Date: Sun 20th Nov 2016

Time: 11am

Match Report

After such an impressive performance the previous week the Harlow U14s went back out to play on the first team pitch with a few new recruits and another strong turnout in some rough conditions. Coming up against a strong side in Cheshunt was just the test they needed to show how far they’d come since the beginning of the season.

With the rain pouring down for the first ten minutes Harlow failed to hold on after an early spell of pressure from Cheshunt and were 0-14 down. After building up some good possession and territory in the opposition half Harlow worked their way into the opposition’s 22 and as Jakub Frankowski broke the win he looked to score the first try for the home team but forgot to stop running and slipped over the dead ball line.

Determined not to lose their position on the pitch Harlow fought back into the 22 with some great support from the quick backs and offloads out the tackles helping to get Harlow to the 5 metre line. Some powerful rucking and an intelligent pick up from Tyrone Kangwende allowed him to score Harlow first points. In some great form Angelo Blasi converted with ease. Unfortunately Cheshunt managed to get another break away try again from their pacy number 9 before the half time whistle but failed to convert the score.

Half time Harlow 7-19 Cheshunt

With the weather clearing up in the second half Harlow started to be able to run the ball and used their handling ability to get back into the game. With a play that started on the right hand side of the half way line and was taken forward after a great team move that saw a dummy switch pass with both centres and at least four phases of quick rucking and offloads Tyrone managed to stretch his arm over the try line to score the second try in the far left corner, 12-19.

This seemed to spark Harlow who looked a different team for the next five minutes, playing powerful running rugby, probably the best all season, with Louis Lynch and Sully Muhammed getting tries and AJ converting one of those from distance. With the scoreline looking completely different after a Cheshunt response it was 24-24.

Harlow looked up for this game though and continued to battle with a few new faces introduced and a couple of position changes Harlow were back on the attack with hard running dominating the game once more. A fantastic maul pushed the home team up the field before number 8 Jakub once more broke the line and gave AJ to convert, with a kick that just crept into the side of the post Harlow led the game for the first time at 31-24.

With five minutes to play Harlow held up one try, but after continued pressure they conceded wide in their half which went unconverted, 31-29. After an off play incident Jakub was yellow carded and would miss the rest of the game. Now the game was opened up with 15 v 14 Harlow had to suffer the worst of fates in such an a hard fought game, Cheshunt scored an unconverted try with the last score of the game, final score 31-34 Cheshunt.

A hard fought game against a strong opponent meant Harlow tasted defeat on the score board but could certainly hold their heads high due to the huge effort they put in and the way they pulled the game back in the second half.

Man of the match – Tyrone Kangwende

Squad –

1 Suleiman Muhammed, 2 Connor Molloy, 3 Tyrone Kangwende, 4 Luke Cheetham, 5 Tommy Johnston, 6 Ervins Bukjas, 7 Daniel Eby,8 Jakub Frankowski, 9 Jude Clark, 10 Angelo blasi, 11 Zak Moroney, 12 Louis Lynch, 13 Jamie Gaunt, 14 Mitch Miller, 15 Matthew Brough, 16 TJ Wilfort, 17 Connor Jackson, 18 Tom Joseph, 19 Brad Edwards