Northumberland County Plate Competition
Morpeth RFC Reivers 12 v Percy Park RFC Lions 32
Lions cross the bridge to defeat Reivers
The Lions travelled to Morpeth with a cobbled together side and big thanks to Ray Hill and Mark Jackson for stepping in at the last minute to provide front row cover. They welcomed the impressive Jay Bartoli who stepped up from Colts for his senior debut and impressed from start to finish.
A trudge over the bridge to the sloping pitch in the drizzle does not always enthuse the spirit but the Lions set about their task faced with an older bigger set of opponents who were committed to route one rugby. Morpeth's pick and go and hard line crash balls pinned Park down in their own 22 for the first 15 minutes. Whilst the defence was solid the pressure had to tell and Morpeth went over for a converted try 7-0 . It was obvious if Park got the ball wide they would make ground and they responded with some slick handling in the backs which saw Sam Mcdonald dive over in the corner. Kick missed 7-5 . Back came Morpeth more of the same , small gains in yards but relentless phases brought their second\d try with the kick missed 12-5.
Park responded with some probing kicks and some disruptive running from the back row combination of Vik, Liam and Joey. Morpeth infringed in front of the posts , we chose to tap and go(much to the author's frustration) but it paid off with Jay crossing for his debut try. kick missed again 12-10. We always felt if we were in touch at half time the opposition would tire . So the next try was a real bonus, a sweeping move from the three quarters and great interplay between Ben Anderson and Drew Walker saw the latter cross under the posts , kick good 17-12 at half time.
The dye was cast Morpeth were tired and Park started to throw the ball around stretching the hosts from one wing to the other . Both wings Oli Ellis and Sam Macdonald crossed in the second half. one converted,taking us to 29-12 ahead. The last 15 minutes was a bruising encounter . Morpeth were very physical but our defence stood firm. We won a series of penalties and opted to go for goal on three occasions. The last successfully converted by Ben Anderson , final score 32-12. Too many good performances to mention everyone , but a big win for us. Ashington first team in the next round on 15 April.
Starters
Barry Basara Pemberton Harrison Bartoli Cassidy Nadkami Walker Houghton Towell Kornau Walker Anderson Macdonald Jackson
Finishers
Hill Jackson(snr) Ellis