Esher let vital win slip away

Nov 19 2008 By David Page, Surrey Herald

NATIONAL ONE Sedgley Park........................ 27 Esher..................................... 26

A worrying week for Esher ended with a bitterly disappointing defeat against fellow strugglers Sedgley Park on Saturday.

Both teams were in urgent need of a morale-booster from this relegation 10-pointer and it was the Tigers who claimed their first success since September 6, as Esher threw away a solid lead.

After a forgettable opening quarter Esher picked up the pace.

The pack, marshalled well by scrum-half Ian Barnes, drove play up to within 15 metres of the home posts where Neil Hallett''s cheeky grubber kick caught the Park defence stretched, and he scooted through to touch down and give himself the easiest of conversions.

Esher doubled their lead within three minutes as a hopeful Park pass was easily intercepted on half-way by Doug Flockhart, and the Esher right-wing trotted to the posts to give Hallett a second easy conversion.`

On the half-hour the Tigers hit back when centre Josh Weeden rounded off an expansive move to run in his first try in the corner.

However, thoughts of a Tigers comeback appeared dashed with 10 minutes to go to the interval, when Toby Clouston was on the end of a cross-field move to cross over the line by the left-hand corner flag for the try, with Hallett adding the extras.

However, the Tigers emerged for the second half determined to claw their way back into the game

Within two minutes of the restart, replacement Chris Hall bustled over from a couple of metres out on the left, following a line-out catch-anddrive from a penalty kick.

Esher were then reduced to 14 men after Flockhart was yellow carded for a high tackle and the Tigers made them pay.

After being held-up over the Esher line, replacement Adam Newton got on the end of a determined move to touchdown.

Back to full-strength, Esher hit back with a pick-and-drive to the line, where James Waterhouse go the all important final touch.

But the Tigers shrugged it off and replacement Paul Wilcock rounded off a clinical move down the left, being sent in by Newton, to score his sixth try of the season.

Riley then interchanged passes with Lisiate Tafa down the right-hand touchline before going over by the right-hand flag with six minutes to go.

Park then dug deep to hang on and emerge determined winners of a game won by the slimmest of margins that left the Esher side in despair.