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Droitwich 3 - Stoke on Trent 18

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Droitwich failed in their attempt to gain promotion to Midlands Division Two—going down 18 points to three at the Memorial Ground to an efficient Stoke on Trent side.

What will disappoint Droitwich the most is not so much the result, but more the manner of their defeat. They never got into the game, and certainly failed to secure very much quality possession, and what they did get they often squandered.

Playing into the stiff breeze in the first period Droitwich looked clumsy and nervous, and it was the visitors who made the running, although the home defence was strong with Nick Godfrey, Phil Horton and James Davies making some good tackles. All too often, however, Droitwich infringed and gave away penalties, and were fortunate that the Stoke kicker had an off day, slotting only one of his four first half attempts.

The one bright spark during the first period was a fine break by full back Critchlow, who raced forty metres before linking with Steve Poke, who then found Sean Walker who was tackled into touch five metres from the visitors’ line. Droitwich though could not maintain this pressure, giving away a penalty to allow Stoke to relieve the pressure. With the clock running down on the half Stoke laid siege to the Spa line, forcing a series of scrums before eventually muscling their way over for a try.

Turning round at eight to nil Droitwich must have believed they could use the strong wind to gain territory and the initial exchanges belonged to the home side as Duncan Hughes slotted a penalty.

More pressure saw Droitwich go close, but the Stoke defence was good and Droitwich were often guilty of choosing wrong options and sloppy passing. Poke and Jon Andrews both went close but could not quite get over the line.

A long kick from the visitors relieved the pressure, Critchlow fielded the ball and ran out of defence, but a wayward pass was not dealt with by the Spa midfield allowing the Stoke right wing to gather the ball, sprint down the field and score under the posts.

This was a body blow for Droitwich who, for the first time in the match, had threatened to get out of second gear and make a game of it. Just to add insult to injury Droitwich were penalised, only for some back chat to see the free kick upgraded to a penalty for the visitors to increase their lead. It was now a lost cause and Droitwich tried everything to get back on terms, but to be honest never really looked like scoring.

The final whistle brought the curtain down on a failed promotion bid, and it must be said the better side won, but Droitwich will be disappointed they could not produce some of the quality rugby they have shown at times during the season—a sentiment echoed by retiring, veteran outside half Duncan Hughes, “We are obviously very disappointed. There was a large crowd today and we failed to deliver. We have an awful lot of young players so I am sure this experience will make us come back stronger next year.”

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