STAFFORD 1ST XV vs LONG EATON 1ST XV. 7TH OCTOBER 2017. MIDLANDS SENIOR VASE ROUND 2.

Stafford 5 – 6 Long Eaton

Stafford welcomed Long Eaton to the County Ground for round two of the Midlands Senior Vase. The visitors travelled with an impressive record sitting top of Midlands 3 East (North) with a maximum twenty-five points from five games and as current holders of the Midlands Junior Vase from the 16/17 season.

The opening period of the game saw both teams wrestling their way to find a minor advantage as the sides sized each other up. The defences were solid cancelling out any impact that the cycling attacks could bring to influence on the encounter. Stafford broke the deadlock with some bruising play in the centre of the pitch which released a flying Ollie Greensill to outstrip the defence and sprint unopposed to try line. As the supporters erupted a mournful whistle bought proceedings to an abrupt halt as an unfortunate injured referee writhed on the floor. A patched-up official restarted the game in the middle of the field and a luckless home side were denied the first points of the afternoon. The Stafford scrum was a solid lump of devastation which continually ran over the visitors but a flowing Long Eaton attack responded by laying siege to the Stafford line. A hard-earned penalty in front of the posts should have given the visitors the lead but they elected to kick for the line out and ferocious defending saw play battle its way back into the middle of the pitch. Stafford went into half time drawing 0 – 0 but ruing their luck in what should have been a one try lead.

The second half opened with squalls of rain to make the surface greasy and both teams being reduced to fourteen courtesy of two yellow cards in response to an incident. Long Eaton settled quickest, a series of attacks earning the penalty and the first points of the game. With both teams back up to fifteen on the pitch, Stafford returned to brutalising their way up the pitch, as the visitors deployed their defence, quick hands found the space to release Josh Arnold for an unconverted try in the corner and the lead. A subsequent Long Eaton penalty snatched a slender lead back for the visitors. A sustained assault by the home side could have restored the lead through two difficult penalties, but both refused to claw their way through the posts. With only ten minutes left on the clock a Long Eaton penalty in line with the Stafford posts should have sealed in for the visitors, but the referees whistle overturned the penalty and the home side kicked clear. With the closing minutes of the encounter ticking away, Stafford smashed their way to their third difficult penalty of the half. A well struck ball flew just agonisingly short of the posts and a brief restart was soon followed by the end of the closest of encounters.