Askeans 0 - 59 Lordswood
On a day made for rugby – the pitch was perfect with a good amount of ‘Give’ underfoot and the temperature had risen to a ‘Balmy 7 C (!) - Our guests Lordswood, played a consistent game through out and were worthy winners.
Off the field, there an excellent atmosphere with support from Askeans and our friends from Blackheath and Charlton Park.
Both teams were below full strength and unfortunately for Askeans, their injury woes beforehand – Fly Half James Roddy being unavailable with a pulled hamstring – became worse as the game progressed.
From the kick-off, Lordswood exerted pressure but Askeans weathered the storm and for the first quarter, the game promised to be open and well balanced, especially when Christian Carrillo had a fine run down the left wing.
This typified the game, however, as he was injured in the tackle and had to leave the field with what turned out to be a broken collar bone.
Lordswood’s first score was a pushover try, reflecting their dominance in the scrums throughout.
It was only in the last 10 minutes of the half that Lordswood began to really dominate open play and they scored twice more to give a half time score of 0 - 19.
The second half commenced with a Lordswood try early on and it was not long afterwards that Nick Jones left the field with an injured ankle.
By this time two of our Askeans’ legends, Chris Jeffrey and AJ were on the field but even their expertise but could not shore up an injury ravaged side, reduced to 14 men in the last quarter with Shane Walton leaving the field with a thigh strain. It was no surprise that in this period, Lordswood scored a hatful of tries.
Despite a disappointing result, however, there were highlights of note -
- Askeans’ lineout unit, Dave O’Connor, Thomas Henderson and Ciaran Flynn, should be pleased with the quality of their lineout work, winning their ball consistently with excellent support from the Pack.
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- Captain Jack Henderson led by example with several penetrating runs.
- Man of the Match Nick Patten, never gave up and led a forward rear-guard action.
We welcomed two debut players
- Dean Ghasemi – all the way from Hove and
- Aaron Thompson from Greenwich University
And welcomed back another Askean stalwart – Danny Walkden!
Off the field, it was a successful day as ever, especially with support from Askeans and our Blackheath & Charlton Park friends.
Nick Patten maintained our tradition of always winning the Man of the Match beer race and there were plenty of supporters and players in the bar enjoying their reminiscences well into the evening!
We look forward to seeing you at our
Final Home Game of 2021 and a Christmas Special Celebration with Buffet:
Saturday 18th December – vs Greenwich