Cobham 24-41 Sutton & Epsom 2nd XV
Sutton on the back of a spirited victory over Blackheath Brigands recorded another impressive win against Cobham. The 41-24 scoreline did not flatter the side who deservedly returned to Rugby Lane with a bonus point triumph.
The Black & Whites were on the front foot from the whistle. After a couple of opportunities they finally put points on the board, getting the reward for 15 minutes of sustained pressure. Ever-present prop Richard Madadangoma opened the scoring courtesy of good work from Dave Weller following an attacking line out. Harry Jones added the first of his four conversions.
From the re-start S&E put themselves under pressure by taking the running option rather than making a clearance kick. A knock on gifted the hosts an attacking scrum from which they scored. This was only a temporary respite. Once more an excellent line out produced a score as a rolling maul was halted on the line but Chris Pointing stole in to extend the lead to 12-5. Again Cobham came right back and scored out wide. That completed the scoring in the first period and the teams were evenly poised with Sutton & Epsom leading 12-10.
Andrew Ciccarelli, James Matthews and Tobi Oduyemi were introduced from the bench. Soon Harry Jones extended the lead with a penalty. Then a well executed move in the backs sent Dave Dyer crashing through the centres to present Tobi Oduyemi with a try that was converted. Once again the Fairmile faithful replied with a try of their own. Sutton continued to play expansively with the forwards and backs combining to enable Andrew Ciccarelli to run in the bonus point try. To their eternal credit Cobham reacted better to a kick and chase to score under the posts refusing to surrender the game.
However, that was the home team’s last hurrah. Dave Dyer powered to the line as the ball was spread wide for a fifth try. The best was saved for last. Starting in their own 22 the Black & Whites kept the ball alive with splendid offloads and David Dyer appeared to have nowhere to go but chipped the ball over the defence and gathered the ball to score under the posts.
This was a fine victory built on the platform of dominance at the scrum and line out. Benefiting from an abundance of possession the back division frequently broke the gain line running in four fine tries. This was a comprehensive team performance from the whole squad which prepares them well for the tough task of playing table-toppers Dorking next Saturday.
Sutton Team: Chris Beevor, Dave Dyer, Ernesto Lobo, Pete Matthews, Luke Mason, Harry Jones, Frankie Murray, Richard Madadangoma, Barney Cowie, James Kinsella, Felix Symonds, Nigel Booth, Dave Weller, Shiv Patel, Chris Pointing. Replacements (all used): Tobi Oduyemi, Andrew Ciccarelli, James Matthews, James White.
