Stortford supporters, who had witnessed both last season's narrow home defeat by OEs and last week's loss to a last-minute penalty at Clifton, could be forgiven for feeling that a degree of poetic justice had been administered in this breathtaking victory, right at the death.

Starting with the stiff (and freezing!) breeze behind them, Stortford spent the first quarter of an hour hammering on the visitors' line and came close to scoring a number of times, but a combination of stout OEs defence and some soft errors, including still one or two unforced penalties kept the scoreboard blank. In stark contrast, OEs took full advantage of their first attacking opportunity to sweep some 60 yards upfield to register an unconverted try by winger, Craig Dowsett. The home side was more clinical, though in the next 10 minutes, coming away with a converted try after a another period of concerted pressure.. This resulted in a penalty award (one of many conceded by the visitors during the first quarter of the game) some 5 metres from the OEs' line and a quick tap by Sam Winter allowed him to put Baxter Wilson , in close support, through to touch down close to the posts. Pier Dotta's conversion put his side in the lead and this was extended after another 4 minutes to 9 points, when Sam Coleman this time took a quick penalty some 10 metres out and was able to force his way over for a try, also converted by Dotta. The position had been set up by a powerful drive from hooker, Tom Crozier, typifying a strong first half performance by the whole pack, both in the loose and at the set scrum, where the opposition had a considerable weight advantage. Unfortunately, further pressure from the home side failed to add any points before the break.

Playing into the wind, it was no surprise that Stortford were pushed onto the back foot after the restart, but determined defence held OEs out for 10 minutes, until Tom White kicked a penalty to narrow the deficit to 6 points. The decision looked a little harsh, since Crozier, having made a good tackle had bounced to his feet on OEs' side of the ball, only to be driven back and pinned down by opposition forwards, yet was pinged instantly for failing to roll away. Showing much more resilience than in some other games this season, Stortford immediately went back onto the attack and were rewarded after 19 minutes with a try by Sam Winter after another quick penalty had been taken and Wilson had committed the outside defence to give his centre space to run in for the touchdown. Dotta's convesrion attempt was held up by the wind and dropped just short. The game then swung back in OEs' favour and two quick penalties in a row produced a 5 metre lineout for them. While Stortford's pack was mustering to try and repeat an earlier stout defence of an anticipated rolling maul, some quick thinking on the part of the visitors' forwards produced a low throw to substitute hooker,, Jeremy Cunnew, who was able to plunge through to the line almost untouched. White was unable to convert, leaving the deficit at 6 points. There followed a period of arm-wrestling between the two evenly-matched sides, with the elements giving a slight edge to the visitors. This proved decisive after 73 minutes, when Stortford lost control of the ball only some 10 metres out from their line, when trying to drive the ball out of the danger zone through their forwards and an incisive counter-attack saw Tom Cobb dive over for a try close to the posts. The easy conversion by White took his side into the lead after 74 minutes and thoughts of deja vu sprang to the minds of many home supporters. The team, though was not prepared to contemplate another last gasp defeat and surged onto the attack, forcing a penalty inside the visitors' half. A good touch-find by Tom Coleman was backed up by a cleanly-won lineout, from which the forwards launched a couple of phases of driving mauls, producing another penalty, some 6 metres out. Although in a potentially kickable position, it was straight into the teeth of the wind and the skipper called for a scrum. Fortunes at the set pieces had been mixed across the course of the game, but Stortford's ball had scarcely been under threat, so the call was probably the percentage play. Far from settling for just winning the ball, though, the Stortford eight launched a massive shove, forcing the opposition to wheel and concede another penalty. The next call for another scrum was much easier and the pack duly repeated the medicine to force a third penalty. Another scrum producing an identical outcome gave the referee little option but to award a penalty try on 79 minutes. Not only did this guarantee the home win, but also produced the valuable bonus point for the 4th try. Dotta's conversion was the final action of the game and prompted huge celebrations among players and supporters, reflecting just how hard and close a match this had been.