Late surge takes care of Clevedon (15.01.05)

IN STARK contrast to last week’s sublime victory in Oxford, Maids turned in an hour of bland mediocrity before finally cutting loose to record a useful 27-5 win over battling Clevedon at Braywick on Saturday.
The result lifted Maids into fourth place in South West 1, but the performance could probably be viewed as a backward step.
The first few minutes of play gave the crowd an unwelcome taste of what was to follow, as two knock-ons and two lineout infringements gifted the guests some useful early possession.
Fortunately they were unable to take advantage of Maids’ generosity, a failure which appeared to have cost them dear on nine minutes, when the hosts pushed up into their opponents’ 22 and swung play one way then the other, before sending winger Simon Cripps round behind the posts for a simple score.
Fullback Rob Hawkins was spot on with the conversion, and Maids seemed destined for a cricket score.
Sadly it did not materialise, as the Braywick faithful were then subjected to a woeful display of rudderless mayhem, which lasted the best part of an hour.
Without pack leader Allan Greene – out injured after turning his ankle in last week’s win at Oxford – the Maidenhead forwards lacked coherence and were subsequently pinned back inside their own half for a full 20 minutes.
When they did eventually escape, it was only for the backs to demonstrate an equal ineptitude, when two good breaks ended in turn-overs.
And that, unfortunately, was as good as it got before half-time, as the league’s two ‘in-form’ sides belied their status.
The second half began more promisingly, as both teams created good chances within seconds of each other in the opening exchanges.
Clevedon skipper Mike Lowis initiated this exciting passage of play with pin-point kick behind the Maidenhead defence.
Left wing Joe Kaniecki seemed odds on to collect the loose ball and sprint in to score, but the ball bounced back over his head and Maids fly-half Mark Ruddick scooped it up before setting off on a lightning counter-attack.
Carrying play to the halfway line, Ruddick drew the last tackle before offloading to Danny Martin, who spilled the ball forward and the chance was gone.
Ten minutes later the visitors finally made a game of it, when the right wing Simon Johns skipped in at the corner for a try, following a simple manoeuvre down the blind side of a scrum. Only a poor kick by Lowis prevented them from drawing level.
The game could have gone either way after that, but two fine penalty kicks from Hawkins meant Clevedon needed to score twice to win.
Forced to attack, the visitors threw everything they had at Maids, led by their classy captain.
His 76th-minute kick seemed to have Maids in trouble, but Hawkins took a clean mark and then thumped the ball back to the halfway line with a classic up-and-under.
Following up at speed, Hawkins caught the Clevedon centre in possession and forced him to sling a loose pass over his shoulder.
The lurking Danny Martin needed no second invitation, as he sprinted onto the ball then disappeared in a spray of turf to touch down between the posts.
Hawkins was again on target with the conversion and the game was effectively won.
With the result secure, Maids finally demonstrated just what they are capable of with a stunning team try, created by Ruddick’s slick handling and finished off by Jonny Hammond’s power and pace.
Hawkins added the extras from in front of the posts, sending Clevedon back to the West County on the wrong end of a very unflattering scoreline.

Tomorrow (Saturday), Maidenhead are off to Bristol to take on league stragglers Keynsham, who are still looking for their first points of the season.

Maidenhead: Hawkins, Martin, MacKay, Hammond, Cripps, Ruddick, Ayres, O’Byrne, Eddington, Johnston, Mueller, Booysen, Jones, Lowden, Morgan. Subs: Kertesz (for Lowden), Blackwell (for Eddington), Young (for Cripps).
Clevedon: Lowis, Kaniecki, Thie, O’Rourke, Johns, Filby, Valief, Potts, Calagher, Tucker, Pearce, McMillan, Hughes, Shopland, Rawle. Subs: Johnson, Catt, Gilmore.