welsh tried to spin the ball wide, but Owen read the play beautifully and intercepted on his own five-metre line.

He then sprinted out of his 22, before off-loading to winger Andy Gagie who was caught after making vital yards.

Welsh then conceded a penalty for slowing the ball down, gifting Uttoxeter an opportunity to extend their lead.

However, Harris was off target for the first time and the score remained 9-6 until half-time.

From the restart, Uttoxeter were immediately on the attack.

Owen spun the ball out to centre Allen, who shrugged off tacklers before passing to Miles Pilcher.

The flanker was brought to ground and Welsh smothered the ball – giving Uttoxeter a penalty.

Conlon kicked the ball into the corner, giving Uttoxeter a line-out inside Coventry Welsh's 22.

Carr held hooker Don Hayes's throw and a driving maul was set up.

The Uttoxeter pack powered forward until they were over the line, enabling Scragg to touch down for the opening try of the match and a lead of 14-6.

For the next 10 minutes, much of the play took place around the halfway line.

Uttoxeter eventually conceded a penalty and then showed poor discipline.

The Oldfields side were marched back 10 metres to within kicking range.

And Horan continued his good form to make the score 14-9.

Shortly after, Uttoxeter conceded another penalty and Horan reduced the deficit to just two points.

From the restart, Welsh knocked on and the home side then began to put a number of phases of play together to drive forward.

Big carries from prop Dan Meads and Nance forced play into the visitors' 22.

The extended pressure paid off when the visitors conceded a crucial penalty on their own 22 right in front of the posts.

Harris made no mistake to re-establish a more comfortable lead at 17-12.

The visitors continued to attack right up until the dying minutes of the game and Hayes was forced to execute a vital tackle.

He returned to his feet before attempting to rip the ball off the Welsh player and won a penalty for the home side.

With their final attack, Welsh attempted to chip over, but Harris was first to the ball and hacked into touch to seal the win and a place in the Midlands Junior Vase final, just two matches from Twickenham.