Boys deserved better

In terms of discipline and play, Witham deserved to win this game.

Having tracked the 8 miles to find the pitch, our boys showed their intent from the kick off. The tackling was aggressive and the rucking was efficient. The hosts had some big lumps but they were taken down every time. Witham were controlling the scrums and from one of these got the first try of the game. Quick hands through the backs found Liam Ridgewell but he was running out of room. So he cut back inside and In spite of two tacklers, he found Tappy. With at least 10 yards to the line, Tappy decided to save energy and pass it to Luke (northerners can't afford socks) Standbridge, who flattened the full back to ground the ball. Witham had to keep their composure as the hosts were getting away with far too many infringements, for example kicking through rucks to disrupt possession. But the lads stayed focussed and extended their lead. Daz Chesson made one of his trademark breaks and found Charlie Gibson in support. Gibbo (Who was "crafty") galloped through to score. The game got more scrappy and Chingford seemed to like this, even though their centre was given numerous final warnings for late, high and off the ball hits. Witham had their backs to the wall but defended manfully. In spite of some great hits by Daz and Vidler, they did get over and reduced the lead to 5-10 at half time.
Chingford started the second half on the attack but were frustrated by Witham's stubborn defence. The travelling support (or wankers according to their prop) were massively frustrated as far too many infringements were ignored but the players were keeping cooler than would be expected. In fact, Rob Bennett was smiling like a loony. Strangely, the Chingford scrum suddenly got heavier and put Witham on the back foot. That pressure put them over and the score was all square. Their winger must have thought he was going to score the winner as he escaped down the left, but Liam and Daz smashed him into touch. Witham cleared their lines but were soon under pressure again. In amongst more unsavoury behaviour, they manage to score and take the lead for the first time in the game. Late on, Daz counter attacked, kicking into their 22. Their winger dropped on the ball but didn't attempt to get back up or release it. Daz was penalised for trying to steal it and that turned out to be the last chance. Witham are the side that can leave with their heads held high.