Fleet find some form

A number of late cry offs resulted in a number of the 18 strong squad playing in unfamiliar positions, however this was not to be a problem. Like a pair of heavyweight boxers both sides traded blows and tested each other for all of 20 minutes before any scores being taken. After a period of sustained pressure it was No.8 Richardson who eventually broke the deadlock to cross over in the corner to take a try. Decent passages of play from Fleet were not being followed up with points, so whilst they were in control Park were never far away. The first half fizzled out with no further scores, the main talking point thus far had to be about the man with the whistle, in particular is interpretation of the offside rule and the management at the ruck area!

During the break tactical changes were made as Fleet then increased the tempo as they looked to edge ahead, the backs were now functioning well with centre Brown and fly half Woodhouse making useful breaks. It was the powerful frame of winger Maddern who burst through from just inside the opposition half swatting off tacklers with ease to cross the whitewash, Richardson adding the conversion making it 12-0. By now with a bit of breathing space and confidence growing the forwards in particular were providing lots of ball for the backs to work with. Further pressure on the hosts resulted in a penalty awarded which Richardson took easily, 15-0. Excellent play brought a third try courtesy of some good work by Brocklehurst who offloaded to Woodhouse who calmly jinked his way through to score a try, making it 20-0. With the game nearing a close, West Park scored a consolation try making it a final score of 20-5.

Overall manager Jefferson was proud of how his team stuck to the task and ground out a victory which was much needed after some recent away defeats. As for a man of the match it was difficult to identify an individual as this was a gritty team performance. However, whilst praise has to be given to the dominant forwards it was probably newcomer Woodhouse at fly half who just shaded it for his kicking, distribution and breaks with ball in hand. Next week Fleet entertain high flying Cumbrian side Kendal expecting a much tougher test.

Report from Dan Jefferson