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U14s snatch defeat from the jaws of victory v Romford Maidenhead U14s 14 v Romford U14s 15 |
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In a closely contested match, played in miserable weather conditions, Maids contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, allowing a very competitive Romford side to grab a win with a try in the dying seconds of the match. With fly-half Billy Evans returning after injury and with a more or less full strength squad, Maidenhead had a much better balance to the team, allowing coach Steve Bough to introduce one or two positional changes. One of these paid off in the first half, when James Henderson, having been moved to fullback, joined the line and burst through the Romford defence to score an excellent individual try, which was converted by Arun Lambert. Maidenhead were unable to consolidate their lead in the second half and a powerful Romford pack started to punch holes in the Maids’ defence. Relentless pressure paid off with Romford scoring two unconverted tries and looking set for victory. However, even after losing key players to injuries, Maidenhead rallied well. The forwards started to work together much better, forcing their larger opponents onto the back foot, and half-backs Elli Moore and Billy Evans kept Maids moving forward. Sustained pressure on the Romford line was rewarded with a penalty try, when Romford were forced into committing persistent infringements to prevent Maids scoring. Billy Evans added the conversion. At 15-10 it looked as though Maids had done enough to win. But, not for the first time this season, they were unable to exercise the necessary control to close the game down, allowing the opposing forwards to make one last charge and to score the clinching try. Next week Maidenhead U14s will be playing a league fixture at Windsor, where they will need a full strength squad and to play with greater concentration and sustained commitment to win. |