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U14s win against Windsor Windsor
U14s 7 v Maidenhead U14s 17 |
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Maidenhead U14s won an entertaining, finely-balanced game 17.7 away against Windsor in the opening fixture of this season’s Berkshire County league. The result could have gone either way but in the end Maids’ gritty determination and team spirit saw them through. A well-drilled Windsor side started the sharper and put Maids on the back foot from the kick-off. Alarm bells were ringing loud enough to rouse any neighbouring royals as missed tackles and poor decision-making gave the hosts the run of the ball. They were quick to exploit every opportunity, winning line-outs and scrums with ease, and Maids were losing the ball in the rucks. Coaches paced the Home Park touchline with furrowed brows, wondering as to the whereabouts of their best-laid plans. But the boys absorbed the early pressure and, crucially, survived the onslaught without conceding any points. Maids finally began to wake up. Slick passing between Olly Evans and Matt Morgan forged gaps in Windsor’s defence, while tenacious mauling from Josh Turvey and James Parrott helped Maids win back possession. A tactical re-organisation helped sort things out and the boys found their tempo and clicked into gear. Prolonged pressure followed, with possession retained as they probed Windsor’s defence. From a break-down, Maids won the ball and a good offload went to Paul Sayers who kicked upfield to Windsor’s try line. Elliot Reid provided an excellent follow up, took the bounce and touched down for the opening try amid huge cheers of relief from one side of the pitch. As expected, Windsor stormed straight back with a series of fast breaks and some of their best play of the game. Under pressure again, the boys weren’t always getting their first tackles in and found themselves pinned back. But the Forwards, in particular Chris Withers and Michael James, fought with real passion. Morgan Davies and George Kirk put in some telling tackles out wide when it mattered. A slender 5.0 lead going in to the break was never going to be enough to secure the game. At the re-start Maids gained the early initiative and pressed into Windsor’s half. James went in to the tackle and popped the ball brilliantly for Matt Morgan to force his way forward. From winning another line-out captain Ben Pritchard collected at speed, burst through a gap and neatly side-stepped several tackles to plant the ball between the posts. On his debut, James Brooks added the extra points with the conversion to put Maids 12.0 ahead. Matt Quinn, Connor Murphy and Ridjal Ralhan made decisive runs as the tempo remained high. The team was firing on all cylinders now but it was clear Windsor were equally keen for victory and they enjoyed periods of domination. It took a great tackle by Morgan Davies to thwart what could have been Windsor’s opening try. But the hosts deservedly pulled back a converted try following powerful passage of play in front of Maids posts. At 12.7 the game could have gone either way. The best try of the match restored Maids advantage. James linked well with Ollie Evans who spun the ball wide to Michael Habgood. His acceleration took him clear through to score in the corner for 17.7. Still the game pulsated from end to end as both sides hammered away, neither prepared to sit back. Ben, James Eilliot and Olly worked another excellent move. Charlie Wickham-Smith took a pass and made space for a run down the line but, perhaps thinking ahead to the post-match chips and bangers, momentarily lost concentration and inexplicably knocked on. Another quick break from Windsor looked dangerous and only a timely kick into touch from Ben prevented a try-scoring opportunity. Looking the more likely to score next, Windsor lost possession deep in Maids half and Elliott Reid seized on the loose ball to charge two-thirds of the pitch and divert danger. Jubilation mixed with relief greeted the final whistle. The coaches praised the boys for handling the pressure in such a difficult match and containing the threat posed by a determined and pacy Windsor side. An opening win in the league was a great way to round off 2006. Next up in the new year is another huge challenge against Newbury. Tries: Conversions: Squad: |
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