HARTLEPOOL 35 - 5 TECH

TECH took a full squad over to Easington Road but they suffered an immediate setback when Marcus Lloyd injured his shoulder making the first tackle of the game and could take no further part.

 With the Pool side being a good mix of experience and youth TECH found the going hard throughout but to their credit they continued to play some good rugby which deserved more than the one try scored by Peter Considine.

Hartlepool opened the scoring after 6 minutes when after a scrum near the TECH line the hosts moved the ball to the strong running Jason Norman who broke through the cover to score. They added to their score after 19 minutes when a speculative kick downfield caused problems for TECH. The slippery ball should have been cleared into touch but when it was missed near to the try line the home attacker gratefully touched it down. 

It was TECH who recorded the next score when after 24 MINUTES a good break by Steve Taylor saw the ball moved to Peter Considine who galloped over for an unconverted try. 

Despite their efforts the extra physicality of the home forwards kept TECH under pressure and this allowed Pool veteran scrum half Ian Bond to dictate play. He added his sides next try when he sold a dummy and went through to the line untouched. The sides reached half time with the score standing at 18-5.

With the advantage of the slope in the second period it was hoped TECH could get back into contention but despite having periods of possession they were unable to breach the home defence. 

It was to be the hosts who added to their total. As TECH tired the hosts made full use of their numerous replacements and their fresh legs kept them well on top with a further two tries being scored to take the final score to 35-5.

Despite the score line this was a well contested game with TECH refusing to give up despite never looking likely to win it.