Saturday 7 November 2009
Dorset & Wilts Division 2 North
Beaten at the last
Bradford-on-Avon 2nd XV 22 pts – Minety 2nd XV 17pts
Reduced to 14 men, Minety seconds held Bradford-on-Avon to a 17-all draw until the closing minutes of the game, when the home team’s numerical superiority finally told.
Having lent several men to the firsts, Minety seconds travelled to Bradford with only 15 players and no substitutes.
The home side were first to score, but a quickly taken tap penalty by scrumhalf Andy Brown gave the visitors the chance to counter attack. Having slipped the ball to winger Scott Hick, Brown ran on in support and was rewarded by a return pass. He committed the last defender and then flipped the ball back to Hick, who sped in for the score.
When Brown was subsequently yellow carded, however, Bradford went ahead again, scoring another try to make it 12-5 at the break.
Returning to the offensive in the second half, Minety camped in their opponents’ 22 and were finally rewarded for their efforts when skipper Steve Murray picked the ball up from a breakdown and battered over for a try from short range. Andy Edwards added the conversion.
A try to Bradford and another to Minety, this time touched down by the corner flag by the nimble Milo Hartley, made it 17-all.
But with 20 minutes still to go, an injury to winger Ben Scott reduced Minety to 14 men. For 18 minutes, they held on, but with the clock ticking down, Bradford moved the ball out wide to exploit their automatic overlap and finally landed the winning try.
“The result was a shame but I’ve no complaints,” commented Murray later. “Everyone in a Minety shirt had a great game and played their hearts out. Our man of the match was lock Matt Hooper.”
This Saturday, Minety seconds play at home against Bath Saracens.