Home No.10 Andy Goode had kicked Warriors into a 15-6 half-time lead and the fly half also had a try ruled out for a forward pass as the home side impressed.

But the accurate boot of Barkley drew Bath level before a dramatic finale in the Sixways sunshine as the lead swapped hands three times in the last ten minutes.

Lock James Percival crashed over for a powerhouse score to put Worcester ahead, but in a topsy-turvy end Goode put Warriors ahead only for Barkley to claim the points for the visitors with the final kick of the game.

The result was a bitter pill for Worcester to swallow as they impressed throughout and saw a Goode conversion also strike the post in the final few minutes.

Head Coach Richard Hill, though, was determined to focus on the positives and urged his Warriors to learn the lessons of indiscipline and move on to the Leicester Tigers clash next Saturday at Welford Road.

Goode kicked off the new season to a huge ovation and Semisi Taulava rattled into contact early on as the home forwards immediately looked to make an impact. An early penalty from coming in at the side saw Goode kick the early lead.

Bath looked to kick early on and Worcester ran it back with interest with Josh Drauniniu and Chris Jones prominent before another penalty, this time for not releasing, saw Goode double the early lead to 6-0 inside five minutes.

The visitors were kicking the ball at every opportunity in the opening ten minutes as they looked for territory, but the Warriors were secure under the high bombs as they looked to return the ball with interest.

Worcester's pack was driving on with real power while Josh Matavesi looked to stay on his feet and punch gaps with another penalty awarded for not releasing allowing Goode to do the rest.

Warriors were relentless as they again made big yards down the left with Chris Pennell and David Lemi before Matt Banahan put his hands in at offside position to stop the play and was duly yellow carded by referee Luke Pearce.

Goode stepped up and popped over his fourth penalty of the game to open up a 12-0 lead in 15 minutes.

Worcester were now really looking to finish Bath off with a killer blow as they went through the hands and forwards before Alex Grove found a gap and darted for the posts. The noise grew as Matt Mullan and James Percival took play on before a penalty against the home side.

Tempers flared between both sides off the ball as players brawled on the floor and when order was finally restored the man in the middle dished out more yellow cards as the captains, Dean Schofield and Stuart Hooper, were sin binned.

Lemi showed great composure and leap to collect another booming high kick under pressure from Kyle Eastmond to call the mark as Bath looked to mount a meaningful attack after a quiet opening 20 minutes from the visitors.

Bath finally looked wide with a free ball, after Taulava was caught offside, but Drauniniu clattered Tom Biggs into the sidelines. The play went back, however, for Olly Barkley to register the first points of the afternoon for the visitors.

Worcester were keeping the ball alive with some neat phase play as they worked space before Goode dropped into the pocket but saw his attempt at a drop goal fly wide left of the target.

Bath reduced the lead further after a penalty for accidental offside gave Barkley a simple three points from in front of the posts.

Worcester responded with more brunt power up front to smash holes in the Bath rearguard and win the penalty as the visitors were pinned for not rolling away from the tackle. Goode did the rest to open up a 15-6 lead with seven minutes until the break.

A knock on from Drauniniu as he looked to take a steepling kick from Nick Abendanon gave Bath the chance to go wide at pace but Pennell intercepted the pass from Banahan to stop the play.

Lemi put the frighteners up Eastmond who knocked on badly as he went up to take Perry box kick. But Worcester lost the territory as they were penalised at the lineout to allow Barkley to find touch.

Worcester thought they had the first try of the new season as Goode curved his run to set Lemi into clear air. The winger and Matavesi combined to send Goode over but play was pulled back for a forward pass.

Bath came out eager to run the ball in the opening minutes of the second half and a high tackle by John Andress on Lee Mears as he went to ground gave Barkley the chance to eat into the lead and reduce it to six points.

Drauniniu looked to spark Worcester into life in the second half as he exploited a gap down the flank but as Warriors looked to work the play in field they were penalised for offside at the breakdown.

Barkley again nudged over three points to reduce the lead still further as Worcester were pinged for not rolling away on this occasion.

Bath were beginning to dominate field position as a mistake on the wing gave the visitors a lineout in a strong position. Referee Luke Pearce was now repeatedly giving penalties to the West Country side and another saw the nine point lead evaporate in 12 minutes as the teams drew level.

A powerful run through the middle from Taulava looked to try and swing momentum back to the hosts, but a dropped ball as they looked to fling it wide saw a promising move come to a halt.

A penalty for pulling down in the lineout saw Bath kick deep to the corner as they looked to really make possession and territory since the restart count. But Michael Claassens this time coughed up ball before Goode smashed a brilliant clearing kick away.

A sidestep and break from Eastmond set Bath into space and they initially wasted a big overlap left before finally using width only to be being caught holding on in the shadow of the East Stand.

The boot of Barkley put Bath into the lead for the first time in the game with 15 minutes left as another penalty went against Warriors on the floor.

Hill started to use his bench as Joe Carlisle, Jonny Arr and Matt Kvesic all entered the fray with time starting to drift away.

The changes made immediate effect as Warriors repeatedly smashed at the Bath defence and inched up to the line. Lutui and Schofield both went close before the ball was spun to Percival who crashed over to a thundering ovation. Goode's conversion hit the post.

The game was now on a knife edge and a penalty for offside, after Warriors were caught after an Arr box kick, gave Barkley the chance to put his side back ahead.

Worcester responded by running the ball back with real gusto as Percival blasted through a hole. Bath raced back but were guilty of not releasing to hand Goode a penalty chance, but his kick went right of the uprights to the anguish of the home support.

Again Worcester came at pace with Goode injecting pace out wide and Grove flying through the resulting hole. Warriors were quick to the breakdown and again Bath gave away the penalty to hand Goode another chance. This time he made no mistake with less than two minutes left.

With less than a minute to go the visitors made one last play for the game and, after Worcester had crucially failed to secure the restart cleanly, made yards before winning one last penalty. Barkley had one kick to win it and duly made no mistake to send Worcester to defeat.

Timeline:

03m Goode p 3-0

05m Goode p 6-0

11m Goode p 9-0

15m Goode p 12-0

24m Barkley p 12-3

28m Barkley p 12-6

32m Goode p 15-6

43m Barkley p 15-9

47m Barkley p 15-12

52m Barkley p 15-15

65m Barkley p 15-18

69m Percival t 20-18

73m Barkley p 20-21

78m Goode p 23-21

80m Barkley p 23-24

Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan, 02 Aleki Lutui, 03 John Andress, 04 James Percival, 05 Dean Schofield, 06 Chris Jones, 07 Sam Betty, 08 Semisi Taulava (Kvesic 66), 09 Shaun Perry (Arr 66), 10 Andy Goode, 11 David Lemi, 12 Josh Matavesi (Carlisle 66), 13 Alex Grove, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 15 Chris Pennell

Replacements: 16 Ollie Hayes, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 James Currie, 19 Craig Gillies, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Ben Howard