Match report and picture courtesy of the

Maidenhead finally subdued a defiant Cheltenham at Braywick on Saturday, who belied their precarious league position with a genuinely plucky display. Indeed, during an evenly contested first half, the visitors looked capable of causing an upset.

The larger and heavier Cheltenham pack were certainly a good match for the lighter Maidenhead unit, and held their own in both the set pieces and the loose. However, Maids’ greater mobility saw them take an early lead, when powerhouse lock Mark Mueller initiated a lighting break from the halfway line. Brushing off the first challenge, Mueller dummied the second then exchanged passes with winger Adam Elwood before crashing over in the corner. But any home fans anticipating a cricket score were quickly disabused, when elusive Cheltenham centre Jon Edwards cut inside his man and sprinted in under the posts to level the scores on 12 minutes. Mike Crisp made the routine conversion and Cheltenham were in front.

The referee gave further encouragement to the visitors by reducing Maids to 14 men for 10 minutes, flanker Johann Vorster receiving a yellow-card for deliberate obstruction. However, the rest of the half was fairly evenly balanced, with Cheltenham enjoying a slight territorial advantage, while Maids managed to secure more of the possession. The closest anyone came to scoring was in the final move of the half, when Stuart Mackay decided to go it alone down the blind side, only to be knocked into touch just one metre shy of the line by a quadruple tackle.

After the break, the visitors were quickly out of their blocks and piled the pressure on the Maidenhead defence. However, when Crisp tried to chip the ball over the top for his fellow backs to chase, Maids flanker Will Lowden charged down the kick and sprinted away to the Cheltenham 22 before flinging a pass over his shoulder to centre Simon Cripps, who fumbled the ball with the line at his mercy. Nonetheless, the incident marked a turning point in the game, as Cheltenham rarely ventured back out of their own half. After a period of intense pressure, Cripps made amends for his earlier mistake by scoring with a typically bullocking run, converted by Ruddick for a 12-7 lead. Matters then became considerably worse for the visitors, when tight-head prop Simon Lutey and young winger Andy Nicholls both received sin-binnings for not retreating 10 and killing the ball in a try-scoring position respectively.

Playing against 13 men, Maids put the result beyond doubt within a minute, when fullback Joe Plamus joined the line to score a routine try in the corner. With the Cheltenham defence visibly wilting, Jonny Hammond jinked his way in from 30 yards to extend the lead, quickly followed by a scintillating run and score for substitute winger Danny Walton. Ruddick slotted both conversions to make it 31-7 and the game was effectively over. Even the wily antics of visiting scrum-half Matt Mudway – and a yellow card for Maidenhead fullback Plamus – failed to stem the tide, as Cheltenham’s backs were gradually starved of possession. To rub salt into the wounds, Maids hooker Richie Craig crashed over the whitewash in added time, and the try was again converted by Ruddick for a slightly flattering final scoreline of 38-7. As Cheltenham coach Peter Kennedy stalked off the pitch the referee’s ears were burning, but this defeat had its origins on the training ground, as the Tigers pulled up short in the fitness stakes.

Maidenhead: Plamus, Elwood, Hammond, Cripps, Mackay, Ruddick, Edwards, Blackwell, Craig, Riley, Gallina, Mueller, Vorster, Lowden, Lynch. Subs: Greene, Walton (for Elwood, 64), Jones (for Lowden, 50).
Cheltenham: Bryan, Morris, Edwards, Turner, Nicholls, Crisp, Mudway, Jones, Hughes, Lutey, Obileye, Crabb, Bennell, Simpson, McMahon. Subs: Hanks (for Morris, 68), Barr (for Hughes, 66), Leibbrandt (for Obileye, 78).

MAIDENHEAD coach Simon Edwards was in buoyant mood after Saturday’s 38-7 win over Cheltenham, claiming to be delighted with the way his side had come through a testing encounter against vastly underrated opponents. Indeed, despite their lowly league position, the visitors led 7-5 at the break and looked capable of hanging on for the win.

Edwards said: “I wasn’t surprised by Cheltenham. Any team that can run Weston within one point are no mugs. “And in South West 1 you just don’t get weak packs. “In the first half my players didn’t do quite what they were told. They tried to get the width before they’d done the hard work. “But at half-time I told them to get back to basics, start hurting them up front, and the width will come. “And that’s exactly what happened. They produced a thoroughly professional performance. “They’re now a confident and patient side, they never feel the game is over and they put sides away in the last quarter of an hour.” A huge bonus for Edwards was a return to action for Danny Walton in the second half. The powerhouse winger scored with his first touch of the ball, only to see the try ruled out by the referee. However, with his next touch there was to be no such let-off for the Cheltenham defence, as he streaked away to score a thoroughly deserved try. Edwards simply said: “He’ll be starting on Saturday.”

Looking forward to Saturday’s long trip to struggling Penryn, Edwards claimed he was expecting another stern test from a proud side. He said: “We’ve never won down there, and if the weather continues the way it is, it will be a real leveller. “We know we’re going to get the kitchen sink thrown at us for 60 minutes, and whatever happens it will be a hard encounter. “But I think we can win. I’m not expecting a large score, but we can win.” Edwards is still hoping to end the season in the top three, an aspiration that gained credence this week with Basingstoke’s win at home to Clifton. He said: “It’s quite exciting. “Results went our way on Saturday, and if we win this week we could be within a point of Clifton. I’m still hoping for a top-three finish, although it’s largely out of our hands. “We just have to make sure we win the rest of our games, and hope the other teams slip up.”