East London's tenacious performance against a team who play in a league above them wasn't enough to put them through to the semi-finals of the Essex Intermediate Cup.
The 41-24 scoreline at Harlow on Saturday (2 December) was not a true reflection of the effort the visitors put it and their second-half comeback had the home side anxiously looking for the final whistle.
Things began well for East London when second row Adrian Samuel rounded off good work by the pack with a burst on four minutes to open the scoring. Inside centre Corey Griffiths converted the try.
It could have got better but a penalty on nine minutes from Griffiths from 30 metres out hit the left upright and fell agonisingly the wrong side of the bar.
From that point until half-time Harlow dominated and some important missed tackles from the visitors saw the home side run in five tries, two of which were converted, for a 29-7 lead. They added two more within six minutes of the restart, one of which was converted, for a 34-point lead.
The try of the game was reserved for East London. A marauding 30-metre run by hooker Sam Ames-Reddin was halted near the try line in the right corner and Harlow hastily cleared to touch. The throw in was taken immediately by quick-thinking skipper Dan Bracken for left wing Sean Cooper to race into the opposite corner and score. Griffiths completed the amazing passage of play with a massive conversion from wide left.
Both teams had a player sent to the sin bin 63 minutes but it didn't halt the East London fight back. Driving play by the dominant visiting pack saw number eight Bracken score on 63 minutes. The conversion was missed. Another drive by the pack saw Ames-Reddin collect the ball and burst to the line for a try his overall play deserved. The conversion was missed and Harlow managed to keep the visitors at bay for the final five minutes.
Director of Rugby Gary Pearmain said: "We lost our way either side of half time but our comeback was excellent and gives us some momentum going into our final two league games before Christmas beginning at home to Maldon on Saturday."
East London 1st XV vs Harlow: 1. Paddy Coman; 2. Sam Ames-Reddin; 3. Rob Park; 4. Matt Schofield; 5. Adrian Samuel; 6. Nick Parrott; 7. Rob Yiannakou; 8. Dan Bracken; 9. Joe Kelly; 10. Ryan Billinghurst; 11. Sean Cooper; 12. Corey Griffiths; 13. Alexis Merle; 14, Kevin O'Donoghue; 15. Daryl O'Brien. Replacements: 16. Gary Pearmain; 17. Andrew Ibberson.