A Game of Two Halves

Matlock fielded an unchanged side to the team that was defeated in last week’s encounter. The opposition a Kettering side which had returned to Midlands 1 after being relegated from National League 3, a team which in recent years had denied Matlock of a victory in both home and away fixtures.
The first half started with a Matlock kick-off which was chased well with a good initial first hit and counter ruck by the forwards to re-claim the ball. A statement of intent and a promising start. This was followed by a testing chip to the corner which was cleared by Kettering who again gave the possession back to Matlock. Alex Powell continued the early pressure with a meandering run which was supported by the purposeful Nick Coombes bursting forward well in to the oppositions 22. The ball was however, turned over and the Matlock side found themselves on the back foot as the southern side slickly turned defence in to attack. Kettering denied the opening score by Alex Powell whose un-conventional yet effective tackling technique forced a knock-on meters from the home sides line but resulted in injury. Enter Adam Gallagher.
Matlock greeted the early efforts of Kettering with good positional kicking and a strong defence. A testing chip by Tom Morton was gathered and a series of interlinking passes by the forwards ended in a maul which the visiting side had no answer to resulting in a try for Matlock with any and all of the 10-men involved willing to claim! Tom Morton added the extra 2-points.
Kettering again demonstrated how effective driving on in the tackle and keeping your hands free is by linking together a number of direct runs and offloads to score and level the points 7-7.
Matlock showed their resilience and another good chase from the kick off saw them retain the ball and chip to the corner which was fielded by the Kettering full-back who made little ground with his clearance. A training ground move from the line-out saw Matlock again threaten the Kettering side but was fumbled and the pressure relieved for Kettering. The ensuing scrum to Kettering was turned over by Matlock but was again fumbled resulting in another Kettering scrum. This was again turned over by a powerful Matlock scrum who opted to keep the ball tight and a number of surges by the forwards saw Matlock meters from the travelling sides line but unable to score. The final event of the first half saw a rotund Kettering hooker take umbrage to a powerful counter ruck by Tim Taylor. The referee, unhappy with the players resolution to the disagreement, sin-binned both Tim Taylor and the Kettering second row for his involvement.
The second half saw Kettering score two tries within 10 minutes both being converted and both being created in similar style by purposeful running an offload to a supporting runner. Matlock responded with a series of good passes and a break by Dan Hooton who kicked through and forced a knock on meters from the Kettering line. Just prior the scrum a change saw Mike Brookes replace Tim Taylor who made his presence felt with immediate effect. A surging scrum saw Matlock push the visitors back 10 yards and Brookes finish off the attack with a dive over the line for a try. Tom Morton converted, the score 14-21.
With twenty minutes remaining and Matlock still in grasp of points a defensive error saw the Kettering fly half dummy and waltz through and score under the posts. The conversion was added. Matlock bounced back with a good catch and charge by Rich Taylor. Kettering however ensured that a bonus point was obtained scored another try from a series of offloads to take the score to 14-35.
Matlock however had the final say with another Mike Brookes try at the death. The score finishing 21-35.
Matlock again missing out on any points should take heart from this performance which they managed to create chances and not only compete but dominate in patches in particular the scrum.

Report By Jack Wagg