Derby 28 Wirral 31
Both sides had won one and lost two games prior to Saturday. There was an air of expectancy as the sun came out to shine. Player coach, Ben Betts, made his debut for Derby after several months out following a shoulder injury. At second row, fitness coach, Luke Ellis, slotted in after his injury and on the bench, Luke Pulford, provided cover for any of the back five in the pack.
Overall Derby tried hard with the lesser share of possession but conceding a charge down try, a penalty try, fifteen penalties and five Yellow Cards meant they had an uphill struggle against a side which kept possession with very good passing and a strong defence.
Derby started better than in recent games and, ten minutes in, Cameron Finlay made a crucial interception before sprinting over fifty yards for a try, duly converted by Josh Bingham. From the restart, Mc Grath Van Wyk caught the ball and attempted to kick for touch. From the Wirral chasing group, Alfie Kimpton easily charged down the kick and collected the ball for a try under the posts. Rhys Jones tapped the ball over for a truly gifted seven points. MC, as he is known, was then given a Yellow Card following a confrontation. Things got worse four minutes later when a Wirral driving maul, brought them a penalty try and a Yellow Card for Jack Bates. Down to thirteen men, Derby players showed real spirit and tackled like Trojans to deny Wirral another score.
Once back to full strength, Derby got the ball wide to Cameron Finlay. He accelerated as usual and kicked over the last defender. Joe Acton won the chase for the touch down and Josh Bingham added the conversion to level the score at the interval.
After the restart, MC made a long kick for touch and a high tackle on Finlay went unpunished. From a lineout five metres out, Nathan Bevan-Brown finished the drive with a try. Josh Bingham’s conversion gave Derby a seven points lead. A brilliant run by Fred Chell was stopped on the line and Simon Moon was adjudged to have been held up over the line, a try denied. However, good Derby pressure brought Cameron Finlay his second try and Josh Bingham added the conversion to give Derby a nine points lead. Finlay was denied his third by a dubious decision by the Wirral touch judge. I could not see the offence for which Jerri Oldfield was given a Yellow card, but Wirral exploited the extra man situation for a pushover try in the corner by No.8, Dan Carrol. In a line out following the restart, Derby’s Dan Griffen caught the ball but a suicidal jump by the tall Wirral player ended up with him falling to the ground and Griffen getting a Yellow Card. Awarded two successive penalties, the second of which brought Derby’s fifth Yellow Card, when Russell Carmichael was sent to the Sin Bin. A quick tap-and-go brought Alfie Kimpton his second try and Jones added the extra points to seal their hard fought victory.
There was great disappointment after the game, as the general feeling was it was “one that got away.” It was not all doom and gloom as the two points collected might prove crucial at the end of the season.
It is away next week to second in the table, Stockport. Life doesn’t get any easier.
Gerry Sherry
