PALATINATE | Tuesday 22nd February 2011
19
DurhamSport News Durham
www.palatinate.org.uk
League leaders Grey fall to brave Aidan’s GARETH CHANMBERS
Aidan’s shocked league leaders Grey with a thrilling last minute victory
St Aidan’s A
17
Grey A
16
Elly Miller
Last Sunday saw Aidan’s A, struggling for form this season, take on league leaders Grey A. Promoted last season, Aidan’s went into this match languishing at the bottom of the Premiership with relegation looming. Conversely, Grey A went into the match unbeaten in the Premiership. So, on a bitterly cold winter’s morning, the match kicked off. Strong run-
Mary’s end Hatfield’s unbeaten run Mary’s A
2
Hatfield A
1
Joshua Charalambous
up the pitch with strong running from the likes of Dave Howe and James Francis, but strong defensive performances from the Grey back row, most notably Olly Cobb, kept the game tight. Eventually, however, consistent pressure around the breakdown told, and Aidan’s scrum half, Tom Sedgewick, crossed from short range. Aidan’s went into half time leading 8-5. Re-energised after half time, both teams came out swinging. With the score standing at 8-8 and only twenty minutes to play, following a Grey penalty, the tension was palpable. At a crucial moment, however, a defensive mistake in the Aidan’s back line allowed the Grey full back to break free eventually resulting in a second try for Grey. The missed conversion left the scores at 13-8.
BUCS CrossCountry offers cause for positivity
some half chances but the Mary’s defence looked the stronger with Hatfield unable to keep possession for large periods. It was Mary’s who struck again next when Mike Elborn fired a ball across the D, but Tom Barratt neatly deflected it - putting the pressure on Hatfield to come back. A rousing half time team talk meant that Hatfield came back strongly; keeping the ball much better but still lacking the penetration needed to score. A mistake from Mary’s at the short corner meant that the straight drag flick found the net. Mary’s discipline came under question and Mike Elborn received his marching orders as Dave Humphreys Nick Butler felt there was one too many stick tackles. Mary’s held on with their best performance of the season and both teams remain in the title challenge. Despite aiming slightly higher than they achieved, there were still some superb Palatinate performances at last week’s BUCS Cross-country championships in Birmingham. Competing on a gruelling course, where the obligatory hills, mud and turns were made all the more demanding by strong winds and opposition of the highest calibre, the Men’s A team finished tenth out of over 40 teams, while the Women came 31st. First up was the Men’s A race, where the top six competitors from each university went head to head over 10km. In a line up packed with talent, including the Under-23 World Triathlon Champion, Leeds’ Jonny Brownlee, Durham came through strongly. Leading the way was Josh Cole, who after a great season so far, finished 47th and beat several internationals in the process. Following him was an impressive fresher duo of Michael Grimes and Patrick Vis, who Underdogs Mary’s raised their game came 57th and 73rd, and two postGARETH CHANMBERS
With Collingwood’s and Hatfield’s Hockey A teams looking like they were going to pull away in the Men’s Premiership, St Mary’s last chance of keeping anywhere near the pace in the league required them to defeat the ever strong Hatfield A on Saturday. With a replay of this game, plus two games versus Collingwood, Mary’s were looking to close the gap on the two teams ahead of them, whereas Hatfield were looking to add to their impressive 100% record which has put them at the head of the table. The game started quickly and after a mistake from the Hatfield centre midfielder, Mary’s captain took the free hit quickly and played a precise through ball to Nick Bourne, whose first touch meant he was able to pick his spot and fire Mary’s ahead. Hatfield created
ning from the Aidan’s pack created consistent quick ball play, eventually causing the Grey back row to infringe at the breakdown, conceding a penalty in front of their posts. Tom Sedgewick duly kicked the penalty, putting Aidan’s 3-0 up. As expected from a side of their calibre, Grey responded strongly. With both fly halves exchanging kicks, it was eventually Grey who got the better of their opponents when a jinking run from their full back broke the Aidan’s defensive line. After three phases of tight work from the forwards, the ball was swung wide and Grey scored in the corner. The conversion was missed and twenty minutes into the first half Grey led 5-3. The rest of the first half continued in a similar fashion. The Aidan’s forwards made good progress
In the sixty-fifth minute the game was turned on its head when Grey captain Olly Cobb was sin binned for a dangerous tackle. Minutes later, Sedgewick missed a difficult penalty kick at goal and it seemed that the match was slipping through the fingers of the Aidan’s side. However, without the physical presence of Cobb, the Grey defence found it increasingly difficult to deal with the aggressive running of the Aidan’s forwards. Strong running from the Aidan’s back row, particularly from captain Joe Tanner and replacement James Coy, won Aidan’s two penalties in quick succession, both of which were successfully kicked by Tom Sedgewick. This left the score at 14-13 to Aidan’s with five minutes left on the clock. However, calamity struck when, with only minutes to play, Aidan’s conceded a reckless penalty at the breakdown in front of their own posts. The resulting kick was well taken, putting Grey ahead by two points. In a tense final minute, the ball was successfully recycled by the Grey forwards a number of times. Just as the referee’s watch hit full time however, a strong tackle from Aidan’s diminutive fly half Jamie Leven resulted in a penalty just outside the Grey 22. With the last kick of the game, under considerable pressure, mercurial talent Tom Sedgewick kicked a difficult penalty, securing Aidan’s a well-deserved win. Anyone watching could see what it meant to both teams. Elation from the exhausted Aidan’s side and disappointment from a Grey pack who knew they had not performed to the standards they set themselves. Both sides should take pride from the high standard of rugby exhibited, and for keeping us all on the edge of our seats for 80 minutes. However, it was Aidan’s who eventually emerged victorious. grads, Martin Proctor and Dan Jenkin, who worked together for most of the race, and both finishing in the top 100. Last but not least was Cross-Country captain (and 800m specialist) Jack Hillier, who despite having only a few hours notice that he was running, ran a welljudged effort to come 109th. The subsequent 7km Women’s event was turned into a runaway victory by one of Britain’s most exciting young talents, European Champion Charlotte Purdue, who took up the pace from halfway and won by almost a minute. Further back and reaping the rewards of brave, aggressive tactics was Kat O’Mahony, who led the Palatinate charge with a top 200 finish, and was followed by Sophie Smith and Olivia Short. With four other girls closely behind, Durham showed their depth, but were just missing the extra quality up front which last year’s BUCS 10,000m silver medallist, Becky Howarth, provided. The final event of the day was the Men’s B race, which despite its slightly less competitive reputation, was still a race of the highest quality, dominated by the athletics superpowers - Birmingham, Loughborough and St Mary’s. Nevertheless, Durham performed strongly, registering three teams; the highest of which was eighth university, being led home impressively by club President Owen Walpole – who was one of four top 100 finishes. The weekend showed that there is lots more training to do, but after a strong season (which included a third place finish at the Leeds University Relays) clear improvements have been made, as attention now turns to the BUCS Indoor Athletics championships next weekend.
Impressive Durham make short work of St Andrew’s Louisa Boddy
Durham
6
St Andrew’s
0
Following a highly commendable away performance against Birmingham, Durham University X1 secured a place in the final sixteen of the BUCS competition, earning a home fixture against St Andrews. The two teams began their knockout campaign on equal footing, with both sides unable to retain possession, lifting balls and having their passes intercepted. Durham however, began to show their experience, commanding much of the play and beginning to look threatening. Nevertheless, Durham were unable to consistently break through the flat sticks of the St Andrews defence, having their early chances go wide and their first penalty corner blocked. It was Harriet Moore on thirteen minutes who was able to open the scoring for the home side when some swift passing across the top of the attacking D allowed her to slot the ball past the keeper off the rebound. Durham continued to press the opposition, and just five minutes later, Harriet Moore converted her second goal of the game with an impressive reverse stick shot into the top of the net to bring the score to 2-0. Caroline Crawford managed to extend the score line to 3-0 after some quick play down the right side allowed her to steal a cheeky goal from her teammate with a sly touch on the goal line off the initial shot. Just two minutes later, Harriet Moore claimed a well-deserved hattrick when a great through ball from Anna Thompson created enough space in the circle for the ball, which was coolly fired into the back of the net to give Durham an encouraging 4-0 lead as the sides entered half time. For much of the second half, Durham seemed unable to take control of the game, with St Andrews forcing two penalty corner opportunities, which fortunately for Durham, were saved. It wasn’t until the final five minutes of the game that Durham began to re-gain their old form, forcing their own penalty corner from which Sophie Davies ended the temporary goal draught, guiding the ball into the net from a slick corner routine. The revival of Durham spirit could be seen right until the final whistle, when another well-executed penalty corner allowed Cherry Seaborn to drill home a deflection goal and seal the match at a respectable 6-0.