Clee Hill 18 - Aston Old Edwardians 7

A much weakened Aston side made the trek to a murky Clee Hill with a squad of 16 players. Late cry-offs and some dodgy excuses left little options for Joint Captains Ethan and Julius to work with.

Clee Hill's pitch was in surprisingly good condition given the recent deluges.

It was good to see a large number of Aston supporters on the touchline and , whilst the result didn't go our way, they were treated to an excellent game with all 16 Aston players giving 100% .

With a depleted pack we found ourselves, for the first time this season, starved off ball as Clee Hill dominated both scrum and lineout. By half-time we had only had one brief incursion into the Clee Hill half whereas the hosts had managed 8pts thanks to a try from a rolling maul following a lineout on our 5m line and a simple penalty in front of the posts. Aston defence was superb.

Soon after the restart a rare mistake by the Clee Hill backs allowed Conrad Hamilton, with an interception and a 50m run , in for a try, converted by Finn Carroll. 8-7 - somewhat against the run of play.

A lapse of concentration allowed the Clee Hill full-back to meander 60m through numerous Aston players , just being stopped short of the line. Clee Hill recycled well and scored again. 13-7.

Clee Hill's dominant scrum led us to lose our own put-in and concede a penalty. The home fly-half, not for the first time, kicked to within 10m of the Aston line. Clee Hill caught and drove from the lineout, another try. 18-7.

Aston showed determined effort to get more points on the scoreboard but resolute defence by Clee Hill frustrated every avenue of attack.

Disappointing to lose our unbeaten start to the season but the 16 Aston players can hold their heads high and can, confidently, expect to reverse this result when Clee Hill visit Sunnybank Ave later in the season.