Men’s 1st XV v Deal & Betteshanger 12/09/2009

Away – London 2 South East

Report by Andy Ward

Won 13-8

The inaugural game for Hove in the newly named London SE2 proved less than the rousing performance that we were hoping for. Possibly a degree of ring rustiness but this was a scrappy game with neither team taking control.

Too many sloppy passes, unnecessary penalties and lack of cohesion was displayed by both sides although Hove came out the better according to the score card. Last season’s equivalent was played in early March and Hove turned out deserved 39-10 winners but a mere six months later with no discernible personnel changes on either side saw a much closer contest.

It has to be said that a possibly over zealous referee did not contribute to the free flowing nature of the game but players need to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of referee interpretation and mould their game so they do not fall foul.The game started bang on three-o-clock and early pressure by the hosts saw Hove defending. And defending well it has to be said. Perhaps the best feature of Hove’s game on the day was the defence and this frustrated Deal who were clearly hoping for more return for their forays north of the 22.

But the early pressure told in the form of a penalty and Hove were guilty of transgressing perhaps a bit too much – which saw the referee issue his ten minute rest instructions to two Hove players during the game.The D&B 15 duly converted a simple kick slap in front of the posts and Hove were 3-0 down with about two minutes on your correspondents clock.

Hove answered this with man of the match contender Liam Hale scoring in the corner of the Clubhouse side of the pitch after an excellent break by the other man of the match contender – Ryan Morlen – was ended by a clutch of home players grasping hold and forcing Ryan down. But the ball was retrieved and switched over into the other corner with a bevy of forwards vying for the glory and finally Liam making good.

Up steps soon to be university bound Sam Whiting to take a fine kick and win the extra two points for Hove. Hove were in the ascendency during this period and for most of the half and within 4 or 5 minutes the referee had awarded a penalty for Hove which Sam duly dispatched with another fine kick – taking him to the third man of the match contender.Hove then started to make life difficult for themselves as Deal attacked and a string of penalties were awarded. Deal tried kicking a couple of these but their 15 had lost his aim and so others were run.

After 28 minutes, and several appeals from the supporters near me, the referee decided he had seen one transgression too many and Jamie Waller was in the frame for a yellow card and spent the next 10 minutes with a rather nice view of Deal barracks.

Half time came with no change in the score and at 13-3 that was probably a fair reflection although it could easily have been 13-9 had the Deal 15 not missed his kicks.The inner man replenished with a pint of lager, I emerged once more into the bright light of a sunny afternoon and Chris Eden restarted the game at the invitation of the referee and so we awaited the next 40 minutes with a touch of trepidation.

If Hove were ascendant in the first 40 minutes then Deal were so in the second period. Hove did not add to their tally of 13 and Sam missed one from more or less where the Deal 15 had missed on in the first half. Was that bit of earth cursed? Do we need Club Chaplain the Reverend Father Peter Clegg on our next trip to Kent with his holy water and finery to banish any earth bound demons?

Had I got the time I may have just added the Omen music in at this point!The good bits – well, Ryan had a further run and almost made it home and his running through was causing the Deal centres problems. Deal also had a burst through and a try and game saving tackle from Liam saw not only the Deal player stopped, but the ball ripped and Liam breaking up the field.

Phew! Finally, Deal made their breakthrough after several moments spend on the far side 5 metres with Hove defending. The referee deemed that Paul Hasib had handled and dished out his second yellow of the day. Strangely he awarded a scrum – or maybe it was a penalty and Deal requested the scrum. Either way, a scrum was required and so Josh Wren had to come on and Jack Baker was sacrificed as the make weight.

Deal had got the sniff of the Hove line’s fanny (so to speak!) and were not to be denied. A powerful scrum saw them surge over and score the try they had been seeking. 13-8 the score and a successful kick would have seen the scores far too close for comfort given Hove’s inability to get out of the second half traps.

Sadly for them, the 15 couldn’t achieve his goal of a goal… and so the score remained at 13-8 until the end.A good result for an away team? A get out of jail? It depends on your view point. What is irrefutable is that we came away from our longest away journey of the year with two points and are position just above our hosts at fifth in the table – the other games having seen much more daylight between the teams. Click here for the results and League Table. Oh – and man of the match? Liam by a whisker from Ryan.