Sat 25 Jan 2025
Maldon travelled to Old Cooperians hoping to get back to winning ways after defeat last week, on a beautiful January day, with glorious sunshine. Maldon were confident that they could improve on a drawn game earlier in the season, when Old Cooperians visited Maldon.
Maldon started against the slope & the sun, confidently catching the kick-off & quickly taking the game to the opposition, crossing the gain line with the first 2 carries. The ball was moved to fly half Brad White, who put in a cross kick, which was collected & then moved to winger Dan Allen, who ran in unopposed for the first try after less than a minute, converted by Joshua Chadwick, 0-7. Next, a virtual repeat of the first try, but this time Dan Allen caught the ball himself & scored a converted try, 0-14. Next kick off & Maldon rampaged forward once more, not bothering with the cross kick, just running through Old Cooperians defence to free up Chris Mooney for his first 1st Team try of the season, converted again, 0-21, less than 10 minutes played.
Old Cooperians then managed to gain possession following a Maldon knock on. The home team kept the pressure on Maldon, eventually crossing the try line for a score, 7-21. Then, the first yellow card of the game, for a late block following a kick, & Old Cooperians were down to 14 men. Maldon capitalised on this & number 8 Olly Lyons barged over the line for a converted try, 7-28 at half-time.
The second half started like the first half, with a converted try for Dan Allen who completed his hat-trick, following great handling by Maldon, within the first couple of minutes, 7-35.
The second yellow card of the day was, unfortunately, for Maldon, with George Perkins off for 10 minutes. But, this did not stop Maldon. Winger Alex Davies showed great footwork, pace & power to outstrip the defence for a converted try, 7-42. This was closely followed by more good handling & running, releasing centre Lewis Nichol to run through for another converted try, 7-49. The yellow card was over, but then, the third yellow card of the day was issued, this time to Ben Marshall. Old Cooperians did then create some pressure, never giving up, & forced their way over for a try, 12-49.
With the game nearing the final whistle, Brad White scored a solo try, again converted, 12-56. The final try of the game, once again following good play by many players was scored by centre Joshua Chadwick, who failed to convert his own try right in front of the posts through fear of losing the last match ball, after kicking 8 other conversions. Obviously, being directly in front of the posts proved too difficult to manage after slotting some earlier kicks from near the touchline.
This was a very convincing victory, which keeps Maldon in 3rd place in the table with 6 more fixtures to go.
Next game is at Basildon away next Saturday.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Dan Allen, terrific try-scoring form and support play.
