Vital win in tight game against Old Laurentians

Matlock welcomed OLs to a damp and ice cold Cromford Meadows for this must win game. The away fixture before Christmas saw OLs gain a surprise first win of the season against a Matlock side which by their own admission greatly under performed on the day and to add insult to injury having managed to finally get their noses in front saw it cruelly snatched away in the dying seconds by some very dubious but crucial refereeing decisions. Since then both teams have struggled to find ways to win games. Matlock have continued to have problems fielding anything resembling a settled side and this has manifested itself in a lack of continuity in their performances from week to week. The high spot of the season so far was a formidable performance away at Derby but since then a spate of injuries and a lack of precision at crucial moments have seen winnable games slip away from the home side.
The squad for this game saw more changes throughout the squad. Whilst the back line was boosted by the return of skipper Dan Hooton together with season long absentee George Whittaker’s first start on the bench, the pack was missing Matt Goodall, Ash Statham, Nick Coombes, Jack Wagg and Chris Atkinson. A pack reshuffle saw the very reliable Dave Ball come into prop, Tim Taylor switch to second row alongside James Harrod and Jordan Crapper come in on the flank. Harry Stephenson joined the evergreen Jonny Bunting and Whittaker on the bench.
From the kick off the early exchanges saw Matlock looking comfortable and enjoying the lion’s share of both territory and possession. However for the first twenty minutes they didn’t manage to pose any real threat to the OL’s line as too many basic handling errors caused attacks to breakdown in the early stages. On 25 minutes the home side paid for their lack of precision on the ball when OL’s opened the scoring from what seemed like their first real sortie into the Matlock half. Matlock were penalised at breakdown just in the OL’s half and they kicked the resulting penalty to the just outside the Matlock twenty two. Given the first opportunity to show a very well organised catch and drive they drove the home pack backwards a good distance before the maul appeared to collapse pulled down by the OLs front man. The referee decided Matlock had collapsed the maul and awarded another penalty. From the resulting line out OL’s solid drive saw them force their way over for a converted try and somewhat against the run of play Matlock found themselves behind on the scoreboard. This seemed to shake the home side from their apparent slumber and they finally began to lift the intensity of their game and probe for openings in the OL’s defence. Jordan Crapper left the field with a knee ligament injury to be replaced by Harry Stephenson and Ben Neville took a knock to the face and left the field for the injury to be assessed and was replaced by George Whittaker for his first run out of the season. Almost immediately Matlock broke out from defence with George Whittaker showing great pace up the touchline. Matlock recycled well and under pressure OL’s transgressed at the breakdown. Tom Morton took the 3 points on offer. Minutes later OLs mounted an attack on the Matlock 22 but under pressure from quick line speed defence by Matlock the ball went to ground and was hacked on Dan Hooton. An OL’s player was first to the ball but was quickly scragged and held up giving Matlock an attacking scrum. OLs were penalised for the flanker breaking early and Tom Morton again converted the penalty reducing OL’s lead to one point. At this point Matlock were beginning to build momentum and looked the most dangerous with ball in hand. The half time whistle saw a score line of 6-7 to OL’s.
The second half began with Matlock bringing Ben Neville back into the fray and with Alex Powell nursing an injury this allowed Whittaker to slot back into his preferred full back role. From the kick off Matlock were seemingly in determined mood as they began to play with much more continuity and purpose. The forwards began to really take the game to OL’s with good carries from Tom and Simon Wright and Dave Ball rolling back the years with a number of rampaging runs. On fifty minutes a period of sustained pressure on the OL’s line brought Matlock’s first try. After a series of pick and drive phases the ball was moved quickly to the tight side and slick hands from Dan Hooton put Luke Howard into space and he finished off the move with some style dotting down in the corner despite the attentions of the OL’s fullback. The conversion was unsuccessful but Matlock now held a narrow 11-7 lead.
All the hard work however was immediately undone as the home side were unable to look after the ball and clear their lines successfully. OL’s reacted the quicker to a poor clearance kick and the ball was chipped over to the corner for the winger who won the race for the touchdown. The conversion was missed but OL’s had regained the lead at 11-12. A stung Matlock responded well and ten minutes later they were back in front when Dave Ball forced his way over in the corner after another spell of pressure on the OL’s line. The conversion again fell short but the lead shifted into Matlock’s favour at 16-12. Incredibly again it was only short lived as the OL’s pack again almost immediately executed a most impressive catch and drive of some forty yards which eventually saw them ground the ball for another score to regain the lead. The conversion was well struck and Matlock were now trailing again at 16-19. Thankfully Matlock refused to lie down and they wrestled back the lead with a superb individual try from George Whittaker who fielded a kick from the OL’s flyhalf and set off on the attack with Boyd in support. He scythed between two would be tacklers and then bounced the last defender before cantering over in the corner for a great try. The conversion attempt again fell short but the all-important lead had been restored 21-19. A determined Matlock then had to endure a tense final period of play as OL’s desperately threw everything at them in a bid to steal the game. The Matlock defence though held steadfast with the pack finally managing to successfully defend against the OL’s impressive catch and drive routine and thereby taking away their only real attacking weapon. As the game reached its climax and with Jonny Bunting now in the front row the Matlock pack destroyed the OL’s pack at the final scrummage. From the resulting penalty Matlock kicked the ball dead and the referee called no side.
This was a characterful performance from Matlock who now find themselves in a dog fight against relegation. The squad are fully aware that points have slipped through their fingers this season with a number of winnable games ending in disappointment but it’s not over yet.
Next week sees a rearranged home game against Newbold on Avon, kick off 2.15pm.
Team: Ball D, Jackson C, Wright T, Taylor T, Harrod J, Crapper J, Cruttenden T, Wright S, Morton T, Fairclough J, Boyd H, Neville B, Hooton D, Howard L, Powell A
Bench: Bunting J, Stephenson H, Whittaker G