Match Report
Maidstone 14
Thanet Wanderers 17 by Trevor Langley
London League 1 South
Home at The Mote, Saturday 28th November, 2009, Kick Off –2.30pm
As the half way point, the need for Maidstone to turn their season round with a succession of wins becomes ever more vital. With Kent neighbours, Thanet Wanderers, the visitors, just one place ahead in the table, a positive result was required to keep the flame of hope alive.
And Maidstone did enough to give themselves that elusive victory but for two moments of slackness in the first half that eventually undermined all the good work put in. The final margin of defeat was a penalty that gave the visitors the edge by 17-14.
With a bye in the Kent Cup, there was no game for Maidstone the previous week, which should have given a chance for old wounds to heal. Instead, veteran prop, Rob Jeffrey played in the Evergreen Cup and damaged his Achilles tendon, forcing a promotion for Sam Bailey into the front row. Rob Pankhurst was restored to hooker and with Steve Matthews back in the second row, the pack was restored to a familiar format.
There were no changes to the back line, with the rejuvenated Dave Tugwell retaining his spot at scrum half.
A positive start by Maidstone saw them putting early pressure on the visitors but this was immediately negated when, from their first attack, Thanet moved the ball wide, to left wing Ash, who found space outside Mark Ryan. He should have been tackled by the cover, but managed to force his way past three tacklers to cross the line under the posts, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.
As Thanet got their game together, things got worse for Maidstone when they lost two lineouts and two scrums in short order and generally looked second best in the loose. Only good defence kept them in the game.
Just when Thanet seemed to be on the point of extending their lead, Maidstone hit back. From a penalty on their own 22, Nick Sargent took a quick tap and broke through the initial cover to set up a ruck just inside the Thanet half. Quick ball allowed stand off, Molloy to make ground and set up Neil Graves whose neatly timed dummy defeated the cover to allow him a touch down behind the posts. Molloy duly added the conversion to level the scores.
Maidstone began to spend more time in the Thanet half, but it was the visitors who took the initiative to score again on the half hour. This time, there was an element of fortune about things. With Maidstone mounting a forward drive, the ball was turned over by a Thanet player in an offside position. A swift move to the blind side saw winger Cooper chip over the defence and win the race for the touch down in the corner. A fine conversion, by full back Eldridge, restored the seven point advantage for the visitors, which they held up to half-time.
Shane Poynton came on for his debut at the restart, replacing Nick Sargent who had taken a knock to the head, but the high-octane approach required by Maidstone never materialised and Thanet looked more likely to increase their lead. With set scrums proving difficult, Martin Maytum was brought on to add some stability to the front row, but Maidstone continued to struggle in the tight.
A penalty on 65 minutes saw Thanet extend their lead. And the gloom descending over the Mote seemingly extended to Maidstone’s prospects. But with Matt Iles replacing Lee Thomson in the back row and Sam Bailey making a couple of decisive breaks, Maidstone found a second wind and began to put together a more cohesive approach, resulting in the best try of the game.
From a line out on the Thanet ten metre line, Mark Ryan burst into the line to cut through the Thanet defence at pace, feeding Ben Cleary back on the inside for him to break free to score by the posts. Molloy duly added the conversion to bring the deficit back to three points with ten minutes to play.
But there was no miracle on this occasion as Thanet kept the ball tight and denied Maidstone any opportunity to run the ball.
This game demonstrated another incremental improvement by Maidstone overall, but until they harness the talent available and play better as a team, there will be more disappointments to come.
Team
Rob Bailey; Josh Pankhurst; Luke Debnam (Martin Maytum 48 mins): Andy Bacon; Steve Matthews: Lee Thomson (Matt Iles 60 mins); Nick Sargent (Shane Poynton 40 mins); Ben Court: Dave Tugwell; Mike Molloy: Mark Ryan; Neil Graves; Ben Cleary; Lewis Fawcett: Gareth Hill
