Black Horse come up short against Finsbury Park

After last weeks impressive win against Weston the Horse were ready to face league leaders Finsbury Park. With 9 wins from 9 games, an average of 54 points scored and 7 points conceded the Horse were in for a tough test. The Horse lined up with a strong starting 15 and 6 subs also eager to impress and they started the game well. They pressed Finsbury Park in to their own half and the opposition struggled to get the ball out wide as planned. After a couple of penalties the Horse went for the points and Isaac Aitken scored to put the Horse 3-0 up.

The Horse continued the fast start straight from the kick off, attacking Finsbury Park with strength and power in the forwards and pace in the backs. They reverted to strength and power in the backs, when after numerous attempts the skipper Adrian Lee powered over from 5m. At 8-0 up the Horse had Finsbury Park reeling but some poor defense at a scrum left the right hand side exposed. A quick breakaway put them in one on one and some valiant defending from Richard Hope could not stop Finsbury from scoring their first try of the game. 8-7 to the Horse and the game was evenly poised.

Finsbury Park had the momentum following the try and pushed the horse hard, eventually getting the ball out wide to score their second of the game. An unfortunate incident soon after saw James Waddy injured with a dislocated ankle and the game had to move pitch to continue. A similar incident last week saw the Horse concede straight after the restart and they were adamant to not let history repeat itself. A great kick up the field from Isaac Aitken led to a 10m scrum for the Horse and Adrian Lee went over again to put the Horse back in the lead at half time, 13-12. This was the first time this season that Finsbury Park had gone in to half time behind.

The second half started with the same intensity but Finsbury Park edged the possession. They eventually got on the score sheet when a good move was finished off by their winger. The Horse came back strong however and powered up the pitch. Eventually Adrian Lee collected the ball and went over to complete his hat trick. The Horse were back in the lead, 18-17, and had twenty minutes to hold on.

Finsbury Park came on strong after that try, aided by poor decision making and penalty conceding by the Horse. Eventually, after what must have been the sixth penalty in a short period, they scored a try out wide. The Horse were deflated but had the time to score again. However they never got going and Finsbury Park managed to finish the game off with a final try, to leave the final score 27-18.

A great performance from the Black Horse in what was an entertaining, hard fought game for both sides. They move on to Stevenage away next week, encouraged by two excellent performances in 2016.

MOM - Papaya - For coming on and having a positive impact on the game (Unlike against Weston)
WOM - Neil McDonald - For calling an ankle out of touch when the Horse were pushing for a try