Mitcham could not repeat the excellent win they had over Radleians earlier in the season, losing a close encounter at Poulter Park.

An early penalty by the opposition was soon wiped out by number 8 Simon Barnrard breaking off the back of the scrum close to the Radleians line.

Mitcham dominated the scrum with a powerful performance by the front five despite being outweighed by the Radleians front five.

Another penalty saw Radleians edge ahead but a five minute spell where Mitcham went to sleep allowed Radleians to score two soft tries.

Mitcham regrouped quickly and a spell of pressure near the Radleians line saw number 8 Barnard finish off a pushover from a 5 yard scrum emphasising Mitcham's scrum superiority.

Although Mitcham won two kickable penalties following forward pressure, Mitcham could not convert into points. Mitcham were just about still in touch at the break trailing 25-10.

An early Liam Dewsbury penalty at the start of the second half saw Mitcham reduce the deficit and despite concerted pressure Mitcham were unlucky not to score with scrum half Ryan Jones being stopped short of the line after breaking away from the back of a ruck close to the Radleians line.

The dangerous Radleians backs finished off a very well worked try which appeared to secure the points but Mitcham were not finished yet. A break from midfield involving Liam Dewsbury and Wayne Bryant saw a ruck close to the Radleians line.

Mitcham's man of the match Simon Barnard broke away, fed Ryan Jones who in turn timed his pass perfectly for overlapping full back Dane Tuck to score in the corner.

With only minutes remaining Mitcham just missed out on two bonus points with Peter Zsitvai being bundled into touch yards short of the line following a 60 metre dash up the left wing beating three covering defenders.

Mitcham are in Cup action next week playing Alliance League outfit Arioch Crusaders in the 1st round of the Surrey Bowl, a competition where Mitcham reached the final last year.

Mitcham are also boosted by the return of Freddie Southwell, brother of Scottish International Hugo, after a long injury lay off.