Droitwich overpower Berkswell & Balsall to remain second in the League

Monday 1st February 2010

Droitwich turned in a solid performance on Saturday to overwhelm Berkswell & Balsall at the Memorial Ground.

From the kick-off the visitors seized the ball and drove towards the Droitwich line mauling 30 metres up field and only good tackling by Andy Manns and the ageless Nick Godfrey kept them at bay. From the resulting scrimmage, more pressure was put on the home line but Droitwich stayed firm and won a penalty to clear the danger.

The opening exchanges were even, with Droitwich looking to move the ball wide and Berkswell concentrating their attacks on the driving mauls. Good running by skipper Phil Horton saw Steve Poke go close before a long pass from veteran Matt Blackmore saw Will Baillon race over only for the referee to adjudge the pass forward.

More pressure by the Spa side saw lively centre Mark Strutt go on an arcing run to dive over and open the scoring. Chris Hooper added the conversion before he slotted a penalty.

The visitors hit back with a penalty kick of their own but a neat break by Poke found Hooper in support to throw a dummy and race over to extend the Droitwich lead. The half time interval saw Droitwich lead 17 points to 3.

The second period saw Droitwich up their work rate and put more width on the ball; which seemed to stretch the visitor’s defence. A typically robust run by Dean Goddard saw Dylan Jones in support to feed Baillon who raced over and scored. Blackmore added the conversion.

A surge upfield by prop James Shewell set up an attacking position; Strutt went close before Poke scurried over to score. Again Blackmore converted.

A well-executed move in midfield saw outside half Bobby Scott-Walker pass inside to Simon Pearce who showed an impressive turn of pace to go over. Scott-Walker was again the catalyst for a Droitwich attack, putting in a well weighted cross kick for Baillon to gather and score his second.

Berkswell came back using the driving maul to attack the Droitwich line before an infringement saw the referee award a penalty try. Not to be out done, Droitwich surged upfield in the dying seconds for Hooper to collect a stray ball and race over for his second try of the afternoon and complete the scoring. Final score: Droitwich 48 - Berkswell & Balsall 8.

Droitwich consolidated their second place in the league having produced a very solid display by absorbing the forward power of the visitors and attacking them out wide to run in six good tries. Matt Blackmore said, “Patience was the key to today’s victory. We knew they’d be strong up front but felt we could attack them out wide. The longer the game went on, the stronger we looked.”

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