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Match Report Shelford vs. Hertford Sat 4th Oct 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Monday, 06 October 2008

ImageShelford 45 - 19 Hertford

Tries: Gough, Lewis, Ronaki, Berryman, Bergovich, Ball, Lea
Conversions: Gough (5)

Having beaten us with the last kick of the game in the corresponding fixture last season, the Shelford Boys were out for revenge against Hertford on Saturday. With a gusting wind blowing straight down the pitch, the team who adapted to the conditions and used the wind to their advantage would claim victory. In our most impressive performance of the season so far, we capitalised on a favourable wind and switched tactics superbly and to great effect when playing into it.

Playing down the slope with the wind at our backs in the first half, our tactics revolved around territory. We knew that playing the game in our opponents half would make it very difficult for the visitors to escape. This would lead to them making mistakes, which would present us with opportunities to amass a decent points haul. This plan was executed well, as we played almost the entire half in Hertford territory. Impressive kicking from hand by Daffyd Lewis resulted in a Shelford lineout 5 meters from the Hertford line, which allowed Tony Bergovich to barge over for our first score. A similar situation saw Kramer Ronaki cross the whitewash from a driven lineout, which the visitors had defended poorly. Further tries came from Daffyd Lewis, who totally flummoxed the Hertford defenders with an audacious dummy and a notable turn of pace off the mark, and Aki Lea, who produced a typically brutal drive, resulting in him carrying three defenders over the line with him. The Shelford metronome, Goughie, converted all 4 of our tries.

Unfortunately, we allowed our visitors a foothold in the game by gifting them with two cheap scores. The first, an interception pass inside their 22 was picked up by their right winger who sprinted the length of the pitch for a touchdown and the second, a poorly defended kick and chase, which resulted with their other winger dotting the ball down over our line. These slip ups cannot be afforded against the stronger sides in the league and we must ensure that we turn the screw whenever we gain the upper hand. Half time score, Shelford 28 – Hertford 12.

Playing into a gale, the second half saw Shelford invert the tactics of the first half. Kicking the ball was out of the question, so we kept the ball tightly within the forwards and used the blind side to good effect. This variety of play will enable us to adapt to our opposition and conditions and definitely bodes well for the remainder of the season. We continued to dominate our opposition in every facet of the game and our display produced three more tries for the Shelford collective, scored by James Ball, Ed Gough and Shelford debutant, Matt Berryman. Unfortunately, Shelford took our foot off the gas again in the last few minutes and allowed the visitors to grab a try of their own. Final score, Shelford 45 – Hertford 19.

We are sitting nicely atop the London One Division now and this is a position we intend to occupy until the end of the season. We have the squad to achieve this goal and we must make sure that we apply ourselves in every game from now. Next week we travel to Jersey in what will be another tough encounter in this extremely competitive league. Onwards and upwards. The Shelford Machine marches on!
 
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Newsflash

Fixtures Sat 10th January 2009

1st XV vs. Barnes AWAY - Kick off 2.00pm

Development Squad vs. Sutton & Epsom HOME

3rd XV vs. Diss HOME

4th XV vs. Sawston Home

All Kick offs 2.15pm

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