Grayfields, 17th March 2007

A quite breathtaking finish to this game at Grayfields saw Tech move within touching distance of a swift return to Durham & Northumberland Division 1 after a season’s absence. There have been several occasions during this campaign when Tech have had to dig deep and drain every ounce of their reserves in order to grab victory and this was once again the case as Tech stayed in contention till the end to snatch quite possibly their most dramatic success this term. An achievement in itself given the numerous other occasions that Tech have won the game in the dying seconds of play!

All seemed lost for the hosts as, with the clock showing 87 minutes at the end of the game and trailing 8-7, they were awarded a contentious free kick just inside their own half. Tech took it quickly and, following the subsequent ruck, the ball was played back to Phil Wallis, scorer of Tech’s seven points. The young fly half had served notice of his ability to drop goals from considerable distance in the derby game between Tech and Seaton a fortnight ago and, much to Novocastrians’ grief, he again utilised his skill to great effect sending a devastating kick straight through the posts from all of 50 metres.

For Tech and their supporters, joy of the highest order. But for the vanquished visitors, nothing but misery. Having been beaten at the death by Tech in the opening game of the season at Sutherland Park back in September, a repeat of the dose here on a blustery March afternoon has all but ended their hopes of beating the Hartlepool club to the final promotion spot. More galling for Novos was that they had established several scoring platforms throughout the game that they maybe should have made more of. They also failed to take maximum advantage of a combination of indiscipline from the hosts and peculiar refereeing with four Tech players being given a trip to the sin bin during the game. In total it amounted to half a game of playing time in which Tech played with 14 men, Kevin Cook, Nick Corrigan, Alex Best and Stephen Stockdale all falling foul of official Philip Walton at the breakdown. But Novos managed only one try during their periods of numerical advantage, a testament to Tech’s defence but a fact that the visitors will look back on pensively.

The try that Novos did score came after 22 minutes. Kevin Cook had been sin binned only two minutes earlier and, utilising their considerable forward power, the Newcastle club fashioned space for winger Vac Ali to cross for the score. Simon Greetham failed to convert.

The Novos pack continued to impose themselves on proceedings and much of the game was based in the Tech half. Tech did occasionally have a chance to mount attacks of their own but the power of the visiting eight meant that possession was hard to come by with Novos enjoying greater use of the ball. Starved of possession, Tech demonstrated their defensive prowess by halting several promising attacks and despite the best efforts of Novos the score remained 5 nil up to the break.

Such profligacy was punished 16 minutes into the second period when Phil Wallis darted over for his first league try for the club. The former West player has threatened to dummy his way over the line on several occasions since his signing in January and at last his perseverance paid off. Receiving good ball inside the 22, Wallis’s dummy bemused the Novos defensive line and allowed the fly half to coast over the whitewash. The same player converted to put his team in the lead for the first time.

Novos consolidated and continued to channel the majority of their attacks through their forwards. With pressure being constantly applied to the Tech defensive line it looked like Novos would be the next team to score but superb defence continued to defy the visitors. But with time almost up, Novos’ refusal to give in won them a penalty, advanced ten metres for dissent. Greetham kicked the goal to seemingly hand his team victory but Tech had other ideas and up stepped Wallis to conclude another dramatic league game.

Tech are now three points clear of Novos with only two games left. The final promotion spot is theirs to lose.

Tech 10 (0)

Try: Wallis (56)

Con: Wallis (57)

DG: Wallis (80(+7))

Novocastrians 8 (5)

Try: Ali (22)

Pen Greetham (80(+4))

Scoring sequence (Tech listed first):

0-5 (T) HT 5-5 (T), 7-5 (C), 7-8 (P), 10-8 (DG)

Tech

Knight, Foster, Wilson, Corrigan, Brown, Wallis, Williamson; Palmer, Hamilton, Dove, Thompson, Howard, Cook, Best, Stockdale. Sub used: Cheshire. Subs not used: Ward, Wray

Novocastrians

Bradford, Ali, Mitchell, Greetham, Baker, Fife, Williamson; Finlay, Douthwaite, Clarke, Cotterill, Desmond, Kelleher, Merrett, Tate. Subs: Evans, Beattie, Moat (All used)

Referee: Philip Walton (Durham)