Maldon U11's vs Romford U11's

J.Roberts (2), D.Wood (3), J.Gutteridge (5), T.Portelli, L.Walker (1), M.Tranter, N.Robinson (1), F.McCloud (5), O.Butler (1), J.Blake, E.Taylor, C.Pearson, H.Pomfret

This weekend it was the turn of our friends at Maldon to play hosts to the Romford minis and our U11’s arrived expecting nothing less than a good physical challenge, as has often been the case between these sides. Maldon turned out in large numbers, fielding 2 full squads to play 3 consecutive matches against our team of just 13, which welcomed back Finn and Harvey who have recently been unavailable.
The first game saw Maldon’s developing side take to the field and Romford were able to get off to a good start despite playing into a strong wind. The hosts fell off of a couple of first-up tackles when the likes of Osheen and Matt carried strongly into their line, and with their pace both Joe and Finn found themselves in enough space to accelerate around the fringes and score a brace each. Our rucking was excellent, with great determination and good body positions, allowing us to turn over possession frequently and thwart any attack before the opposition made it into our half. And when asked to let the ball fly from a set piece, Dylan showed that our handling can match our physicality, by completing a quick loop around from a penalty and spinning a lovely pass out to Jack on the wing where he touched down unopposed in the corner. We rang the changes at half time to blood some of our newer players at which point the contest became much more evenly poised. It was really pleasing to see Ethan and Josh grow in confidence, carrying the ball up bravely and also being on the end of some solid clearing-out, without being deterred. Also worthy of a mention was Finn’s defensive performance during that half, in which he covered the tackles that would otherwise have been made by some of our seasoned players - tireless and great to watch. Maldon 1 – 5 Romford
Game 2 was crunch time, with a number of familiar faces lining up against us, we decided to stick with the core of the team that had just finished the 1st match. As much as this made things tough against a very well drilled team, few sides this season will be as physical yet as well disciplined as Maldon, so what better opportunity to gain much needed experience. The home side started strong, using the conditions well and getting into our half with relative ease. Despite the likes of Nev and Dylan getting hands on the ball from well-placed restarts and attempting to win turn-overs, some timid attempts to press up in support allowed Maldon to regain possession and run the ball back with interest. Romford leaked a number of tries in the first half due to some uncharacteristic missed tackles, but we always felt we had the potential to respond after the break. With the likes of Conor, Jack and Finn retuning to the field, the intensity increased straight from the kick-off and we hit the line hard, breaking tackles and clearing out clinically at the ruck. We still lacked vision at times with opportunities to off-load before contact being squandered, but with the team re-cycling well it merely meant taking longer to score rather than not score at all. Maldon’s defence however proved very robust and unlike us in the first half, the floodgates were never allowed to open. With tries from Liam, Joe, Osheen, Jack and Dylan, we came very close to bringing the game level when Dyls again touched down with the final play of the game, but it had to be disallowed having not passed from the ruck. Maldon 6 – 5 Romford.
The final game was divided between the two host squads, allowing them to play a half each and we used the opportunity to finish the fixture off strongly. Having experienced real staunch defence in the second game, our boys had stayed in the same high gear and proved too physical in the first half for the oppo to defend against. Nev got on the score sheet after receiving the ball close to the line and powering over, just rewards for having secured a lot of ruck ball himself. Dylan and Joe linked up well again, putting each other into space and scoring two a piece (then skipping back to the half way line holding hands?), but that space was due in the main to some powerful forward momentum supplied by Conor, Matt and also Osheen whose ball handling was outstanding yet again this week. A final mention for Finn “Mad-dog” McCloud who scored 3 whilst tacking as tenaciously as ever – great return after a couple of weeks off. Maldon 4 – 8 Romford.