Chinnor 1st XV 20 vs. Old
Patesians 1st XV 10
Saturday 16th February 2008
South West Division One
Chinnor made hard work in overcoming an
average team. The kick-off being brought to 1.15pm hardly helped their
cause as they took the field with just a smattering of spectators
present. Kingsey Road resembled the Marie Celeste, it was that quiet.
Chinnor took the lead in the 7th minute, when Ben Hewitt entered the
line at pace, to break through the Patesians and score unopposed. A fine
conversion by Cathcart and it appeared that Chinnor were on their way.
Two massive penalties from the reliable boot of Cathcart increased their
lead, although in knocking over his second kick he strained a thigh
muscle, which effectively ruled him out of the rest for the game.
Chinnor were finding it difficult to inject any cohesive pattern to
their game with sloppy handling and a litany of handling errors being
the order of the day. They did however add to their lead in the 35th
minute with skipper Matt Hutchins going over from a rolling maul. A fine
touchline conversion from Ben Hewitt, taking over the kicking duties
from the injured Cathcart gave Chinnor a 20 point cushion at the
interval.
The second half , from
a Chinnor perspective , became increasingly more frustrating. Patesians
who were now playing with a lot of spirit, with their No.6 Gareth
Betteridge and fly-half Adam Seager showing well , got a sniff that
their cause was not a lost one. Tries by Mathew Shayle and Andrew Tew
were well deserved and had Seager been less wayward with his kicking, he
missed a penalty in front of the posts, the game could have got quite
tense in the closing stages.
With points difference now looking to
become an increasingly important feature in the promotion race with five
games remaining, Chinnor will look on this result as a chance gone
begging. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that they could
have been more focused on the task at hand.