Xmas party hangover ??

On a pitch just thawing out both teams played as if they had been to their Xmas parties
the night before. With Sam Walton pulling up injured in the warm up Jonny Murphy was
drafted in on the wing for his first start of the season. With several players rested
it was a test of the team's squad capabilities.
Both teams tested each other out in the first ten minutes as the bitter wind made handling
difficult. Pont slowly upped the pressure and a steal at a 5metre lineout saw the industrious
Cam Bell smash over for the first score on 13 minutes 5-0.
Pont continued to have the lions share of possession but the visitors tackling was tenacious.
An excellent break by Dan Marcus saw quick inter passing between Leiserach and Bell,
putting Stu Weir in for a score. Murphy made an excellent conversion from out wide.
12-0. From the kick off Nick Townsend made a searing break putting Adam Suppan in for
a run to the line. An excellent cover tackle just prevented a score. Ashington were
now pinned in their own half and a visiting scrum 15 metres out saw Marcus strip the
ball for the visiting scrum half and burst over the line only to be penalised for offside.

On the half hour Pont drove a lineout 20 metres with Chris Searle getting the touch
down 17-0. Ashington continued to battle away and a rare excursion into the Pont 22
saw them awarded a penalty to make it 17-3.
With half time approaching the home backs put Searle through to score only to be brought
back for a perceived forward pass . HT 17-3.
Kyle Norris entered the fray following the recent birth of his daughter and immediately
won a strike against the head and from the ensuing lineout poacher Searle again claimed
the touch down and Murphy adding the extras. 22-3. The visitors refused to lie down
and a drive into Pont's 22 from the kick off saw a penalty awarded in front of the sticks.
Your illustrious reporter wrote the score as 24-6 only for the Ashington kicker to fluff
his kick in what was to be their last serious effort towards the Pont line. Dan Marcus
continued to snipe around the base and deservedly claimed a try on 65 minutes as a dominant
scrum gave him the platform to crash over with Murphy making it 31-3. Ashingtons heroics
in tackling started to show as they tired in the last quarter giving Pont the opportunity
to chase further tries. An excellent move involving Moller and Marcus put Murphy on
the charge. His kick out of hand was comical as the ball ended up in the trees( stick
to place kicking Smurf!)
Another strike against the head saw Marcus held up but following several big scrums
the ref had had enough and awarded a penalty try, converted to make it 38-3. Ashington
were on their knees now and every attack looked like a score in the making. A 30 metre
lineout drive saw Searle claim his hat trick and Murphy rounding off the scoring to
make it 45-3 at full time

Pont were happy to avoid a banana skin whilst Ashington can take great credit for a
gutsy display of all out defending which only tailed off as they tired at the end.

The Ponteland boys then went off to the sold out club Xmas party at the Falcons to celebrate
an unbeaten 2014.