26 October 2008
Medway Cougars 7 - Barking 38
Try: Christodoulou
Con: Gowdy
An extra hour in bed as the clocks went back on Sunday seems to have done the Cougars no favours at all on Sunday. Last week's first defeat of the season seemed to still be playing on their minds as the Cougars left all their self belief and determination behind in the changing room - a fatal error against a big, strong and arrogant Barking side that have been Essex champions for the past three years.
Barking kicked short at the start with Medway picking up and feeding the dependable Charlie Wardzynski who kicked very cleverly deep into space. However, this solid opening was short lived as Medway seemed to be overcome by nerves. A taste of things to come was next, as Barking returned the kick deep into Medway territory. Medway failed to gather cleanly leading to a Barking steal and the Essex lads running through for their first try with only two or three minutes gone. The next fifteen minutes saw some good exchanges as Medway settled down somewhat. Luke Gowdy made some good ground as he broke through the Barking lines but he was stopped short and Barking broke away from their own 20. Medway were sucked into the rucks and mauls as they were forced to commit more men to try and gain parity against the bigger Barking pack, thus making it easy for them to break away for their second try taking the score to 0-12 with the conversion. Medway fought back with Liam Fitzpatrick and Max Fenton leading the forward push. Fenton, in his strongest performance for the Cougars thus far, had an awesome game as he picked and drove when he could and made tackle after tackle in defence of his try line. An excellent penalty kick from Wardzynski gave Medway a line out 5 metres from the Barking line and the following sequence saw Medway push on with the help of a number of Barking off-sides before Jake Christodoulou eventually forced over. The trusty boot of Gowdy converted for 7-12. However, just as it seemed that their score would ignite Medway into better things, Barking hit a purple patch with some very strong driving through the rucks and Medway failing to kill the loose balls. Consequently, Barking scored twice more to end the half with a 7-26 advantage.
Medway were better in the second half with some strong tackling led, not unusually, by Tom Whitnell. There was some good defensive work as Barking pushed for the line and Wardzynski played some thoughtful chips and clearance kicks as well as showing he could also put in the odd hard tackle. Medway came close to scoring and Barking were clearly rattled for a while giving away a number of penalties short of the line. However, when it seemed that Medway must score they committed their own infringement with hands in the ruck just two metres out and Barking were able to clear their lines. This unneeded error took its toll as Medway realised they had probably lost their last chance to turn the game around and even when Barking were reduced in numbers to 14, they were able to take advantage of Medway's failure to kill the loose ball, scoring twice more to finish the game 7-38. Medway travel to Chelmsford next week when it is hoped they can put their two recent defeats behind them.
(Match Report by P. Cornell)
