Sat 4 Mar 2023
After defeating Stanford-Le-Hope last weekend, Maldon welcomed Clacton to Drapers Farm on a VP’s day, for the final league game of the season. In the absence of the injured captain, George Alden-Smith led the team. Maldon started like a rocket, quick ball, strong carries & slick hands saw Micky Curry brush aside 2 tacklers to score after 2 minutes, converted by Dan Allen, 7-0. Within 5 minutes Dimitri Sofoclous powered over, the extras added by Dan Allen again, 14-0. Zak Knight made a mesmerising run from full back, beating defenders galore, only to be met by a group tackle by the Clacton back row, & off Zak went with a blood injury. Ben Marshall then displayed pace & power to cross, giving Dan Allen another chance to convert, 21-0, 10 minutes gone. Fly-half Ryan Galvin thought he’d try to power over the line, but 3 Clacton defenders hammered him back, breaking his collarbone in the process & off he went. A real shame for Ryan & for Maldon after the brilliant form he has been showing of late. Maldon re-organised & did not lose any momentum. Dimitri Sofoclous scored again, 26-0 & a cricket score was possible.
But, credit to Clacton, who managed to keep possession long enough and showed good handling to cross in the corner for a score, 26-5. Then, after about 30 minutes of play Dimitri Sofoclous celebrated his hat-trick, converted once more by Dan Allen, 33-5. Next, a yellow card for Clacton, prompted them to raise their game & they scored again, just before half-time, 33-10.
The second half saw a Clacton player leave the field injured &, with no substitutes, a long 40 minutes was in store. Micky Curry finished off a great passage of play, 38-10, closely followed by Dan Allen scoring 2 tries in quick succession, one of which saw him run half the length of the pitch & bounce off defenders, Sam Langston converting one of these, 50-10. Another Clacton player was down injured, taking them to 13 players. This, again, prompted them to raise their game & they scored under the posts after smart play at a penalty, 50-17.
Clacton had another couple of players who bravely stayed on, despite not being fully fit. The final quarter saw 4 quick tries. Dimitri Sofoclous scored a fourth, George Perkins picked a great line to cross over, Ollie Lyons finally had the gas to finish one of his many breaks, and Alex Thompson showed off his pace to run in from long range. The referee blew up early, for a final score of 78-17.
Maldon’s league season is over, finishing at least 19 points ahead of second place & with points for/against difference of 194. The team are undefeated in the league for the second season & will look forward to the cup fixtures in a few weeks.
MOTM -
Dimitri Sofoclous: First half hat-trick & scoring a fourth in the second half.
Andy Weller: Strong scrummaging throughout & great handling in the loose.
