Extra a 39 v Hackney 2s 29

The Extra A travelled to Hackney on Saturday, hoping to win their third league game on the bounce. As is normally the case with our longer away games, we turned up in dribs and drabs, and kick off was put back by 15 minutes to allow us to have a substantial warm up. The ground was firm but the drizzle left it greasy on top, making the soap-like ball difficult to handle.

Our hosts kicked off and Stortford went on the attack immediately, winger Tiarnan Kelly and number 8 Alex Banjac making strong inroads from the outset. It was Hackney who scored first though; some lack lustre Blues defence allowed them to carry into our 22 and create an overlap to score out wide- the difficult conversion was missed. The Blues hit back soon after though. After an initial line break from Sperm his loose pass found its way into the arms of outside centre Tom Roche, who used a combination of brute force and delicate dancing feet to round 4 or 5 defenders and score a superb try. From the re-start we were instantly on the attack again, with telling midfield carries from Wasley and stand in Hooker Ben Harrison taking us close to our opponents 22. It was here that they infringed at the breakdown to give Sperm a relatively easy shot at goal, which was duly converted for a 10-5 lead. The game broke up a bit at this point, both teams struggling to keep hold of the slippery ball for any amount of time. Stortford did strike again soon though, through winger Alex Tindall, who was on the end of some slick midfield handling to score in the corner, Sperm again adding the extras. Our hosts fought back well and exploited some disorganised Blues defence to find a gap and score a 7 pointer of their own. Conceding this soft try seemed to galvanize Stortford and we immediately went down the other end and scored the 'phantom try'. This try followed a lineout and several drives close to the line, before the phantom crashed over for a converted score. Nobody can actually remember who the scorer of this try was, so if it was you then please do step forward (Macca, don't even try it). We finished the half with an unconverted score again out wide on the right; the impressive Banjac touching down after neat hands from Jonesy or Rosey.

Halftime saw the introduction of Aran Martinson, on for plastic Hammy Roche (who had a fine game), and Tom Caulfield in the pack. Hackney started the brighter of the sides though, opting to kick with the breeze and try and move full back for the day Ben Stapleton at the back. After some periods of sustained pressure, and some massive hits going in, particularly from Wasley and Baker, the Blues defence eventually broke; once Hackney's impressive 15 found a gap he was almost impossible to catch. Hackney registered their fourth try soon after, this time their hooker powering over from 5 metres out. Stortford were let off when Hackney missed an easy penalty attempt, and, after Aran Martinson went close, bulldozer Simon Wasley cut back on a crash line and smashed his way over for 5 points. The score at this point was 34-24 with 15 minutes to play. Hackney fought back well, and, following a string of penalties, once again crashed over for an unconverted try. It was with 3 minutes to play that winger Tiarnan Kelly scored the final try of the day; neat hands down the line put him in space and Tiarnan sold a beautiful dummy to round the fullback and slide in to seal the game for Stortford in style. Sperm missed the conversion.. twice. The final 3 minutes were not without incident though: firstly, Wasley went crashing through and steam rolled the Hackney 15 in brutal fashion. After some initial serious concern, he fortunately made it back to his feet so hopefully nothing too serious. And finally, Sperm gave Roche a spectacular hospital pass, which ensured the outside centre was suitably nailed (sorry).

Dick of the day (not my choice at all because he is handsome and I love him) went to Ben the saint Baker, who got lifted so high in a dump tackle that his head was in the clouds; fortunately he had company up there from Stiggy, Tindall and Rosey. There were some good performances around the park, Wasley, Jones/Rose and Roche all giving a good account of themselves. The decision however was very straightforward; young winger Tiarnan Kelly excelled in all areas; tackling above his weight, beating players, supporting well and he scored the best try of the day. He (age 17) also downed his beer faster than the saint, embarrassing.

It was a good, not great performance by the Extra A against a decent Hackney side. I'm sure that a lot of teams will go there and lose this season, so to get the win in any fashion is a good result. No game next week because of some international game or something, then we hope to have a friendly before our return to league action, away at Hertford.