Match Report v Thurrock (h) Win 25-0
Essex Cup Semi Final
Brentwood U14s 25 Thurrock U14s 0
Report by Becky Bassenger
Brentwood stall at first but motor into the final…
As Brentwood knocked on yet again to the disbelieving cries of their supporters it appeared the occasion had got to them as they kept making simple mistakes that normally would not have happened. Thurrock had lots of pressure but Brentwood defended well, not allowing them any space to get through and towards the end of the first half they finally started to look more comfortable, with their best attack coming from some good forward work and the ball being spread wide quickly but being knocked on in the tackle by the touchline. From the scrum however Brentwood used their forwards to get a free kick that saw Sam Morgan go steaming into the Thurrock defence, making a large dent before he was eventually bought down. The forwards recycled quickly to give the backs good ball that was flung wide to Joel Ison who pinned his ears back and raced for the corner (yes the corner!) to score. Very strong wind made kicking the conversion very difficult and although Adam was on target the wind blew the ball back, 5-0 Brentwood.
The conversion attempt signalled the end of a very frustrating half for Brentwood however the positive of scoring just before half time seemed to give the boys their confidence back and they came out much more fired up for the second half, soon having most of the territory and many attacks.
After many phases of attack Brentwood were rewarded with a 5 metre scrum, and when the Thurrock scrum half went offside in a desperate attempt to halt the Brentwood forwards, Brentwood were given a penalty. At 5 metres out you’d generally expected either William Bassenger or James Paton to take the penalty and crash over, evidently Thurrock expected this too so when the ball went to Sam Morgan they were caught completely off guard and Sam went smashing through to score. The conversion attempt was just short, 10-0 Brentwood.
From the restart Sam Morgan took the catch and went hurtling through the defence. The support was good and the ball was recycled quickly for the backs who called a pre planned move which worked to perfection. Adam Mathias looked to take play towards the touchline but then popped a pass back to Sam Fry who’d come off his wing and ran a great line infield. Sam then popped the ball off in contact to Chris Doble who popped it to James Paton with the try line at his mercy. Again the wind caught the conversion attempt which just missed, 15-0 Brentwood.
It seemed that Brentwood now had Thurrock under extreme pressure and this pressure was made worse when Jake sent a booming kick down the touchline from a penalty to gain a 5 metre lineout for Brentwood. Although initially the ball was lost the Thurrock player was tackled into touch and Brentwood had the lineout only slightly further out. This time the catch was taken well and a maul was set up, the maul lurched forward until Rob Finnerty peeled off the side with the ball and ran over to score a well made forwards try. Wind made Adam’s life difficult and the conversion was missed, 20-0 Brentwood.
From the restart Joel Ison was caught extremely high, Brentwood penalty. Brentwood opted to run the penalty and tapped and went. The ball was shipped to Stuart Frith, now on at fly half for Adam Mathias, who put a beautiful chip over the top of the Thurrock defence for Jordan Hill to chase down. Jordan managed to out pace the Thurrock defence and chipped the ball over the try line, diving on it to score. Apparently I’m not allowed to mention the fact that Billy had to forfeit the conversion as he took to long (whoops!) so instead I’ll mention the fact that he got beaten by the majority of the backs in the post match crackers/mars bar and lemonade race…fairy!
Billy’s failed attempt at a conversion signalled full time and the celebrations of getting through to the cup final could begin. Coach Ian Dennis praised the boys for “cutting out mistakes after a slow, nervous start” and also said that “the second half was a demonstration of how they can play and they thoroughly deserve their place in the final.” Keith Morgan summed up the general mood saying, “I’m over the moon!” He then added that he was “proud of the boys for keeping there cool under constant provocation and gave a good professional performance.” Pete McCarthy however was more interested in other matters and asked me to quote him as saying, “The raffle was a fix! How could both Steve Doble and Bill Bassenger possibly win and not me?”
I’d also just like to say a quick thanks to Dee and Swampy for buying me a pair of fingerless gloves to stop me whinging that my hands got cold when I had to remove them to take notes!
The conversion attempt signalled the end of a very frustrating half for Brentwood however the positive of scoring just before half time seemed to give the boys their confidence back and they came out much more fired up for the second half, soon having most of the territory and many attacks.
After many phases of attack Brentwood were rewarded with a 5 metre scrum, and when the Thurrock scrum half went offside in a desperate attempt to halt the Brentwood forwards, Brentwood were given a penalty. At 5 metres out you’d generally expected either William Bassenger or James Paton to take the penalty and crash over, evidently Thurrock expected this too so when the ball went to Sam Morgan they were caught completely off guard and Sam went smashing through to score. The conversion attempt was just short, 10-0 Brentwood.
From the restart Sam Morgan took the catch and went hurtling through the defence. The support was good and the ball was recycled quickly for the backs who called a pre planned move which worked to perfection. Adam Mathias looked to take play towards the touchline but then popped a pass back to Sam Fry who’d come off his wing and ran a great line infield. Sam then popped the ball off in contact to Chris Doble who popped it to James Paton with the try line at his mercy. Again the wind caught the conversion attempt which just missed, 15-0 Brentwood.
It seemed that Brentwood now had Thurrock under extreme pressure and this pressure was made worse when Jake sent a booming kick down the touchline from a penalty to gain a 5 metre lineout for Brentwood. Although initially the ball was lost the Thurrock player was tackled into touch and Brentwood had the lineout only slightly further out. This time the catch was taken well and a maul was set up, the maul lurched forward until Rob Finnerty peeled off the side with the ball and ran over to score a well made forwards try. Wind made Adam’s life difficult and the conversion was missed, 20-0 Brentwood.
From the restart Joel Ison was caught extremely high, Brentwood penalty. Brentwood opted to run the penalty and tapped and went. The ball was shipped to Stuart Frith, now on at fly half for Adam Mathias, who put a beautiful chip over the top of the Thurrock defence for Jordan Hill to chase down. Jordan managed to out pace the Thurrock defence and chipped the ball over the try line, diving on it to score. Apparently I’m not allowed to mention the fact that Billy had to forfeit the conversion as he took to long (whoops!) so instead I’ll mention the fact that he got beaten by the majority of the backs in the post match crackers/mars bar and lemonade race…fairy!
Billy’s failed attempt at a conversion signalled full time and the celebrations of getting through to the cup final could begin. Coach Ian Dennis praised the boys for “cutting out mistakes after a slow, nervous start” and also said that “the second half was a demonstration of how they can play and they thoroughly deserve their place in the final.” Keith Morgan summed up the general mood saying, “I’m over the moon!” He then added that he was “proud of the boys for keeping there cool under constant provocation and gave a good professional performance.” Pete McCarthy however was more interested in other matters and asked me to quote him as saying, “The raffle was a fix! How could both Steve Doble and Bill Bassenger possibly win and not me?”
I’d also just like to say a quick thanks to Dee and Swampy for buying me a pair of fingerless gloves to stop me whinging that my hands got cold when I had to remove them to take notes!
posted by woodsnews @ 11:15 pm
1 Comments:
Apparently I won five prizes in the raffle, but nobody would claim them for me.
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