Tough Fixture at Beckenham for the Saints

Darts Saints travelled away to play Beckenham Vets on Saturday. This was the return fixture following the 45 – 7 rout at the Memorial Ground before Christmas.

Dartfordians 4’s (Saints) v Beckenham 4’s (Vets) – Saturday 6th December 2018 – 2.15pm kick off away

Final Score 19 - 0 (Loss)

Team: Alan O’Neill, harry wilson, Dan Coshal, Tim Stagg, Pete Evans, John O’Brien, Tom O’Shea, Gav Renno, Mike Reed, Sam Rowe, Ben Hawkins, Joe Gills, Ricky Phillips, Chris Barker, Ali Barker, Alex Hadler, Tom Peryer, Joe Williams

Darts Saints travelled away to play Beckenham Vets on Saturday. This was the return fixture following the 45 – 7 rout at the Memorial Ground before Christmas.

The Beckenham side, boasted by seven subs and some familiar faces in starting line-up, looked keen and motivated following a minutes silence in respecte of a recently deceased Beckenham RFU official. Darts missing some regular players, but bolstered by the selection of Gillsy junior, Navey, Fat Piriweepou and poor mans Billy Wilson knew they had a tough task at hand as Beckenham have been unbeaten at home this season and a win at their ground is a rare beast.

The game itself was a poor spectacle, with lots of niggle, off the ball cheap shots and even cheaper gobbing off. The referee struggled to deal with the issues and as such they continued throughout the game.

In a game mired by middle aged men venting their frustrations, there were a few points worthy of mention…

1) the Darts pack dominating the set piece taking a number of balls against the head and controlling the lineout from the off. The Beckenham hooker had a bad day at the office, which may help to explain his antics off the ball, he had the look of someone who was a little frustrated (or constipated).

2) Stand out performances from harry wilson (MoTM), John O’Brien, Laces and Coshy both at set piece and in the open. With special mention to Coshy for keeping his cool, despite receiving the brunt of the Beckenham abuse.

3) The darts defence was generally excellent with the Beckenham tries coming from an interception and a horrible piece of decision making in the Darts dead ball area (Gillsy).

4) Ricky Phillips enjoyed having a sit down in the midfield following a strong run from the rotund Beckenham centre.

Unfortunately ball in hand Darts were woeful, this not helped by the lack of officiating of the breakdown, where both sides encroached and transgressed regularly, meaning the game rarely went past two phases. The Darts back line will have felt frustrated and cold leaving the pitch, but credit to Beckenhams backs as they defended well all game and put Darts under constant pressure.

It was overall a frustrating game, which Beckenham deserved to win. Very forgettable for the spirit it was played in and the fractious nature of the game.

MoTM award – Harry ‘FPW’ Wilson