U14s pressure Bracknell but take no points

Maidenhead U14s 12 v Bracknell U14s 13
Sunday 26th March 2006

Maidenhead Under 14s had plenty of chances to win Sunday’s league game against Bracknell but some basic skills let them down.

With the wind on their backs Bracknell started confidently and with only 3 minutes on the clock had opened the score with a try in the near corner. Only the crossbar prevented them going further ahead from the conversion.

To their credit Maids fought back and Townsend levelled the score after the Bracknell defence had soaked up a considerable amount of pressure.

Instead of pressing home an advantage Maidenhead relaxed which allowed Bracknell back into the game and they soon regained the lead with a second unconverted try.

With an advantageous wind in the second half Maidenhead still had most of the play and possession but could not convert this into points. All too often the ball was knocked on, dropped or simply not controlled.

Frustration was beginning to show and with 10 minutes remaining the visitors were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which they duly converted to extend their lead. Once again Maids fought back and Rawlinson went over for Maids second try of the game which Heley converted to bring the score to 12-13 with only seconds on the clock. With no time left for Maidenhead to respond Bracknell put the ball into touch to finish the final play of the league game as winners.

However, it was not all doom and gloom for Maidenhead. Both sides had arrived with large squads and a further period was played to give those on the bench a run out. This period started as a mirror image of the league game with Bracknell taking the lead with a converted try and Maidenhead equalising through an O’Byrne try and an O’Brien conversion. After that the picture was very different with Maidenhead taking control of the game and adding 2 tries from Cadden and O’Byrne and a further conversion from O’Brien without a response from Bracknell. Maids won this period 19-7 and must ask themselves why they couldn’t have done this in the league game.

Squad: Louis O’Byrne, Patrick Boyd, Warrick Ferrar, Vito Mrwa, Chris Heley, Tom O’Brien, William Cadden, Matt Todd, Icarus Congdon, Hugh O’Connor, Phil Roberts, Chris Cameron, Arthur Kellman, Dominic Hedouin, Jamie Maclean, Tom Hudson, Manny Saundh, Adam Rawlinson, Ben Alderson, Myles Faulkner.