Brentwood 18 Harlow 14
London Three North East
Harlow
had difficulty
coping with Brentwood on
their home pitch
last Saturday.
Brentwood had a
strong heavy pack who
were able to
control possession
for a large part
of the game.
Although in many
of the rucks
Harlow were able to
recycle ball they
were unable to
cross the gain
line. This
meant that the
backs received the
ball in a
static position and
attacking moves were
easily shut down
by a home
defence. The
pitch at Brentwood
slopes steeply
and in the
first half while
playing downhill
they were able
to keep Harlow
pinned back into
their own half
for the vast
majority of the
game. Good
tactical kicking
by players who knew
the conditions
well added to the
difficulty. Brentwood
went ahead fairly
early in the
game with a
penalty and then
added to this
with an
unconverted try for an
8 nil lead.
For a brief
period Harlow did
make it into
the Brentwood half
and had one
penalty attempt which
fell just short
of the target.
Late in a-half
Brentwood produced an
extremely good
move by their
backs with a
well-timed pass allowing
the wing to
touch down in
the corner.
The conversion was also
target making it
a 15 nil
lead. Towards
the end of
the half Harlow managed to
distribute the
ball rather better
to their backs
and were able to
launch two good
attacks. In
the first Andy Vanston
a retrieved a
kick deep in
his own half
and made a
60 yard run
being stopped
only inside the
22. The second
attack saw
several players involved
with Ben Jarvis finally
stopped 10 yards
short having
broken clear of
most defenders
and unfortunately his
supporting runners.
In the closing
minutes of the
half a further
penalty by
Brentwood extended the
lead to 18
nil setting Harlow
extremely tough
target for the
second half.
As the second
half progressed Harlow came
more into the
game. Some
of the heavy
Brentwood forwards were
showing signs of
fatigue and this
provided better
attacking opportunities.
It was possible
however for them
to still slow
down the ball and
frustrate good
attacking moves by Harlow
. In particular
the home forwards
were consistently
going over and
killing the ball
in the ruck,
denying Harlow possession.
To make matters
worse Harlow were
frequently penalised when
attempting to ruck out
the offending
player. Part-way
through the half
Nick Ford had
to leave the
field and Harlow
adjusted by
moving Josh Bohl to
fly half with
Francis Brown
were coming on
at full-back.
It was finely
Brown on who
broke the scoring
deadlock taking
the ball midfield
as he came
into the
three-quarter line and
successfully dummying
two defenders to
break through for
a try.
Bohl successfully
converted from out
near the corner
making the score
18 - 7.
With the slope
in their favour
and against a
tiring Brentwood
side Harlow continued to
attack well,
Snow was now
taking very clean
line-out ball and
Harron was able
to move it
quickly to the
backs providing
several good attack
attacking opportunities.
The Brentwood
defence however continued
to a hold
until, in the
last move of
the game, Harlow
were awarded a
five-metre scrum.
They held the
ball cleanly and
opted to drive
for the try-line
pushing the tired
home pack over
the line for
No8 Matchett to touch down.
With the final
kick of the
match Bohl
converted the try
making the score
18-14
at the close.
This
result leaves Harlow
in 4th place
in the league
by points
difference equal on 18 league
points with Brentwood
and Romford.
Bury St Edmunds are
clear at the
top will 20
points. These
four clubs are
now all breaking
clear of the
rest of the
league table and
it's
likely that
points difference will
be a key
factor in
deciding the promotion
slots. On
this basis it
is essential not
only that Harlow
win their matches
against higher
placed clubs but
that they drive
home large scores
against those
near the bottom
of the table.
Tries: Lloyd Matchett
Conversions: Josh Bohl (2)
1. -
James Ephgrave
2. -
Scott Romaine
3. -
Gary Brown
(Blood Replacement Sub 10-20 mins
Paul
Prindiville)
4. -
Jon Snow
5. -
Paul Eynon (Captain)
6. -
Scott Stoba
7. -
Mark Pickett (Sub 60 mins
Kain Claridge
)
8. -
Lloyd Matchett
9. -
Lee Harron
10. -
Nick Ford (Sub 50 mins
Francis Brown)
11. -
Simon Vanbeck
12. -
Tom Davies
13. -
Ben Jarvis
14. -
Matt Howard
15. -
Josh Bohl
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