Westcombe Park U17s (29) v (20) Dover U17s
Played 06/01/2008
Dover U17 had a close contest at westcombe park on sunday morning,
Dover had the run of the first half and spent much of it camped in
or close to the opposition 22metre area but park defended solidly throughout
and thwarted the Dover pack time again , scrummmaging and line out
were very even affairs with the slight slope giving the advantage to
Dover against the heavier park pack. Ten points courtesy of pace of
Dale Mercer was all that seperated the teams at the interval.
Early in the second half the park tactics became clear as the heavier forwards
began pressursing the Dover Defence, as in the first half park were clearly better
in contact and thier foraging for loose ball proved very effective how ever strong
tackling and defensive work frustrated park and when the Dover backs recieved
the ball good ground was always made.First Points in the second half went to
Park but Dover were resilient enough to reply tit for tat, again two more tries
from Mercer, until the turning point in the game when Dover lost two Key Players,
Ollie Barnes and Tom Dight, in quick sucession. two points seperated the teams
as they went into the last play of the game when tired hands allowed park an
interception to seal Dovers fate.
All in all despite the result a gutsy squad performance, a demonstration of how
much Dovers Game has improved and an indication of what the squad could achieve
when commited.
Reported by Paddy McAdam
