U14s in league defeat at Windsor

Windsor U14s 47 v Maidenhead U14s 7
Sunday 28th November 2004

Maidenhead were well beaten by a competent and well organised Windsor team.

With a score line of 9 tries to 1 Windsor clearly never looked like losing this important league match, but with at least half the tries coming from elementary defensive or handling errors, Maidenhead contributed to their own downfall.

The raw weather conditions undoubtedly contributed to the many handling mistakes, but Maidenhead seemed the less able to adapt, with key passes both in defence and attack, going to ground. Maidenhead’s cause was also not helped by the loss of two key players to head injuries. James Henderson, playing at fullback was concussed early in the game, trying to make a try saving tackle. His all round defensive and attacking abilities were sadly missed and the consequent reshuffling of the team disrupted the balance in the back row.

In the second half the Maidenhead captain, prop Richard Higgs, suffered a cut eye trying to drive the ball through a maul and was forced to leave the pitch.

However, the match was won for Windsor by their half backs, who controlled the game, keeping the Maidenhead defence under constant pressure. The Windsor fly half kicked beautifully from hand, constantly finding space behind the Maidenhead three-quarters, leaving them defending their goal line facing in the wrong direction.

However, no one in the Maids' squad need feel embarrassed by their defeat. The forwards, reinforced by the return of Matt Powell, fresh from his heroic performance at the national Ergo rowing competitions, never gave up and held their own in both tight and loose. Although the backs found it difficult to get the ball to stick in their hands, they tackled with great determination, albeit they found that handling errors too often left them in vain pursuit of breakaway Windsor players.

Aaron Lambert, the emergency fullback, is never a player to give up, and his persistence and determination were rewarded by a last minute try, which he himself converted. The try followed a period of excellent play from Maidenhead, which took them from one 22 to the other - an example of what might have been on another day.

In the absence of a commanding performance on the pitch, the touch line committee awarded the "alpha man of the match" title to touch judge Tony Williams.