Droitwich 10 - Berkswell & Balsall 10

Saturday 4th October 2008

Droitwich turned in another below par performance on Saturday, but managed to scrape a draw against Berkswell and Balsall at the Memorial Ground.

Playing against the blustery wind in the first half Droitwich started well, looking sharp and disciplined. A loose ball was fed along the line to teenage winger Jack Pomroy, who showed an electric burst of speed to out sprint the defence and race 50 metres to score under the posts. Jonny Critchlow added the simple conversion.

More good running by Ross Coombes found Stevie Poke and Nick Godfrey in support to go close, but good defence kept the Spa side at bay. Phil Horton also went close before handling errors saw Droitwich unable to convert pressure to points.

The visitors then hit back with a try of their own. The half ended with the home side 7 points to five up, but started the second period a man down as prop Nick Labotsky was send to the sin bin.

Droitwich then seemed, for some reason, to panic and start playing the game at a tempo that didn’t suit them. This resulted in an error strewn half, although it must be said that Berkswell looked the more dangerous side and went close on several occasions, before, after good pressure they squeezed in at the corner to take the lead.

With time running out the home side tried to raise their game, but more errors prevented any fluidity in their attacks, and time and time again passes were either dropped or wrong options taken.

Matt Blackmore came off the subs bench to try and inject some dynamism, and it was Blackmore who slotted a tricky 40 metre penalty to get Droitwich back on level terms.

The final few minutes were frantic with both sides trying to get the advantage, and Droitwich hearts were beating a little faster when the opposition were given two late, kickable penalties to win the game, but were unsuccessful with both attempts. The final whistle saw the game end in stalemate.

Scrum half Steve Poke commented after the game, “We got a point, which is about all we deserved. Our discipline was much improved and we will continue to grow as a team. I am confident we will play better in weeks to come.”

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