Gobir grabs five tries to save OD blushes.

Old Dunstonians have yet to add consistency to their undoubted try-scoring flair and failed to settle against a Sheppey side that looked better than their lowly league position would suggest. Some sparkling tries gave OD’s a comfortable lead that was never really threatened, but periods of poor concentration and a series of unforced errors made this a less than convincing day at the office.
It was a roller coaster opening ten minutes as OD’s allowed Sheppey to cancel out two stunning tries by winger Jamal Gobir with two tries of their own. In truth, the elusive winger was able to convert a couple of rare attacks into points when firstly, neatly fed by centre Luke Jebb, he showed his opposite number a clean pair of heels to touch down in the corner. Alas, straight from the restart, OD’s generously moved the play sideways towards the posts and coughed up the ball to offer Sheppey a tilt at the try line, an opportunity which their lively back row gratefully accepted to set up an easily converted try to take the lead. Gobir responded with a scything run through the middle to regain the initiative, only for the visitors to come back straightaway to level the scores at 12-12.
OD’s superiority in the backs was pretty clear to see but problems in the scrum and a hugely disproportionate penalty count meant that the advantage was not being taken and the game stuttered around the middle third of the pitch with neither side stamping any authority on proceedings. However, with Tom McNamara as the battering ram, the Langley Park pack did enough work to create a better platform for Mike Ubee to secure the attacking positions that allowed the flying number 11 to claim another two first half tries, interspersed with a fine effort from Josh Ajiboye who athletically collected a pinpoint cross kick from the fly half to score under the posts.
At 31-12, OD’s might have expected a second half romp in the Park but they could not find an extra gear and it was more of the same from a side that was struggling to impose itself up front. By contrast, Gobir’s afternoon got even better as he again broke the deadlock to evade despairing Sheppey tackles and create a fifth try from some scrappy OD possession. Rather more finesse was on display for the home side’s final score as Nick Keppe, who had been a force throughout, shrugged off a couple of defenders and delivered a scoring pass to skipper Pete Jefferys, who was able to outpace a tiring defence. Frustratingly, Sheppey were gifted their third try from a quickly taken penalty as OD defenders were distracted by a Sheppey injury that the referee saw fit to ignore.
As home supporters hurriedly checked the record books to find the most number of tries scored by an individual in a first team match (which turned out to be six), minds also focused on the league challenges to come and the need against better sides to produce a more complete fifteen man performance, with forwards and backs firing at the same time and for eighty minutes. When that happens, we are in for a treat.
Tries: Gobir (5), Ajiboye, Jefferys
Conversions: Ubee (5)
MOM: Jamal Gobir – see above