Gs go down to second half tries

A first half that promised so much after Gary Gray had chipped through and chased to touch down a try after just four minutes played, to which he also added the conversion for 7-0 lead.

Two penalty successes from five attempts, for the visitors Jamie Russell, allowed Herts to stay in touch, 7-6, but it was the failure of Gravesend to take advantage of the man advantage when they had spent eight minutes inside the opposition twenty-two but could not make the room to cross the white wash.

Penalties are always a matter of conversation, both during and after the game, but in the finality of the day, the referee is always right, and this game was interrupted throughout the eighty minutes by more stoppages than allowed the game to flow and allowing just a minute each, then more than a quarter of the game was allotted to these.

Both XVs were reduced to fourteen players during part of the first forty, but Gs transgressed more times than was deemed desirable during the second forty, that they were down to fourteen for half of the second half.

A good supply of ball from the Gs forwards was often sent along the line but was always met by a strong visitor's defence.

At times the good passages of play for Gs was came to nothing as the ball was knocked on or held on the ground.

The set pieces were at times being dominated by the visitors pack, but then the table would turn and it would be Gs pack that had the upper hand

Forward drives were taking the game on before the backs were released, and perhaps at times the moves were "telegraphed" to the visitors who were quick to the tackle and break down of play.

Three tries for the visiting forwards, Corcoran, MacDonald and Belton, as they made the most of their dominance whilst Gs were a man short, all converted by Russell saw Herts race to a 10-27 advantage before the end of the third quarter.

The last of these seemed to spur Gravesend on and perhaps some of the better ball movement and passages of play that Gs have put together to date.

Bacon and Gray were combining well. and the strong running of Meddings at outside centre saw the visitors moving backwards as they came under pressure.

A couple of excellent runs from Temi Okenla had the visitors looking concerned, but it was a switch move that saw Eli Atkins power his way through as he broke away from the tackle attempts before touching down for Gray to add the conversion.

With the score standing at 17-27 it didn't look to be an impossible task for Gs to snatch back the initiative and perhaps get the result, as there was still twelve minutes left on the clock.

Having lost position near the Hert's twenty-two, from yet another penalty, Gs were forced to defend their own line, and during this time although keeping the line secure, they lost Forsyth to the sin-bin for the rest of the game.

A man down, and the line remaining in tact, Gravesend continued to show what a spirited XV they have been this season as they endeavoured to get another score on the board to get at least a bonus point..

Overall there were many positives that Gravesend could take from this performance, and if these are applied for a full eighty minutes then somewhere along the line an opposition will be wondering what had hit them, but we all know that performance is just waiting to come together.