Double header League Fixture and County Cup Final 2011/12.

Sunday 2nd December 2012

Today game was a rescheduled league match and doubled up as last season’s county cup final. Old Albanians kicked off and the game pattern was quickly set. Both teams were closely matched with the forwards of both teams dominating the play. The first half saw a battle develop for supremacy. The Bishop’s Stortford pack had the edge over their opponents; however they found themselves up against a committed defence.

Both teams found it hard work to break down the opposition, with the majority of the game taking place in midfield. The tenacity of the defences caused both teams attack to break down due to infringements or spilt balls. In one of the few expansive plays, Old Albanians had the ball out wide on their right flank, but were well stopped by the Stortford defence. In the ensuing struggle for the ball, Civil ripped the ball out and found some space. His acceleration saw skip clear of the Old A’s defence and score what turned out to be the only try of the game. The try was not converted and the game resumed with both teams cancelling each other out. At half time the score was 5-0.

The start of the second half saw Old A’s gain good field position deep in the Stortford half. The pressure saw Stortford penalised for a couple of consecutive plays and from in front of the post, Old A’s took a penalty kick. They were successful score 5-3.

As the match worn on Stortford’s forwards were exerting greater pressure and were camped in the Old A’s half. It took some great tackling and defence form the OA’s to keep the boys at bay. A number of attacks were held up close to the line. Deep into the second half Stortford in trying to expand the play went along the backline, but the play was well read and led to an interception. It took a combination of Ewan and Perry to chase back to bring down the opponent. The boys were then able to regroup and clear the danger. With the minutes ticking away, Stortford continued to apply the pressure, but could not break through. The final whistle brought to an end a highly competitive game, with Stortford showing great fortitude to prevail and maintain their unbeaten run. The result meant that the boys were league and cup winners for last season and currently leading the way in their division for this season. Final score 5-3.

Team Bennett, Civil, Crafford, Clarke-Scholes, Crowhurst, Etherington, Ewan, Forbes (capt), Hopkinson, James, Lilley, Munro, Pearce, Perry, Precious, Radley ,Shannon, Stenhouse, Wells, Willis