Unbeaten run ended

Heathfield & W 14 Ashford 10

Ashford’s unbeaten run in London 3 South East came to a halt on Saturday.

They lost to a Heathfield team that belied their lowly league position of third bottom.

The opening minutes witnessed a series of drives that took play deep into Heathfield’s 22, but concerted defence on their part kept their line unbreached until the eighth minute. An Ashford driving maul proved too powerful for the defence, with captain Adam Knight touching down for the opening score. Ben Gray converted.

The opening quarter was dominated by Ashford but they squandered a number of opportunities. Heathfield drew solace from not conceding another score and in the 25th minute, fullback Lucas Cuming converted a penalty to narrow the gap.

Stung by this, Ashford upped their effort and a series of drives took play towards the home 22, where a Gray penalty made it 10-3.

If the first half had belonged to the visitors, the roles were reversed at the start of the second period.

Heathfield moved play deep into the Ashford half, camping on their line and launching a series of drives that fell short until a 45th minute drive culminated in Heathfield crossing the line for an unconverted try for 10-8.

Both teams lost a player to the sin bin, but the home side proved more adept at playing with 14 players, and drove downfield where three penalties from kickable positions were awarded, with Cuming landing the last in the 60th minute to secure the lead for the home side by a single point 11-10.

Heathfield maintained their momentum, but the Ashford defence proved determined until the 73rd minute when another Cuming penalty extended the lead.

In the closing minutes, Ashford threw whatever energy they had left into seeking the try that would snatch victory.

The key differences between the sides were the home team’s management of the pitch, taking the game into areas where they could launch attacks that tested the visitors’ defence, the quality of their kicking and chasing, and the disparity in penalties conceded.

Leaders Ashford will want to approach Saturday’s home game against second-placed Folkestone determined to show that this game was a blip, and to get their league campaign back on track.

Ashford: Blyth; Myezwa, Hall, Bushell, Ticehurst; Cooper, Gray; Farris, Knight B, Sherrin, Knight A, Welsh, Norman, Lockerby, Huxted. Replacements: Russell

Adam Knight scores Ashford’s try against Heathfield & Waldron