Sat 21 Oct 2023
Maldon welcomed Upminster to Drapers Farm for the first time in a few seasons for their next league game. Weather conditions were a bit more autumnal, but the rain did the decent thing & stayed away. Upminster looked to have a big pack & a forward based game was anticipated. Maldon started well & soon had territory, but a dropped ball in attack saw Upminster gain possession. They used this well & advanced down the pitch, due to some missed tackles & a penalty. A line-out 10m out resulted in Upminster doing the obvious & driving over the line for the first score, 0-7.
Maldon were guilty of giving away too many penalties & a team warning followed. Soon after Max Knight received a yellow card. However, this sparked Maldon into life. Maldon went on the attack & with good play from many players, Maldon found themselves close to the Upminster line, which allowed captain Joshua Chadwick to find a gap to score under the posts, which he converted himself, 7-7.
Maldon kept up the pressure, the yellow card for Max was over & Maldon pressed again. Chadwick kicked through for winger Sam Johnson to continue his try-scoring spree, converted, 14-7.
Some poor decision making by Maldon led to Upminster gaining territory again. Then, the turning point in the game, a red card for George Alden-Smith, for a high tackle reduced Maldon to 14 men & saw Upminster kick another penalty, to take the score to 14-10.
Upminster then seized on their superior numbers to score once more, for a half-time score of 14-17.
Maldon started the second half well, with good handling & positive defence. Driving work from the forwards gave the backs space to move the ball to centre Dan Allen, to score, 19-17, Maldon were back in front.
But, Upminster were not finished yet & used their pack to drive over once more, 19-24. Soon after Maldon were rewarded with a penalty, kicked by Chadwick, 22-24. Upminster then were in trouble as 2 yellow cards in fairly quick succession put them under pressure. But, Maldon did not capitalise on possession nor territory, as a number of errors prevented any more scoring opportunities. Upminster had their yellow cards returned & finished the game off with a further try from their big pack, for a final score of 22-29.
Maldon showed many positives, as they played much of the game with 14 men. But, they will feel that they could have won this game anyway & there were too many missed chances.
There’s no game next week, but Maldon travel to Campion at the end of October.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ben Marshall; non-stop tackling, hard running lines, and great covering.
