Match report courtesy of the

Saturday 10th November 2007

This contest was as one-sided as the score suggests with a Maidenhead team, bereft of confidence, never being allowed to find any sort of rhythm or momentum. On the back of a demoralising defeat to Weston-super-Mare last week, Maids did not need a trip to unbeaten league leaders Chinnor.

But this is what they faced, and the differences between the teams - mainly mental and technical - were there for all to see.

Chinnor were not that special, but with nine straight wins under their belts, they had a game plan the players obviously felt comfortable with, and the players in key positions to execute it.

They did the basics right, made few mistakes and have the big booming kick of fly-half James Cathcart when the pressure is on or to turn defence onto attack. The one thing they did well on Saturday was to restrict the opportunities Maids had to win the ball and retain it for their own use. Maids certainly never gave up, but they simply lacked the ball for most of the match, and the confidence to use it when they had possession.

The contest itself started ponderously in the breezy conditions, to the extend that after 11 minutes, the score was 3-3 - Warren Abrahams levelling Cathcart's penalty a few minutes before.

But this was as close as Maids got as, against the wind, they were forced to play most of the first period in their half of the pitch. It was no surprise that the pressure, and the wind assistance, saw the hosts go into the break 28-3 to the good thanks to three touchdowns and 13 points from Cathcart's boot.

With Richie Craig in the sin-bin for 10 minutes, Maids found life no easier after the break. Chinnor intelligently changed tactics and kept it tight in the face of the weather conditions, successfully allowing Maids precious little ball.

Abrahams did double Maids' points tally with a decent penalty kick just two minutes after the re-start, but any thoughts of a comeback were snuffed out. Without the ball, Maids could not use the wind to their advantage, and were blown away in 20 second-half minutes which saw the hosts add 25 points for no reply.

Four more tries for Chinnor ensued, and 10 more points for Cathcart, while the visitors' best effort saw Abrahams seemingly break free with a clear run to the line, only to be brought back for a dubious forward pass. Maids did maintain a decent work rate, and prevented Chinnor from adding to their total in the final quarter of the match, but it will be scant reward for a fruitless trip to a chilly and windswept Oxfordshire.

Chinnor: Hewitt, Seymour, Williams, Powell, O'Mahoney, Cathcart, Gustafon, Winpenny, Stennings, Whelan, milburn, Burrows, Hastings, McGuire, Winslade. Subs: Isoefo, Rixon, Burns.
Maidenhead: Abrahams, Arends, Hammond, Cripps, Mackay, Ruddick, Edwards, Blackwell, Craig, O'Byrne, Mueller, Babich, Gallina, Parkhouse, Reilly. Subs: Gull, MacDonald, Barber (all used).