SOLIHULL PURPLE PATCH ENDED BY YELLOWS
Walsall 32 – 27 Solihull
Trailing 15-6 at halftime after, Solihull’s best display of the season saw them gain a 20-27 lead with 10 minutes remaining. However, over enthusiastic use of the contents of the Referee’s pocket saw Solihull receive 2 yellow cards in this final section of the game, contributing to a last minute try for Walsall and a frustrating defeat for the visitors.
Playing against a stiff breeze in the first half, Solihull were forced to keep more ball in hand and strong running out of defence led by centre Ben Pugh and tenacious tackling from open side Jack Linnet limited the advantage the home side had from the elements to two tries and single penalty.
Regular turnover ball and fast hands saw the visitors repeatedly gain great positions in Walsall’s half, with the pressure resulting in Walsall conceding two successive penalties, which wing Sean Rai slotting with ease to see Solihull in touch at the at the end of the first period.
Solihull started the brighter of the two after the break, and despite playing with the wind, Solihull’s fight back tries came from moves starting on the halfway line. The first came from sound interplay from forwards and backs that the Walsall defence could not respond to and centre Pugh was rewarded for his efforts with a fine try on the left, duly converted by Rai. Walsall immediately came back and scored from a driving maul, but that was the last they saw of the visitors half for some time. Solihull second try was started when they fielded an opposition clearance just inside their own half, with the ball making its way to impressive full back Matt Knight who cut through the defence for a 30 metre break only to be held up just short, but hard working second row Liam Dunne was in support to cross the line. Rai again added the extras for Solihull to draw level at 20-20.
Solihull’s period of dominance continuerd and in one move the young pack, who have struggled against larger opposition in recent weeks, pushed their heavier opposition back 20 metres in a superb driving maul .
Camped on Walsall twenty two, fly half Marc Webb co-ordinated a prolonged attack and after several phases of play the ball came to Dino Markou wide on the right. The winger stepped off both feet to beat 3 defenders and sprint clear to score underneath the posts. Reliable Rai was again on target to see Solihull seven points clear with ten to go.
Walsall responded to this challenge and won a scrum in a strong attacking position in front of the visitors posts. At this point Referee Keys intervened in affairs and sent Solihull Scrum half Tom Kirtland to the bin for a first offence. Down to 14 men, only resolute try line defence kept the home side out, but the pressure was too much and after several strongly contested mauls, the referee lost patience and awarded a penalty try. With the score at 27-27 and minutes remaining a share of the spoils looked certain, but the referee sealed Solihull’s fate when again he reached for his pocket to give a harsh yellow against centre Matthew Potter. With 13 men on the pitch and missing two backs, Walsall fed the ball down the line from a centerfield scrum and their right winger used the space to touch down in the corner to snatch an unlikely win for the home side.
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