Bloodied But Unbowed – Suttonians Serve Up A Belter
A balmy, sunshine day and 16 degrees to boot (in October!) saw Suttonians welcome Bective Rangers to the McDowell Memorial grounds in the Leinster League Division 1A. But it was there that the warm welcome ended as both sides served up an enthralling, competitive encounter that rattled and hummed right into the closing stages.
Despite being under pressure in the tight, the Suttionans set piece rarely faltered but the loss of Brian Digan in the opening half was not a good portent for the home team as Bective, the league leaders, sought to make their early pressure count. But a tight defense and some excellent interplay by Suttonians saw a try of real quality, which stirred the home support and saw Bective up just 12-7 at the interval.
The second half carried on as the first, with high intensity rugby but an unfortunate yellow card for Conor Wickham gave Bective their opportunity and they duly obliged, netting a further 12 points to leave the home side with it all to do. However, the return of Wickham seemed the catalyst for a spirited fourth quarter which saw Suttonians grab two late tries, eventually going down 19-36.
But what the score board doesn’t reflect is the huge endeavour by the home side and with an away trip to Gorey in three weeks’ time, a well earned rest should see the team in good stead for the trip ahead.
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