Fit again fly half Matthew Jones made a late cameo appearance but Worcester Warriors were edged out 18-12 by The Army.
Jones, who has been out of action since November with foot problems, made his long awaited comeback in the game at Sixways Stadium after earlier tries from Ben Jones and Charlie Fellows.
But it was the visitors who tasted victory after a two try burst in six second half minutes handed them an advantage they battled hard to keep.
The Army started on the front foot as temperatures dropped at Sixways Stadium and enjoyed early territory before a chip ahead was collected by wing Malakai Magnus who diver over for a 5-0 lead after less than five minutes.
Worcester responded with Alex Grove making ground and showing nice hands to nearly release Matt Cox on his shoulder. The Army then lost the ball when Greg King stripped his opposite number and he cleverly kicked in behind.
Fly half Joe Carlisle was using an intelligent kicking game to keep The Army at arm’s length and Warriors were reacting fast around the fringes to stifle any visiting attack.
Carlisle and Grove linked with the centre racing clear and jinking inside before being taken to ground. Matt Cox was next to take the ball on but when they went wide Carlisle was caught with the ball and The Army quickly re-grouped to turnover ball.
A late tackle on Greg King off the ball resulted in Carlisle kicking to the corner to set up a Warriors attack. But after a strong run by flanker Jake Abbott the impetus was lost.
Worcester dished out big tackles to try and find a way back into the game as the forwards swarmed in and The Army also lost Mark Lee to the sin bin after he cynically played the ball as Worcester edged towards the line. But as the hosts looked to make the numerical advantage count the chance went begging as King released Fellows but he lost control of the ball under pressure as he stretched for the line.
Worcester looked set to strike just before the interval when Abbott stole a lineout and skilful evaded two men before being hauled down by the left wing as he looked to score a stunning 70 metre breakaway try. Skipper Abbott was replaced soon afterwards for blood by Tom Hardwick as a frustrating half ended with more home pressure.
Miles Benjamin showed good strength and power down the left wing and when the play was taken inside a penalty saw Worcester take a scrum in front of the posts. That brave decision paid off handsomely as Ben Jones peeled off and scored in injury time.
The second half got off to a frenetic start with The Army showing good ability to forcing the Warriors into errors. But it was from poor handling that Warriors struck next as a loose ball was scooped up and Fellows ran nearly the length of the pitch to score.
The Army nearly struck immediately when a scrum wheeled around and the back row broke away clear with only a big tackle from King stopping Maccu Koroyaidi from touching down in the corner. But within two minutes the visitors had struck as Koroyaidi showed a real turn of pace to sprint in and cut the lead to two points.
The game entered the final quarter with the home side looking to attack for a killer score with Fellows and Abbott combining to find space but Mike Penn just failed to latch onto the final wide pass.
But it was The Army who cam strong again as wing Kenasi Maritiro made yards and the final touches were applied by Gerhard Wessels.
Fit again Matthew Jones entered the game with 12 minutes left to try and add a late spark to the encounter. But despite battling for possession the home side could not force a late attack to try and gain a share of the spoils.
A late offside decision saw Ceri Cummings merely put the gloss to an 18-12 win to The Army with a well struck penalty.
Timeline:
4m Magnus t 0-5
40m Jones t Carlisle c 7-5
47m Fellows t 12-5
59m Koroyaidi t 12-10
65m Wessels t 12-15
79m Cummings p 12-18
Warriors: 01 Jack Gilding (Lewis 73), 02 Jordan Page, 03 Shaun Ruwers (Hill 67), 04 Hugo Boyland, 05 Dave Lyons, 06 Matt Cox, 07 Jake Abbott (Hardwick 39-40), 08 Dave Askew (Hardwick 40), 09 Ben Jones (Silver 40 (Frost 68), 10 Joe Carlisle (Crook 50), 11 Charlie Felllows (Jones 68), 12 Greg King, 13 Alex Grove (Wheatcroft 50), 14 Miles Benjamin (O Grove 50), 15 Mike Penn
Replacements: 16 Sam Lewis, 17 Mike Hill, 18 Tom Hardwick, 19 Louis Silver, 20 Ollie Frost, 21 Matthew Jones, 22 Tom Wheatcroft, 23 Ollie Grove, 24 George Crook