Tribute South West 1 – West
North Petherton 13 – Bridgwater & Albion 26
Saturday 5th September 2015
Report By Simon Freeman
In front of a large crowd both teams entertained the spectators with a fully committed robust game. The tackles and breakdowns were hard fought throughout.
Captains comments
Damian Griffin (NPRFC) – Nerves got the better of us but we started the game well playing to the new style which we have been working on in pre-season. I was pleased with the first half but we were unable to keep the tempo. We got sloppy and this resulted in us giving away penalties!! We have two weeks to put it right before our next game. Well done to Bridgwater who played a smart game.
Olly Dunn (Bridgwater) – It was a typical derby game, fiercely competitive. Defences were firm and there were plenty of big collisions. Ultimately it came down to discipline and we capitalized on the Pethy penalties! I was pleased we kept the scoreboard moving enough to come out on top!
The early play saw the visitors take the initiative and were awarded a penalty for Chris Ashwin (0-3). Pethy responded immediately with Sam Williams making inroads and forcing a penalty, Harry Roberts levelled the scores (3-3)
Pethy then carried the momentum for a five minute period with James Taylor, Kyle Presscott and Lewis Phillips all prominent in creating space for John Gallagher to power over , Roberts converted (10-3).
The game became a breakdown battle until the 25th minute when Bridgy drove Pethy back from a lineout with Rob Thompson getting the final touch (10-8).
Six minutes later things improved more for the visitors as they moved the ball from right to left to create an extra man and for James Brakes to dive in at the corner (10-13).
The remainder of the half belonged to tacklers of both teams who made some impressive defence.
The second half began with Pethy in slight ascendency and an extednded stay in the visitors 22 lifted the home supporters and finally Pethy levelled the scores with a Roberts penalty (13-13).
Bridgwater responded strongly and began to exert their own pressure and force Pethy in to a series of penalties. The visitors varied their game and extended their lead with two more Ashwin penalties for a 13-19 lead.
Pethy still made strong breaks but were met with resolute defence and couldn’t find the extra play that would take them over. Bridgwater’s belief in defence grew as they relived the pressure and worked their way upfield. The visitors moved in to the Pethy 22 and forced a couple of penalties and finally the official awarded a penalty try, converted by Ashwin to complete the scoring 13-26.
