1st XV Report - Sat 6th Dec 2008 v Matlock

Wellingborough 30 - 25 Matlock After declaring the fixture a "must win" in an attempt to kick start their season, Wellingborough put themselves under pressure prior to kick off as they entertained 8th place Matlock on Saturday.   They started badly when, after being awarded a penalty in front of the posts, Boro opted to kick for the corner instead of taking the 3 points on offer.  Chris Mears kick was too strong and the ball went dead.  With the chance of an early lead squandered, Boro were immediately made to pay when a poor line out throw from Blake Wintle was caught by the visitors who ran from their 22  and after two missed Boro tackles, scored out wide to take the lead.  With the conversion missed the visitors extended their lead almost immediately when an indiscretion at the breakdown saw Boro 0-8 down.   Mears pulled a penalty back however, the visitors were in the ascendancy and after Boro missed a clear chance when Karl McAndrew ignored a clear 3 on 1 chance, the visitors again made Boro pay from the turnover and scored beneath the posts, this time the conversion was not missed.   At 3-15 Boro's heads could have fallen however, with the pack having the better of the game they clawed their way into the visitors 22 and some excellent footwork from Steven Gall combined with a switch from McAndrew saw Jason Minney come in from his wing to touch down under the sticks; Mears added the extra points and Boro's resurgence had begun.   Following pressure from the pack with Kyle Danns covering every inch of the pitch, Ben Grundy took the opportunity of space to run the length of the pitch. He was caught just short of the line but scrum half Rob Armstrong was on hand to take the pass and touched down out wide to level the scores 15-15 at the break.   Boro started the second half full of confidence but again, spurned a clear 3 on 2 when they could have taken the lead.  With their pack now dominant more of the play was taken on up front and the visitors were forced to concede a penalty from the pressure which Mears converted to give Boro the lead for the first time.   There then followed a stalemate for twenty minutes when both sides cancelled each other out and as dusk fell, the game became scrappy with many errors creeping in from both sides.   Some poor defence out wide from Boro saw the visitors start to exploit the ever increasing gaps and two tries in quick succession out wide looked to have killed Boro off.  With less than 10 minutes on the clock at 18-25 Boro looked as if their loosing streak was to continue however, almost immediately from the re-start the visitors stand off took too long over a clearance and Mears charged down his opposite number and gathered to touch down under the posts.  Sensing the urgency behind the kick Nick Murphy seised the ball to chip over the conversion, levelling the scores and leaving Boro 5 minutes to chase the win.   Boro threw everything at the visitors with wave after wave of attack but when an attempted drop goal from Mears fell short, it looked as if the game would finish with scores level however, a determined run from Grundy and a neat pass inside to the industrious Minney who appeared on his opposite wing saw the home side take a 25-30 lead.   The game wasn't finished there however, and the visitors still had the opportunity to mount one last attack. They again challenged out wide and it took a determined tackle from Mat Lowe who replaced the injured McAndrew to scrag the opposition winger and welcome the final whistle.   Although not pretty, this result sees Boro register their first win of the season and with a home fixture against fellow strugglers Derby in two weeks time, things may be looking up at Cut Throat Lane.

 

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