NOTTINGHAM 22 OTLEY 26

Without Simon Binns, Chris Hyndman, Robin Kitching, Scott Connor and Howard Parr, Otley's squad was stretched to the limit (with only five available replacements) against an outfit who have enjoyed their best season for a number of years and who were hoping to bow out in style in front of a large home crowd at the last ever match to be played at Ireland Avenue.

When Otley trailed by 10 points after as many minutes, things looked ominous for the rest of the afternoon. Nevertheless Otley were keen to leave a marker on what has been a frustrating season and they did with some aplomb.

Nottingham fly-half Mark Woodrow kicked his side into an early 3-0 lead with a straightforward penalty. Chris Wyles then scored a breakaway try for the hosts as Otley pressed in the opposition '22. Woodrow converted in front of the posts and Nottingham led 10-0.

Otley soon took the game by the scruff of the neck and a powerful driving maul resulted in a try for recent '100 club' addition Jason Oakes.

Otley quickled followed this up with their second try after a raft of strong carries into the Nottingham midfield. Eventually Nottingham ran out of defenders and quick hands from Ian Shuttleworth and Paul Mooney provided right winger Xavier Andre (on full debut) with the space to go in at the corner. Andy Brown converted and Otley led 10-12.

Brown extended the lead to 10-15 with his first penalty of the match but Nottingham were next to score with a dubious try.

Left winger Dave Jackson overcooked a chip towards the Otley line but the ball reared up on the hard ground. Wyles followed up and was first to the ball but seemed to be in the beer tent behind the hoardings when he grounded the ball. Nevertheless, the referee credited Nottingham with the try and Woodrow converted to make it 17-15 to the hosts.

Otley lost Andre with a broken hand after 35 minutes which forced a re-shuffle with Dave Scully coming on at full-back and Kyle Dench moving onto the wing. This proved a seemless transition and a second penalty by Brown re-captured a 17-18 lead for Otley going in at the interval.

Otley continued to dominate in the second half and it wasn't long before Oakes ploughed over for his second try of the match and Otley led 17-23.

Otley were then reduced to 14 men when prop Kris Fullman was sent to the sin-bin and Nottingham opted to kick for the corner in an attempt to drive over from the line-out. Unfortunately for them they were met with a brutal defensive play from the Otley 7-man pack who drove their 8-man counterparts back to the '22 metre line - a piece of play which typified the Otley spirit throughout the match.

Otley cleared the danger but five minutes later an uncharacteristic slip-up in the Otley defence allowed Nottingham full-back Ben Thompson to score on a rare raid into the Otley half. Woodrow hit the right-hand post with the conversion and Otley retained the slenderest of leads at 22-23.

Brown settled a few nerves with a penalty on 75 minutes to make it 22-26 and then Nottingham threw everything they had at Otley for the remainder of the game.

Otley were in no mood to let this one slip away and defended like their lives depended on it to prevent Nottingham from even reaching the Otley half. The referee then brought an end to the season after 7 minutes of injury time and Otley had deservedly finished on a high note.

Every player contributed magnificently to the end result. Openside flanker Nathan Bland tackled himeslf to a stand still while midfield duo Rob Whatmuff and Paul Mooney formed a brickwall in defence and made the hard yards up the middle all game.

Andy Brown and Ian Shuttleworth provided strong direction in the halves - the former enjoying his best game for Otley for some time.

No.8 Glen Wilson made umpteen yards from the back of the scrum while engine roomers Jason Oakes and Paul Williams carried ball and tackled aggressively all afternoon. Oakesy was particularly colossal in the art of kick-off receives.

Special mention should also go to Mark Luffman, Dave Scully and Waisale Sovatabua who probably made their last appearances for a club they have served tremendously well over the last few years. They will always be part of the Otley family.

Nottingham: Thompson, Kay, Wyles, Molenaar, Jackson, Woodrow, Brennan (capt), Fowkes, Duffey, Hall, Arnold, Morley, Bowley, Corcoran, Fitsemanu

Otley: Dench, Andre (Scully 35), Whatmuff, Mooney, Sovatabua, Shuttleworth, Brown, Wring, Steele (Luffman 60), Fullman, Oakes, Williams, Stockdale, Bland (Pike 60), Wilson (capt)

MATCH STATISTICS

Nottingham 22

Tries: Wyles (2), Thompson

Cons: Woodrow (2)

Pens: Woodrow

Otley 26

Tries: Oakes (2), Andre

Cons: Brown

Pens: Brown (3)

Click here for photos of the match

Oscar's Gamebreaker: Jason Oakes

Oscar's Gamestar: Andy Brown

Click here for individual league records