Dover were frustratingly unable to break Thanet’s unbroken run
of wins this season following their visit to Crabble on Sunday.
In the first half the Sharks made a number of breaks that threatened
the opposition’s try line and should have scored but dogged defence
from Thanet held them at bay. Thanet made a few breaks of their own
and were within a sniff of the Dover try line on two occasions but
were held back. The half finished without score.
In the second period Dover’s performance in set piece play was
not as tight, the visitors exploited this weakness and were quicker
to the breakdowns to win the majority of ball. It was only a matter
of time before the home side conceded the first try of the match. Dover
battled their way back to the Thanet try line on several occasions
but were reluctant to play the ball wide missing opportunities to reward
their efforts with points. Thanet kicked long to touch following an
offside penalty awarded against the Sharks giving them the platform
for their second try of the match. Dover fought back ending the match
camped out on the Thanet line but again persisted in taking the ball
back inside ignoring the shouts of the backs out wide who were always
best placed deliver that elusive Dover score.
This was a game Dover had the ability to win, some good learning points
came out of this match – these will be addressed over the next
training sessions.
Under 13s : Conor Allen, Luke Allen, Joe Baker, Joe Bisset, Hal Bryan,
Jordan Caldwell, Tom Clark, Marcus Coulson, Jos Crush, Robert Duffy,
Shaun Fields, Sam Gibbs, Sam Harrison, Shane Hopgood, James Hornsey,
Tom Johnstone, Oliver Latham, Issack Goeghegan, James Moynan, Luke
Rigden, Thomas Saunders, Jack Smith, Oliver Thomson and Joe Tonkin.
Coaches: Bob Thompson and George Clark.
Reported by Chris Bryan