1st XV vs Vagabonds

Prenton 18-38 Vagabonds
8 changers to this matchday squad from the last time Prenton took to the field for our 1st home league game of the season.  Our opponents 'Vagabonds' from the IOM. Prenton started the game much the better team with the Prenton forwards putting big dents into the the vagabonds defence with some hardline running & came close to crossing the line more than once but it was when the ball was moved a bit wider the pressure paid off with Matt Reeve crossing for the score.  Vagabonds didnt take long to respond & soon hit back, they kept the ball off the floor & had pacey runners more so than power & bulk & scored again with the same style & phases of play.  Prenton seemed to go into a bit of a lull defensively & stopped pressing the Vagabonds attack which led to them playing with more confidence & they scored again, roll this in with a good goal kicker & we found ourselves 19-5 down after 30 mins.  Credit to Prenton we dug in stopped the Vagabond momentum & managed to pick up a penalty score via Jorden & then kept the ball & started to get our forwards running onto the ball again, Craig James was then sin binned for an aggressive reaction to a Vagabonds player who instigated the incident who went unpunished & this also led to another 3 points for the visitors.  Still even down to 14 men Prenton scored just before half time with our big prop Lee Raff bashing his way over the try line & Jorden converting brought the half time score to Prenton 15-21 Vagabonds (game on)
Prenton defended much better in the 2nd half & had much more energy pressing the Vagabonds attackers & the back row boys getting a couple of sacks behind the gain line, unfortunately thou we found ourselves on the wrong side of the ref over our tacking height (seat belt tackles) which led to easy points for Vagabonds on more than one occasion.  The Vagabonds kickers ended the day with 7/8 kicks at goal.  These penalties cost us dear as it kept pushing them more than a score away from us.  Still the players kept on playing & pressure paid off as Mark Asp took a quick tap penalty in the Vagabonds 22 & ghosted through for a score.  Chasing the score Graham Leahey was sin binned for a 1 handed interception on the half way line which again put us down to 14 men & 3 extra points to Vagabonds, harsh on Graham who had a great game in the centre on his return to the team, strong running & solid in defence. Chasing a 10 point deficit & going for a try which would of given us some bonus points we lost the ball deep into the Vagabonds 22 who then went the full length of the pitch to score on the counter attack.  Still with just a couple of minutes remaining it was Prenton who finished the game on top & in the Vagabonds 22, but time ran out to get that last score we were pushing for. Great effort & commitment from the team, they all payed for each other & played to the end.  This Vagabonds team will do well, speaking to their players after the game they have a new club, a new pitch, an ex international coach & a load of new young players & they train 3x times a week.  You could see they were trying to play the game in the right way & am sure they will develop into a good team.  Also would like to say thanks to the Vagabonds players who after the game came into the Prenton dressing room with a can of beer their opposing player & a chat, cheers boys we owe you 1 over at your place.
One last thing, big thanks to the players who turned out for the 2s, we know we are going to be a bit tight on numbers for these opening couple of weeks of the season but if we continue to stick together things will get better & better.
Matchday Squad
Chris Kirkham
Ant Morgan
Lee Raff
Lee Gordon
Todd Bell
Kyle Bowers
Sam Johno
Egg
Mark Asp
Matt Reeve
Steve Smith
Graham Leahay
Craig James
Lewis Cotty
Jorden Anisle
Garry Jones
Roy Triggs Snr
Vinny Mc
Josh