Match Report: Houghton v. Chester-Le-Street – 5th October 2013

The absence of prop, Dom Mewes saw Adam Welsh called back into the first team after an excellent leadership performance for the second team the previous week. The team also saw the return of the fabled Andrew Ledger from injury, replacing the absent Aidan McDermott.

Chester gathered a tough kick off under pressure and looked to have secured it, before being turned over, giving Houghton the opportunity to attack, deep in the Chester half. However, after a determined and focused warm up, the Chester defence proved too strong for the Houghton forwards, repelling multiple phases of attack. The away team gave away a soft penalty in front of the posts though, gifting the Houghton kicker an easy kick and subsequent three points. Early fears were already beginning to show of a repeat performance of the disappointing display, only two weeks previous.

The visitors however, hit straight back at the hosts, making a good chase from the kick-off and putting Houghton under serious pressure. After excellent work in defence, Chester were eventually awarded a scrum in the middle of field in the opponents half. Solid pressure from the scrum allowed for quick ball, which released the backline on the blindside. As the ball moved through the hands, Christopher Burr showed good pace popping up on the wing to touchdown in the corner, placing Chester-Le-Street in the lead. Carl Owens converted an excellent kick from the sideline to make the score 3-7.

A scrappy game ensued with neither team fully managing to get into their stride for the next twenty minutes. Owens showed a cool head at times to dig the visiting team out of trouble after another period of attack from the home team. Houghton again battered the Chester line, going toe to toe with the visiting team’s forwards. However, the visiting pack proved resilient yet again, turning the ball over on their own tryline, giving Owens a very challenging kick to touch. The fullback made an excellent clearance though from behind the posts, allowing Chester the opportunity to get out of their own twenty-two. Houghton continued to apply pressure in the Chester half though and were eventually awarded another penalty in front of the posts, bringing Chester’s winning margin to within a point.

The visitors’ hard work was rewarded yet again however, as they were awarded a scrum just outside the Houghton twenty-two. Another strong scrum saw the opposition defence retreating and captain, John Kirton showed great vision to spot a gap in space on the blindside. After moving ten yards into the opposition twenty-two and holding strong in attack, blindside flanker, Paul Callahan was able to collect the offload before battling his way through three defenders to score. The Chester scrum once again proved itself to be a vital focus of attack. Owens was able to add the extras bringing the score to 6-14.
Another two penalties from the hosts saw Chester’s lead reduced to just two points at the half time break.

The second half was a scrappier affair as Houghton took the first points of the half, capitalising on the sin binning of openside, Ben Langley and applied pressure in the Chester half to win another penalty. The penalty was successfully converted allowing the hosts to take an early second half lead, bringing the score to 15-14. A feeling of déjà vu was in the air as Chester-Le-Street again, looked to have lost their focus in the second half. The tension was rife as tempers flared between both packs and the decisions seemed to be going against the visiting team, notably that of a high tackle on six foot seven inch winger, Nick Brown. The mood of the players seemed to be epitomised by the vocally animate, Jim Langley on the sideline.

A rare penalty for Chester gave the visitors a way back into the game after a hard fought third quarter. After Houghton were penalised for holding onto the ball on the ground, this allowed Chester to make yards into the visitors’ half and apply some pressure. A successful lineout gave the backline a platform to attack, but were stopped, deep in the Houghton twenty-two. The pack were able to get across the pitch to secure the ball and attack yet again. The home team’s defence proved resilient in front of a crowd of home supporters, however, the visitors showed great strength and determination in attack and were eventually rewarded in the corner. Making his first appearance of the season for the first team, second row substitute, Carl Melvin drove over the line to score in the corner, giving Chester-Le-Street a well deserved lead. Owens again kicked a fantastic conversion to bring the score to 15-21.

The momentum was now firmly in favour of the visitors and the opposition attack proved futile. Burr was unlucky not to score again after intercepting the ball in midfield, but couldn’t just find the pace to make it across the line after excellent scrambling defence by Houghton. The home team sought to regain the lead but in their hurry, gifted another interception in midfield to scrum-half Kirton, who had the pace to bring the ball home and seal the win for Chester. Owens, who had been on great form for Chester-Le-Street all afternoon, failed to convert leaving the final score at 15-26, resulting in a rare win at Houghton and marking a great show of spirit from everyone involved. This now leaves Chester-Le-Street third in the league with struggling Jarrow, the next opponents.

Written by Peter Hunter