Sat 30 Sep 2023
Maldon welcomed Braintree to Draper’s Farm on another sunny day, with a large amount of support on the sideline.
Unlike last week, Maldon started well, with possession, territory & looking good. Following a number of attempts to drive over the line, Jimmy Moore slotted a drop goal for a 3-0 lead, after a few minutes.
Then, Maldon started to turn the game around to the benefit of Braintree. A loose kick was run back by the Braintree fly-half, who danced through some missed tackles to score under the posts, 3-7.
Maldon hit back immediately, by playing sensible rugby, without making silly errors & after a few phases and a miss pass, winger Sam Johnson crossed in the corner, 8-7.
But, straight away, poor decisions & giving the ball away proved to be Maldon’s downfall & Braintree responded with a converted try, 8-14. Then, a calamitous few minutes, as, first, Max Knight, then Jim Roblin received yellow cards, following a team warning.
It was no surprise that Braintree capitalised on this & scored 2 tries when Maldon were down to 13 men. At half-time, Maldon were down 8-26.
The second half started badly, as Braintree crossed again, 8-31 & Maldon were getting to the point of losing the game well before the final whistle. But, Ben Marshall was rewarded for his work rate & scored a try, to reduce the deficit, 13-31. Then, with Maldon throwing everything into attack and going for the comeback, this allowed another Braintree score, 13-36, with less than 10 minutes to go.
This final period of the game saw Maldon produce their best rugby, keeping possession, linking together well & playing some good rugby. First Sam Johnson scored his second, then Jim Roblin finished the game off with a try, converted by Dan Allen, to produce a more respectable score of 25-36, & a bonus point for 4 tries.
Again, Maldon were dominant in the scrum, but no real attacking outcome emerged from this. The Braintree fly-half dominated the game with his outstanding kicking game, pinning Maldon back whenever necessary.
Maldon need to raise their game for the visit of Chingford next week.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jim Roblin for another fine display at No.8
