TECH 5 v 22 DURHAM CITY
TECH welcomed Durham City to Grayfields on Saturday and despite going down to another defeat the patched up side produced a far more resolute performance than at Billingham a week earlier. Although the losing margin was larger than that against the Teessiders, TECH again showed against one of the leagues better outfits that the have the ability to lift themselves up the table provided they play every game with the same commitment. With a free Saturday next week they have the opportunity to get some of their injured players back before the difficult trip to Northern. Following that game they meet a number of other sides at the wrong end of the table and they will hope to go into those encounters with as strong a squad as possible.
Durham City started Saturdays game strongly and took play into the home 22. TECH were defending resolutely though and kept their line intact. They were not helped in their efforts to break free as American referee Steve Verna seemed to have a different interpretation of the 'engage' at the scrum resulting in one being re-set several times much to the frustration of both packs. TECH were also being regularly penalised for perceived infringements at the breakdown and this kept them penned in their own half for lengthy periods. After 8 minutes TECH found themselves down to 14 men when another messy breakdown resulted in Nick CORRIGAN suffering an injury to his neck that saw him have to leave the field for treatment. Thankfully he was able to resume within five or six minutes of coming off.
After 22 minutes the visitors got the break through when they moved the ball wide to winger Walker. With the defence coming up to meet him he cleverly kicked ahead before winning the race for the touchdown. The same player saw his conversion attempt go wide.
After 26 minutes TECH were awarded their first penalty as the built up some pressure on the visitors defence. A few minutes later another good home attack saw the ball moved out to full back Jon COLE who had joined the line. Having gone past one defender he kicked ahead but the City defence managed to kick to touch. TECH were now playing much better and excellent pressure at the scrum by Barry CORBETT saw him force his opposite number into giving away a penalty. Unfortunately Jon COLE saw his kick miss the target.
The home side continued to press forward deep in City territory. On three occasions No. 8 Stephen STOCKDALE picked up and drove on through would be tackles only to be halted by the referee who seemed to be finding difficulty in his positioning. Despite this TECH kept going and another forward drive saw them halted just a couple of yards from the line. During this ruck prop Neil MASON received a kick to the back and had to receive treatment before being able to continue. Both sides were striving hard for the next score but neither were able to make the important break before half time.
It was the visitors who managed to score next when after 6 minutes of the half City were awarded a penalty for handling at a ruck. TECH's Simon CAVEY was injured at the breakdown and received treatment before WALKER added 3 points to his side's total.
Both sides were showing plenty of effort but despite this there was no addition to the score till 20 minutes had elapsed. A good break by City centre Knowles saw him break through the home defence and he the drew the cover before supplying the scoring pass to full back Howe. Walker the added the conversion to take the score to 0-15
Despite this reversal TECH continued to try hard as they looked for the score their efforts deserved. They then replaced Andrew CAMPBELL with Adam HOWARD. After 26 minutes another good forward drive by TECH took them close to the opposition line but City managed to steal the ball at the ruck and cleared upfield.
After 34 minutes City delivered a killer blow to TECH's hopes of getting back into contention when they created a try from nothing. As TECH were pressing following a good break by Mattie DENT a pass was intercepted and City broke upfield. A bad pass went to ground but bounced kindly into the intended recipient's hands and he crossed for a converted try taking the score to 0-22.
TECH's continued efforts finally gained its just rewards when a break by Adam HOWARD saw them into the visitors 22. It looked as though a wayward pass may halt the move but they managed to recycle the ball which was moved across field to Jon COLE who scored wide out on the left. The same player saw his attempted conversion go wide of the target and the referee brought the game to a close.