ESHER 16pts - SEDGLEY PARK 14pts

AN early-morning start, a long train and coach journey, a reshuffled team and a determined home side combined to cause a stutter in Sedgley's league march on Saturday.

Rhythm was the missing factor, although their were plenty of individual assertions to indicate that Sedgley could have won, but on a heavy, greasy pitch it was not to be.

Park out-scored Esher 2-1 in tries and might have snatched a victory five minutes from time with an attempted drop goal, but the ball flew wide.

Park started with two penalty misses, neither of them easy as they were wide out and 35 yards from the posts, one left and the other right.

After that Esher full back Gregory, a well known scoring machine, popped one over to bring a home lead which lasted 10 minutes.

Tim Fourie then scored the first of his brace of tries under the posts after a line-out on the left and then good work by Paul Arnold and Richard Senior. Colin Stephens converted; 7-3 to Park.

A drop goal from the home side's stand-off, Stanley, made it 7-6 and just before half time, from a line-out on the right, the ball was spun across field by Esher. Left winger Spencer Bromley got the better of four despairing defenders with an angled run back to the posts and right winger Cook finished off an excellent move with Park's players seemingly stuck in treacle.

The second half started with an Esher penalty and at 16-7 down Sedgley looked to be in trouble, but this is when they came to life with several excellent moves.

One of them brought a second try for Fourie, for after Jon Scales punched a hole in the home defence Colin Stephens totally changed the direction of play and Fourie was not be denied.

Stephens converted and at 16-14 down with fifteen minutes remaining a grandstand finale was anticipated.

And so it was, but as Sedgley applied the pressure so Esher improved their defence and only the drop goal attempt looked like stealing the result.

However it was not to be and Park stuttered on a day when England had a bad day in Dublin and United lost at home.

The good news is that tomorrow's game at Park Lane should be a cracker. Orrell are the visitors and this is one not to be missed.