A Game of One Half

This ensured that they had a large, boisterous, vocal crowd to cheer them on. Friends were made and many thanks must go to Park House for inviting 2 guests from the Old Boys to partake in their festivities. Park House were languishing at the bottom of the table before the start of this match but the rumors on the grape vine stated that this was the game where they aimed to turn around their season. The OD's were hoping to put some more daylight between them and Folkestone and keep the pressure on the top three jostling for promotion.

The weather for the day was mild and dry but the same could not be said about the pitch. With large amounts of water on the days proceeding the fixture the pitch itself looked heavy and churned up, this did not bode well for the Old Boy's quick flyers on the wing.

The first half did not amount to much. Pretty much from kick-off the OD's pinned Park House into their own 22 and looked destined to score on several occasions only to be denied by a fumble, miscommunication or a turnover in the boggy pitch. On the 14th minute the OD's broke the deadlock with a penalty for Park House offside at a ruck. Chad Reay converted this from 30m out. 0-3

Things started to look up and on the 21st minute as the OD's recycled the ball quickly and spread down the back line. Linval Antonio kicked through and Aaron Brown showed his pace in difficult conditions to get to the follow up first kicking through once more. This was unfortunately too heavy and the ball went over the dead ball line.
That was the closest the Old Dunstonians came to scoring, with Park House settled in their first half game plan of absorbing all the pressure thrown at them and kicking to touch every time. The first half ended with a bit of a whimper.

With a stern talk at halftime the OD's looked ready to take the game to Park House. The OD's had some strong runs in the forwards and back line but the resulting ball, in heavy conditions, was too slow. A Park House intercept in the centers was a shock for the Old Boys catching them off guard. Brendan Cairns tackled the receiver but not before he was able to kick through deep into OD territory. Malachi Connolly was covering at the back on his own and managed to fend off the oncoming Park House attack but picking up a slight knock in the process. Alex Felsman came on and the OD's got back to the task in hand. More strong running in the back line and a turnover for both sides saw the ball spread quickly down the Old Dunstonian back line where Linval Antonio collected in the centers. A moment of individual skill from him as he stepped one way and jinked past the defensive line in front of him to run 15m and score under the posts leaving an easy conversion for Chad Reay. 0-10

Park House were expected to fold now the first try was on the board but the opposite happened. This gave them a purpose and within three minutes they had a try for themselves. With some strong play working down the field they won a penalty where they took the wise choice of kicking to the corner. A textbook lineout/rolling maul saw them cross the line and score a converted try. 7-10

The OD's needed another spark but it was hard to see where it was going to come from. Turning over the restart helped and winning a Park House line out allowed Jean-Pierre Mills to crash through the centers. With little support he was unable to make his way to ground and a rolling maul formed. Park House infringed giving Chad Reay another chance at 3 points which was successful. 7-13

Park House did not let this get to them. They had some strong runs helped on by messy play from the OD's. Winning a penalty from a scrum, which had been even for most of the match, for standing up in the front row Park House decided to go back to their successful formula. A kick to the corner and rolling maul was stopped just short. The resulting pick and goes eventually saw them cross the line only to be held up by a desperate OD defense. A scrum was set 5m out and held firm. The Park House scrum half picked up from the back and went down the blindside being tackled short of the line but offloading for a well worked try. The conversion attempt was 5m in from the sideline, which would prove significant later on, was missed. 12-13

Things were looking in Park House's favour. Their heads were up and they could sense that a precious win was on the cards. Camping themselves in the OD 22 they won a scrum, 5m out from the touchline on the 22, in front of their exuberant crowd cheering them on. The OD's found some guile and pushed the scrum back but the ball was still secured by home side. They charged for the line but were thwarted by an intercept from Alex McCulloch. The Referee, who wasn't having the best game, brought play back for an earlier knock on. Park House knocked on from the back of the scrum but still in front of their home support they secured the ball after the Old Boy's scrummaging efforts. Making a last gasp effort for the line Park House were awarded a penalty for the OD's holding onto the tackler. The penalty was located in the same location as the previous conversion miss and last play was announced by the Referee but this did not deter the Park House captain's decision. A kick to goal was elected. For the second week on the bounce the OD's outcome would be decided by a kick. With silence around the ground the Park House kicker made his attempt which had the distance but was short on accuracy veering off to one side and going dead followed by the delightful sound of the final whistle.

If Park House had been more clinical on the day then this result could easily have gone the other way. The Old Boys did not play to their best in conditions that did not suit their style of play but with winter now fully upon us they will have to be more adept as conditions are going to be heavy for a good few months to come.

Next week is a rest week for the Old Dunstonians and this will be greatly needed as they prepare for one of the toughest games of the season when Horsham visit Park Langley aiming to top the table in the race for promotion. If the OD's win it will put them in great stead to move into third.