London Broncos 28 Saints 32

MASTERS-of-suspense Saints brought off their umpteenth 'ultimate comeback' of the season as they leap-frogged over Wigan to the top of the Super League after this first visit to The Valley soccer ground.

But rarely have they walked as tall as they did on Saturday night!

For, with just five minutes remaining, a battling Knowsley Road side reeling from the loss through injury of Test stars Chris Joynt, Paul Newlove and Alan Hunte dug deep to snatch a last-gasp, albeit controversial, winning try from Samoan prop Apollo Perelini.

Saints' massive, ecstatic following danced in the stands, as well they might, after their favourites had displayed a pre-requisite of champions - true grit - in coming back off the ropes to to take the spoils against a vastly improved London line-up bent on a top-four spot.

Saints enjoyed the cushion of a 14-2 lead after 25 minutes, only for the stampeding Broncos to square matters by the interval and then move into a 22-14 by three-quarter time, scoring 20 unanswered points en-route. On balance a London side crammed with Brisbane-based stars might plead rough justice at the eventual outcome, but there could be no doubting the validity of the crucial try, for the all-seeing eye of the video replay camera clearly revealed that, although turned on his back in a three-man tackle, Perelini maintained control of the ball and exerted the all-important downward pressure.

For any number of reasons, not least the thin red line of sheer refusal to submit, choosing a Saints' man-of-the-match might was a thankless task but needs must and, after due deliberation, I plumbed for stand-off superb Karle Hammond, who had a hand in three tries and tackled himself to a standstill in the common cause.

With two priceless points the prize for both Saints and London the atmosphere was of cauldron-like proportions and, on a perfect pitch and in energy-sapping heat, the visitors were first out of the starting blocks when Joynt, Hammond and Keiron Cunningham carved out a gap for Joey Hayes to squeeze in at the corner flag.for his fifth try in as many games.

Holding down of Tulsen Tollett by Joynt enabled Greg Barwick to open the London account with a penalty goal, but Saints took and apparent stranglehold first when Gibbs, skipper Bobbie Goulding and Prescott sent Perelini powering over, and he was followed by Newlove after a defence-splitting pass from the Saints' scrum-half, who also tacked on the conversion.

However, an hitherto watertight Saints' defence hinted of vulnerability with the departure of Joynt, and so it proved as Bronco leader Terry Matterson's reverse pass was seized upon by Russell Bawden, and he swept through to plunge over in the corner, with the touchline goal being child's play to Barwick.

Worse was to come for a rudely-awakened Saints when, after a Newlove-Danny Arnold raid petered out, London winger Scott Roskell scored a brilliant 50-yard solo try on half-time, for Barwick to again stroke the goal over from the side-line to give Broncos a parity that had been unthinkable 10 minutes earlier.

Resuming with Tommy Martyn and Hunte on for Adam Fogerty and Newlove, and with Hammond switched to loose-forward, Saints' found themselves on the back foot as they struggled to regain the advantage against London team growing in confidence and, after yet another Barwick up-and--under, it came as no surprise when the Broncos marksman inched his side 16-14 ahead after Arnold was unavoidably offside in retrieving the fumbled 'bomb.' Title prospects for the Knowsley Road squad then looked in some jeopardy when the home side scored a long-distance try via a shrewd pass from Barwick to David Krausse, who made light of jet-lag from Australia just 24 hours previously to race fully fully 50 yards before sending Roskell in again, with Barwick's conversion almost a formality

It took the considerable presence of substitute Vila Matautia to give Saints a glimmer of hope and _ aided and abetted by Messrs Hammond, Perelini, Goulding, Martyn and Ian Pickavance - the giant Samoan did just that in thundering 20 yards to the posts for Goulding to add the goal points to reduce the London lead to just 22-20 after 60 minutes.

And it was 'advantage St. Helens' once again when, after Goulding's cross-kick had the Bronco's defence in a tangle Perelini swooped to feed Gibbs, and the Welsh ace displayed quite remarkable strength in swatting aside three tackles on an unstoppable 15-yard burst to the line, with Goulding landing a conversion from the touchline.

But the pendulum swung yet again Broncos' way as the outstanding Peter Gill and Tollett fashioned London's final try from Steve Rosolen for Barwick to make it six-from-six with the conversion kick.

The ghost-of-a-chance for Saints came when Goulding opted to run the ball after Matterson had been placed on report for an offence on Prescott, and Hammond then took over to send Perelini on his way to glory and an important victory on the sometimes rocky road to Super League Championship glory.

Matterson was subsequently sin-binned for dissent, and there was just time for Hayes, Cunningham, McVey and Prescott to mount last-minute rescue acts for Saints before the final hooter brought a merciful release for both players and fans!

London Broncos: Martin; Roskell, Krause, Barwick, Maguire; Tollett, Langer; Allen, Rea, Mestrov, Gill, Rosolen, Matterson. Substitutes Shaw for Matterson (5), Matterson for Allen (22), Bawden for Mestrov (28), Dynevor Langer (32bb), Allen for Bawden (40), Tollet (61bb no sub), Butt for Bawden (63), Mestrov for Shaw (66).

Saints: Prescott; Hayes, Gibbs, Newlove, Arnold: Hammond, Goulding; Perelini, Cunningham, Fogerty, Joynt, McVey, Morley. Substitutes Pickavance for Joynt (27), Martyn for Fogerty, Hunte for Newlove (40), Matautia for Hunte (54).

Referee: Stuart Cummings.

Attendance: 6,286.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.