Sat 21 Sep 2024
Maldon welcomed old rivals Braintree to Drapers Farm on a beautiful autumn day, with a VP’s crowd ready to offer their support & wisdom.
Last season Braintree beat Maldon twice & it had been a number of years since Maldon had enjoyed victory against them. But, Maldon had made a great start to the season & were confident following the first 2 games of the season, even with a number of changes to the line-up.
The game started with Braintree having the better of the territory, despite Maldon doing well, by kicking the ball to safety when in their own 22. Braintree showed that they were keen to play a quick game & had good handling skills. Maldon defended well & resisted the attacks. Gradually, Maldon worked their way down the pitch & at the first scrum they showed their superiority, by sending Braintree backwards and made good yards from this in a break through the backs. This dominance helped Maldon to stay near the try-line, as they were awarded a couple of penalties & chose to keep attacking. After a quick tap penalty didn’t work, a scrum to Braintree proved messy & Demetri Sofoclous picked up the ball & touched down, converted by Joshua Chadwick, 7-0.
Braintree came back strong & used their kicking game to get down the pitch, helped by some silly penalties from Maldon. From a line-out close to the Maldon try-line, Braintree played cleverly & scored an unconverted try, 7-5.
The rest of the half was very close, Maldon & Braintree both showing strong defence to cancel out any possible opportunities in attack. One superb run by Kieran Reeve, from his own try line (despite cries of “Nooo” from his captain) resulted in Braintree bodies scattered everywhere. The Maldon scrum continued to influence the game, as Braintree struggled to attack from difficult ball. At the end of the first half Maldon had a couple of penalties which they tried to use as an attacking platform. But, disaster struck as Maldon lost possession & Braintree showed speed & skill to score another unconverted try, 7-10 at half-time.
The second half started well for Maldon, they continued to show aggression in their defence & the support in attack was improving. Backs & forwards linked together to gain ground & accurate passing gave winger Sam Adams a chance to score in the corner, converted again by Chadwick, 14-10.
The next 10 minutes was frustrating from Maldon, as a result of too many silly penalties conceded again. During this period of time Braintree kicked 2 penalties to take the score to 14-16. Maldon were in danger of falling behind more if they continued to give away penalties. However, they managed to gain ground, with a break down the middle, again due to excellent support play. The ball was moved out wide to hooker George Alden-Smith, who powered over the line, converted once more by Chadwick, 21-16 with not long to go.
All Maldon needed to do was to keep Braintree away from the try-line for the last 10 minutes. But, Braintree had other ideas. Determined defence kept Braintree out for a number of phases, but, eventually the pressure told & Braintree crossed the line for a converted try to take the lead again, 21-23, with even less time to go.
Maldon kept possession well & continued to dominate the scrum. Both of these helped Maldon to move towards the Braintree 22m line. The clock was running down & Maldon edged closer to the Braintree 22m line. Continued pressure from Maldon put Braintree on the back foot. A turnover by Ben Marshall was rewarded by a penalty to Maldon. The referee called the kick as the final play of the game. Captain Chadwick stepped up to kick the penalty between the posts for a well-deserved & hard-earned victory, 24-23, to the delight of the players & the large crowd.
Maldon are now in 3rd place, one of 3 unbeaten teams in their division & next week face Campion, away, the division leaders, also unbeaten.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ben Marshall for huge tackles throughout, and winning a turnover in the last play of the game to give Maldon the shot at victory.
