U15s host Chinnor

Maidenhead U15A 7 v Chinnor U15A 17
Maidenhead U15 Bs 5 v Chinnor U15 Bs 10

Sunday 30th October 2011

Maidenhead U15 As 7, Chinnor U15 As 17

Maidenhead U15 As suffered a defeat as they were unable to find their stride in a fast, tight game against Chinnor.

The home side began well, moving the ball swiftly down the line with Mufaro Nyashanu at fly half, but found it hard to break down of Chinnor’s effective defence as the visitors pressed hard and gave them little room to run.

It was against the run of play that the visitors opened the scoring, running in two tries in quick succession. Chinnor even attempted a kick at goal from a penalty just inside Maidenhead's half; with the wind behind the kicker, the ball struck the cross bar and bounced out.

Maidenhead attacked more strongly at the opening of the second half but failed to capitalise on a series of penalties awarded close to the visitor's line. The pack rallied, with excellent performances from Daniel Morgan and Luke Jordan, but Maidenhead lacked effective co-ordination.

Nonetheless they deserved to narrow the score when prop forward Alex Nikolatos kicked intelligently from a defensive position. One the third bounce centre Jack Chapman, following up brilliantly, collected the ball to score between the posts. Daniel Morgan converted.

Still Maidenhead's backs were unable to find the space they needed to get ahead and the visitors pressed again, scoring once more in the game's final moments.

Maidenhead U15 Bs 5, Chinnor U15 Bs 10

Lion-hearted performances by every player were unable to prevent Maidenhead U15 Bs losing narrowly to a spirited Chinnor side in a thrilling evenly matched game from which both sides emerged with great credit.

Maidenhead began strongly and dominated early possession, recycling the ball skilfully at the breakdown and tackling well in defence. Yet the home side were unable to convert pressure into points and ultimately paid the price.

Having defended stoutly, Chinnor began to press mid-way through the first half. They began to tilt the game to their advantage and ran in the first try.

Maidenhead, whose pack was particularly strong, fought back. Just before the interval prop forward Dinarte Pestana, who had an outstanding game, broke away after pressure near the Chinnor line and shipped the ball to second row Richard Hurst who touched down only for the try to be disallowed for a knock-on.

Despite re-starting brightly, Maidenhead conceded a second break-away try as Chinnor's speed in the backs gave them the edge.

But the home team responded with even greater vigour. Winger Ollie Murphy and number 8 Dan Shea rallied Maidenhead with driving runs, and full back Matt Bourne broke through but was held up on the try line.

Dinarte Pestana narrowed the score line after breaking away from a ruck to score for the home team. Maidenhead battled to the last, with Ollie Murphy held up on the try line after going over moments before the final whistle.

It was a fitting, if frustrating, end to a thrilling game; Chinnor were worthy opponents but Maidenhead could take comfort from exceptional commitment from the team, with personal best performances from flanker David James and Richard Hurst.