Da Silva kicks Maids to victory (20.02.03)

PLAYING against a very large and experienced pack, Maidenhead were always going to struggle in this Berks Cup clash and duly fell behind to a converted try in the first five minutes, after a combination of good support play by Reading and poor tackling from Maids.
However, while Maids’ forwards were struggling, the back line was full of attacking options and Stuart Mackay quickly got Maids back in the game by working his way over from close range.
Maids soon went behind again to another converted try but almost immediately claimed one back through Tony Young. Sadly this was his last contribution, as he injured himself in the process.
Four points down, Maids used their backs to good effect again, with the centres releasing Cassidy down the wing for another unconverted try, as new signing Anton da Silva struggled to find his range.
Unfortunately, defending champions Reading were not prepared to release their grasp on the cup and came back with a good score in the corner.
As the first half drew to a close, there was still time for one more score, with da Silva converting a penalty, leaving Reading defending a 19-18 lead.
The second half followed the pattern of the first, with plenty of commitment from both sides. But what did become clear was the influence da Silva was having on the game. Hanman, who had replaced Young, was having a forceful game on the wing and it was his direct running and good support play by Ford that allowed da Silva to score in the corner. This time, from tight on the touch line, da Silva converted with a wonderful kick.
A mistake in the middle of the park then allowed Reading to score under the post, which was duly converted.
However, one thing Maidenhead 2nds have in spades is spirit, as they demonstrated in the remaining 15 minutes.
While trying to return a deep kick from the Maids’ No.10, good pressure from Ford and Hanman pressured the Reading wing to throw an unnecessary pass, which Hanman intercepted and raced into the corner for a final converted try.
Almost from the restart, Reading scored a try, but crucially missed the conversion to leave Maids with a slender 32-31 lead. If the tension was not high enough, both teams then had players sin-binned for fighting as the pressure began to tell. But the referee finally relented, bringing to an end a thoroughly entertaining cup game.

Maidenhead: Ford, Young, Mackay, Barron, Cassidy, da Silva, Liptrot, Morgan, Barber, Miller, King, Gritsham, Raynor, Johnston, Robinson. Subs: Evans, Hanman (for Young), Hocking (for Mackay), Barton, Jelsk.