Tribute South West 1 – West
North Petherton 23 – Bideford 13
Saturday 30th January 2016
Report By Simon Freeman
On a day when all three teams won for the first time this season Pethy produced their most spirited display of the season against a good Bideford side who pounded away at the home team’s line for a large part of the second half.
Captains comments (Damian Griffin) There was a massive buzz with the whole squad as soon as we met at the club and everyone was positive about the game ahead from a good week of training and it showed on the pitch! We knew we had to set the tempo on our terms which we did perfectly and then had to maintain it, we thrived off that making us better as the game went on! It was the strongest team we had all season as many players were back from injury and having Arron Gibbs back with is was a huge boost and he definitely made an impact! Our defence was solid and they found it tough to break us down and it looked like we enjoyed the defensive part of the game! A huge team effort to get that win and we are excited for the next few games to come! It was great to be part of a huge team effort.
Pethy made an impressive start from the first whistle and used the forwards to make ground robustly which forced a penalty for Harry Roberts to slot over. Bideford played their way back in to the game and created their own chances but Pethy defensively the whole squad tackled strongly throughout.
Pethy began to shift their plays with variety and were rewarded when some good play amongst the backs orchestrated some space for winger Gavin Hancock to speed over, Roberts added the extras.
Bideford again responded and played their way in to the Pethy 22, Pethy again defended well only to fall foul of the official who awarded a penalty, Olly Wickett kicked the penalty 10-3. Pethy immediately responded with a Roberts penalty after more good work from the forwards. Pethy wanted to keep the momentum and with all the players putting in hard work it was Hancock again who went on a mazy 40 yard run to beat opponents and score, Roberts kicked the conversion.
The remainder of the first half belonged to Bideford who battled for everything and were rewarded with a Dave Evans try just before half time 20-8.
The second half was a titantic battle with Bideford having the majority of possession and Pethy working overtime in defence. The first score of the half was a Roberts penalty to extend the lead, however from then Bideford attacked but Pethy kept their discipline and concentration and spent long periods in their 22. Bideford crossed over once to narrow the scores but Pethy showed the spirit to hold on and gain the valuable points.
