Sedgley sneak it

ON a better day for rugby than might have been expected, Sedgley faced the slope, but had wind advantage in the first half.

The pitch was wet, but firm enough, and within two minutes Park had their first try. Strong play by the pack, with Leon Treco prominent, paved the way for the backs; Carlos Hassan, Rob Moon and Mike Wilcock combined well, with Wilcock's inside pass putting Moon in unopposed.

Colin Stephens converted. Esher had won the first contest between the two sides, and it quickly became apparent that they would be no pushover this time.

A lively, mobile pack and quick backs made an attractive combination, and Sedgley were soon under pressure.

After a long period defending, Sedgley finally cracked. Penalties were conceded until, eventually, the referee lost patience and sent Richard Senior to the sin-bin.

Moments later he awarded a penalty try when Tim Fourie tackled too high, and Esher drew level through Jon Gregory's simple conversion.

The game was entertaining at this stage. Sedgley were giving their backs plenty of ball. Two fluent attacks had Esher scrambling, then Hassan's well-judged kick to the right corner, plus a good chase and tackle by Moon, won

possession 10 metres out.

More accurate handling in which lock Paul Arnold did well as an outside centre, and left wing Sion O'Hare scored wide out on the left. Stephens converted to put Sedgley 14-7 ahead.

Gregory and Stephens each kicked a penalty goal and a good first half ended with Sedgley leading 17-10 and encouraging signs that the wind was dropping too.

Sedgley almost made the dream start to the second half when Treco burst away from a maul, produced a wonderful sidestep, and almost scored.

Support was lacking, however, and he was penalised for not releasing.

The game started to go frustratingly wrong for Sedgley. Rob Moon limped off and Wilcock took his place at full-back, with Ross Bullough on the wing, before Gregory's easy penalty cut the lead to just four points. Sedgley, so assured in the first half, were finding themselves increasingly error prone, and Esher were turning the screws. Visiting stand-off Chris Finch had been one of the day's best performers, and he landed a drop-goal to make it 17-16 after 15 minutes of the half.

There was no lack of effort from Sedgley for whom Paul Arnold, Tim Fourie and Mike Wilcock were outstanding, but wrong options were taken, chances were rushed, passes were dropped and Esher, it seemed, were going to win.

The defining moment came five minutes from full-time. Esher had a maul near the Sedgley line and seemed odds on to score, but somehow Sedgley won the ball and Fourie burst away with it.

Stephens missed a penalty, as the wind again freshened, but then kicked one, and Esher needed a try.

They nearly got one, too, and Sedgley were indebted to centre Carlos Hassan for a couple of important cover-tackles in the dying minutes. Two valuable league points, but the team will need to perform much better at Harrogate tomorrow.

SEDGLEY PARK: Moon (Bullough); Wilcock, Hassan, Scales, O'Hare; Stephens, McCormack; Latham, Treco (Keyes), Thomas; Arnold, Rees; Senior, Yates, Fourie.