Chesham 2nds 5 Hitchin 4ths 10
With Chesham only able to field 14 players to start the game, it was the visiting Hitchin team who were eventually able to wrestle themselves into a lead with a try around mid way through the first half. An easy conversion was missed by the Hitchin kicker, leaving the score at 5-0. Soon afterwards Chesham winger Dan Hewitt took a blow to the head that forced him from the field for a time, but a tenacious and hard working 13-man Chesham held on to prevent any further Hitchin scores during the half.
Hewitt recovered and bravely came back on, and with the late arrival of centre Liam Bateman Chesham were up to a full side. Even so the game remained very close, but having a full side seemed to edge the play slightly in Chesham's favour. The home side were eventually rewarded with a try mid-way through the second half when the pack arrived in numbers to clear a breakdown; the resulting quick possession was used well by the Chesham backs who fired it out wide, where everyone was surprised to find prop Karl Cross on hand to sprint over from the Hitchin 22 and score in the corner. A difficult conversion attempt from stand-in fly half AJ narrowly missed the post (albeit the corner post) and the scores were level at 5-5.
It seemed neither side would be able to break the deadlock until a strong run through midfield lead to a further Hitchin try, also unconverted. With only 8 minutes remaining, Chesham tried to raise their game but were unable to find another score.
A hard working team performance from Chesham was exemplified by man of the match Andy Deane, whose work rate around the park and energy in rucks and mauls helped Chesham compete well at every breakdown.
Chesham 2nds: Karl Cross, Matt Mallinson, Mark Rosser (capt), Rick Glover, Andy Deane, Midge, Jack Davies, Mark Dudley, Doug Harden, AJ, Dan Read, Liam Bateman, Dan Hewitt, Adrian Cattell, Al Fleming.
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