Saturday 27th September 2008

Saturday 20th September 2008

 

Matlock returned to winning ways in glorious sunny conditions at Cromford Meadows when they posted a record score against struggling rivals Derby. Matlock showed their intentions from the outset and pinned the visitors back with some penetrating kicks from the new half back pairing of James Young and David Hartley.

 

One such kick in to the corner led to several forward drives and quick ball saw the play moved wide where Alex Powell showed his outstanding pace to score the opening try. James Young converted to add the extras and the home side soon looked comfortable. Matlock were keen to exploit their domination at the scrum and a great charge down by David Hartley nearly led to a second score with Derby in disarray. The lead was soon extended when a quickly taken penalty caught Derby offside and James Young stepped up to calmly stroke over the penalty.

 

Derby came back at Matlock with several strong runs and eventually the visitors converted a penalty to reduce the lead. Matlock responded in some style when Chris Mease picked up from the base of the scrum, fed David Hartley who found Nick Coombes who raced over to score an excellent try. Further constant pressure throughout the remainder of the first half went unrewarded when the home side made several unforced errors and tended to over complicate their play. The half time lead of 15 – 3 after almost completely dominating the visitors could and should have been much greater.

 

Matlock went immediately back on to the attack at the start of the second period and only a slightly forward pass prevented a further score. A great kick into the corner by Nick Coombes enabled Matlock to put their powerful driving maul to good use and it was no surprise when Chris Buckley went over in the corner to extend the lead.

 

Derby came back at Matlock but the home side's defence held firm to snuff out any slim hopes Derby may have had of getting back into the game. Alex Powell again showed his speed to take Matlock close to Derby line and after securing possession at the line Jonny Bunting was on hand to score after another trademark forward drive. Shortly afterwards a great kick into the corner was followed up well by James Young who , benefiting from the long grass managed to win the race to touch down in the corner . The game was sealed when a penalty took play into the corner and a well rehearsed move led to Ben Neville showing his evasive running skills with the final try of the game.

 

Whilst Matlock will be pleased with the improvement shown from the previous week they will be aware that much sterner tests will be faced  in the coming weeks and they will need to show much more of a killer instinct in putting the opposition away. This weekend’s game away at Leighton Buzzard will provide just the challenge.

 

 

Saturday 13th September 2008

Matlock’s first league encounter of the season was played in glorious late summer conditions which, although ideal for the spectators, provided a stern test for early season fitness levels .

Although both defences were on top in the early exchanges it was Syston who appeared the sharper team and the visitors took the lead with a penalty after 30 mins play. The home side continued to press and went close to scoring the opening try when David Hartley, playing his first game at scrum half, put in an excellent kick which enabled the speedy Ben Neville to show his pace before a last ditch tackle prevented the score. Syston began to get the upper hand in the latter stages of the first half and a poor kick from Matlock was fielded well and enabled the Syston winger to score the opening try under the posts which with the conversion duly added gave the visitors a 10 – 0 lead . The kick off at the restart proved disastrous for the home side when Syston took full advantage of some uncharacteristic sloppy tackling from Matlock to quickly add a second converted try to give them a healthy 17 – 0 lead at the break .

The early stages of the second half were very similar to the first as Syston pressurised Matlock who were struggling to find any shape and momentum. Matlock eventually began to gel and only a well organised Syston defence kept Matlock from scoring after several trademark forward drives close to the line. Chris Buckley was unlucky not to score after being put in to space by some excellent work from Alex Powell and Dan Hooton. Ben Neville again went close following superb work from the forwards in taking a scrum against the head which enabled the influential Mike Brookes to place a well positioned kick in to the corner.

Matlocks backs were struggling to penetrate until Tom Hooton gathered a loose pass and showed surprising pace to put Chris Buckley in for Matlock’s long awaited first score which was duly converted by James Bance to narrow the visitors lead. Shortly afterwards a perfectly weighted chip from James Bance caught the Syston defence off guard and Dan Hooton gathered the ball before chipping himself for Chris Buckley to show his own clever footwork to score his second try. Syston came back in to the game when failure to clear the ball in defence led to a penalty being awarded which was comfortably converted to extend the lead. Matlock fought back immediately and Chris Buckley and Dan Hooton again were involved a move where Nick Coombes kicked for Mike Brookes to gather and score a try in the corner. The conversion was missed which gave Syston a narrow lead of 3 points.

Matlock continued to press but time ran out just as they had discovered some rhythm .Although Syston proved to be a very well organised  team and are likely prove to be one of the better teams in the league, Matlock will be disappointed with their performance particularly in the early stages when basic mistakes proved decisive. Another home league fixture this weekend against old adversaries Derby gives Matlock the ideal opportunity to build on the performance shown in the later stages of the game.

MATLOCK 3  SUTTON COLDFIELD 10

 

Matlock paid the price for failing to turn their first half pressure into points when Sutton Coldfield won this friendly warm up match with an interception try with just 4 minutes of the game remaining.

 

After the week's rain the Cromford Meadows pitch was in remarkably firm condition but neither side was able to come to terms with  the long ,wet grass and a slippery ball and the game provided poor entertainment for a sizeable early season crowd.

 

Sutton had already played 4 warm up games and , as the game progressed they became quicker to the loose ball and this , added to greater match fitness enabled them to work their way back into the game.

 

Matlock struggled for fluency all afternoon but their scrummage ,with hooker Danny Fletcher and prop Jonny Bunting making first appearances of the season, and their lineout were secure - very encouraging for the League battles to come.

 

Territorially, Matlock dominated the opening period. On another day a try would have been awarded following a forward drive. Brookes and Mease then combined to send Gailey on a  burst for the line only for the young prop to be dragged down just short. A Bance penalty gave Matlock a narrow 3 - 0 half time lead.

 

Matlock had their best spell in the opening minutes of the second period. Bunting was very prominent in the loose and Coombes and Dan Hooton combined to give Buckley a slight opening. however further scores didn't come and sutton, perhaps the fitter of the two sides came back strongly. A penalty levelled the scores and then the last gasp winner as Matlock tried to run the ball out of defence..

 

Matlock will need to step up their game this Saturday when Syston visit Cromford Meadows in the opening League game of the season. The Leicester side completed the double over Matlock last year and only just missed out on promotion.

 

In fact this year's Midlands 2 East league offers no easy fixtures. Scunthorpe and Dunstablians , both relegated from Midlands 1, must be favourites for the title. Mansfield , with a formidable pack have been promoted into the League and long away trips to Leighton Buzzard , Wellingborough and Ampthill will test Matlock's resolve and team spirit. Newark have strengthened their links with the Nottingham Club and Paviors have  put together a potentially explosive set of backs Matlock . And then of course there's Derby - Matlock's local rivals visit Cromford a week on Saturday - 20th Sept.

 

Powell; Buckley, Hooton D, Coombes, Neville; Bance, Hooton T; Ball (capt), Fletcher,  Gailey; Twyford, Atkinson; Mease, Rollinson, Brookes. Reps: Bunting, Taylor, Gallagher, Hartley.