Sat 6 Jan 2024
Maldon travelled to Braintree for the first game of 2024 on a bitterly cold day, on a muddy pitch. Not having played since before Christmas & not having trained due to waterlogged pitches, Maldon were bound to be a bit rusty.
However, conceding a try after one minute was rustier than most thought. A good chase following the kick-off produced a ruck, but slack defence around the ruck gave space & they moved the ball well & scored, 7-0 & Maldon only had themselves to blame.
Maldon responded well to this setback, enjoying possession & territory for the next 15 minutes. The conditions led to a forward battle in the mud, with both teams defending well. Maldon’s kicking game was good however, & this kept Braintree pinned inside their own half. Strong carries by the forwards & then good hands by the backs put full-back Zak Knight in for a try, converted by Joshua Chadwick, 7-7. Not long after this, Maldon were awarded a penalty & Chadwick kicked this for a 7-10 lead. But, almost immediately a line-out was tapped back & the bounce allowed Braintree to react quickly & stroll over for a try, 12-10.
This was closely followed by, again, too much space around the breakdown & good hands by Braintree to go under the posts for another converted try, 19-10.
Braintree had scored 3 tries, all from Maldon errors.
The first half finished with Braintree crossing again, but this time, due to good play by their backs, to make the score 24-10 at half-time.
Maldon were not too dispirited, as they have come back from a first half deficit before & were still in the game. But, they made things difficult for themselves when Braintree crossed quickly after the second half started, and converted, 31-10.
Maldon woke up again & had a very good period of play, with some good line breaks & strong carries, but, credit to Braintree, they defended well & contested rucks & mauls aggressively.
But, pressure told before too long. First Sam Langston crossed over following a great support line, converted by Chadwick. Then, Dan Allen showed good power to cross the try line & Maldon we back in the game, 31-22 down. But, a loose kick was hacked down field by Braintree, resulting in territory to their advantage. In the last 5 minutes Braintree scored a try & kicked a penalty, to make the result 39-22.
Maldon were disappointed with the result, but there were many positives in this game & Braintree are now 2nd in the division with a very good record. Maldon can look at the middle section of the game positively, but needs to be better at the start and when closing out games.
Next week Maldon travel to Chingford, who will be a different team at home to the one that Maldon convincingly defeated earlier in the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH -
George Perkins - Bringing his usual physicality to the game.
