The Lights Are On!

It was a ferocious start and the first penalty went Gravesend’s way, but Medway were quick and looked as if they might score on the wing with 12 minutes on the clock. But a superb tackle on the touchline stopped this from happening and turned the ball over.
It was very much the story of the match that Medway looked strong but Gravesend held their own. Whilst Medway had a lot of possession and were attacking well, Gravesend’s defence was strong. It took 34 minutes for the first points to be on the board, with a try to Medway out on the wing and the subsequent conversion making it 7-0 to the visitors. Shortly after this, a yellow card was given to the Medway prop, much to the delight of the home crowd and this saw us into half time with Medway just ahead.

The second half started in much the same way, with Gravesend playing well but just not managing to cross the line. It became a kicking game for a while and misjudgements from both teams provided a frustrating period of play. But on 63 minutes, Matt Hewitt went over to score and the extras were added to level things up. 7-7.

Medway started to lose their cool a little and were sent back 10 metres by the referee, twice, for voicing their opinions too much.
A tense end to the match was guaranteed when, with 78 minutes on the clock, Rhys Betts lined the ball up with the posts for what looked like a relatively long attempt at goal. But over it went. Gravesend were ahead by 3 with just a few minutes to go.
Those minutes seemed to last for an eternity and Medway were challenging all the way. But eventually the referee blew his whistle and that was that: Gravesend win 10-7.

Adam Hunter, interviewed at the end of the match, was delighted, saying that “turning over a team above us in the league is a great feeling.”

We go on!

Many thanks to Fran Holmes for the Match Report