VESEYANS 1st XV vs STAFFORD 1st XV. 5TH NOVEMBER 2016. LEAGUE

Veseyans 13 – 5 Stafford

Stafford travelled across the county for a bonfire night encounter against Veseyans. Stafford took to the road looking for the first win at Hardwick Road, which has eluded them since Veseyans were promoted in the 2014/15 season. The games between the two have traditionally been tight with Veseyans always managing to find the extra point for the victory. The county town team travelled with a squad which had four 1st XV league debutantes for this season with Matt Cooper & Matt Walklate in the starting line-up supported by Dave Wareham & Kevin Bunter on the bench.

A cold autumn breeze with a watery sunshine opened the game for both sides. The first quarter of the game was a hard fought deadlock as the teams sized each other up. A strong move by the Stafford forwards looked to have grabbed the advantage as they took the ball over the line only to be denied by the referees whistle and play was bought back. The visitor’s afternoon became more difficult when they were temporarily reduced to fourteen players courtesy of a yellow card. Veseyans took full advantage of the extra man with a period of pressure to grab the lead through an unconverted try. With ten minutes left in the half and a full XV back on the pitch it was Stafford who were piling on the pressure. Veseyans defended strongly but couldn’t stop Dean Ainger crossing the line for the equalising try, which was also unconverted. Stafford went into half time drawing 5 -5 in a game which was likely to be decided by small margins.

The second half picked up where the first half had ended with both teams scrapping hard to find an advantage. The teams both tried to build momentum but with fierce defending couldn’t find the continuity to threaten the opposition line. With the clock moving into the final quarter Veseyans pounced on a penalty opportunity to snatch back a slender lead, but the game still wasn’t decided. Veseyans struck again adding to their tally with an exhausting try. With five minutes left on the clock, a fighting Stafford continued to look for the equalising score, but instead they incurred the wrath of the referee through a yellow card to leave only fourteen on the pitch. With the game reaching its conclusion, the visitor’s afternoon was finally over with a red card on the stroke of full time. In a typically close encounter Veseyans hold onto their 100% record making it three wins in three seasons at Hardwick Road.