Old Elthamians 1st XV (19) v (18) Dover 1st XV
Played 3rd October 2009
This game was as close as the score suggests but on the whole the hosts deserved the two points. It was an interesting encounter with Dover leading for the majority of the game and they should have, against the run of play, nicked it in the last play of the game had a three man overlap been used to its full potential. However that was not the case and the visitors now drop to 6th place in the league.
Dover had the advantage of the slope and the wind in the first half and the initial ten to fifteen minutes looked promising. Scrum half Ben Murray had his best game of the season and he was orchestrating play particularly on the blind side with winger Ricky Mackintosh always threatening along the right flank. The pressure was mounting and a number of penalties were awarded in Dover’s favour and Blair Charge kicked the first points after 7 minutes. Further pressure mounted and yet another penalty was awarded in the red zone with Murray taking a quick tap and charging over for a well taken try with the extras added. Questions were being asked as to why a yellow card had not been produced at this time. Unfortunately Dover lost their momentum and E’s were soon backing in contention. From a lineout, where they excelled throughout, the ball was fed to their fly half who managed to evade a number of half hearted tackles to touch down with the conversion to follow. This was disappointing to say the least for Dover. E’s then had a hatful of chances and were dominating play for a good 15 minutes but credit to Dover as they battled manfully and managed to clear their lines, with Nick Ford’s kicking being a premium. Dover kicked another penalty and they continued to work hard and Martin Beaumont was penalised for crossing as his brother Mark touched down at the end of the half, which was a major factor in the final analysis.
The second half was always going to be difficult for Dover but it could not have started better. Dale Tonks secured possession from the kick off. Martyn Beaumont was fed the ball and a clever chip over the top saw him collect the ball and with the overlap created through a number of pair of hands Mackintosh found the space from the half way line. A superb hand off saw E’s number 13 easily brushed aside and the winger touched down for a great score. Unfortunately the kick was missed. From hereon Dover battled gamely but they were unable to hold the advantage and Old E’s gradually cut the gap with a converted try and then a further score on the 70th minute. E’s forwards were finding holes and further missed tackles in the mid field was costing the visitors dearly. There were many positives for Dover to take from the contest. New signing Ed Blowers had a good debut in the second row and Dover welcomed back Ed Close following nearly a year out through injury. Young Justin Marx played at outside centre, his third position in four games and his contribution in both defence and attack was inspiring. E’s continued to pressure on Dover’s 5 metre line and some how the visitors managed to counter attack in the dying seconds and as mentioned above they should have scored, unfortunately a Dover player’s naivety got the better of him. This was a hard and entertaining game played in excellent spirit from both sides and E’s were worthy of their victory at the end of the day.
Senior Coach Graham Tonks commented ‘The boys worked hard today and they could have won at the death against a good strong team. We worked well in areas but were disappointing in many others. Poor tackling cost us and there will need to be changes if we are to compete at Cobham on Saturday’.
Team – Bartley, Tomlinson, Stanley (Hewer), Blowers (Robinson), Sluman, Surendorff, McNamara, Tonks D, Murray, Beaumont Martyn, Beaumont Mark, Charge (Close), Marx, Mackintosh, Ford.
Photos By Ian Shilston
Report by: Richard Collins
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