Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
TRAILFINDERS GET OUT JAIL WITH LATE CUP VICTORY
DEFEAT LOOKED LIKELY FOR EALING SIDE AGAINST AMPTHILL BEFORE LATE POINTS
GLEN TOWNSON admitted Ealing Trailfinders “got out of jail free” following a dramatic 24-22 win at Ampthill in the Championship Cup.
The west Londoners looked to be heading to defeat before upping their game in the last throes of the contest to win with a penalty just a minute from time.
The disappointing performance came just a week after they hammered Bedford 80-17 in the same competition and forwards coach Townson knew his men dodged a bullet.
“It’s more relief than anything else,” he told the club’s website. “We got a get out of jail free card there. Fair play to the boys for sticking in there until the end, but in the first half we were just so far off it.
“The second half we had a shift in mentality. When we started to do the things we have been talking about all week in the last 10 minutes it started to work and we got the win.
“It was a disappointing performance. The only real positive is that we won the game.
“Credit to Ampthill – they made it really difficult for us. But we have gone from the sublime, scoring 80 points, to this.
“It was only the last 10 minutes we looked ourselves. Hopefully now we have had that experience, that doesn’t happen again.
“We don’t want to chase the game in the last 10 minutes just because we haven’t shown the right mental approach.”
Ealing trailed 22-14 with just eight minutes remaining, but a try from Jordan Burns and a 79th minute penalty from Craig Willis ensured that they made it five wins from five in the Championship Cup and set up a group decider against Coventry this weekend.
The Trailfinders raced in front with just two minutes on the clock as Kieran Murphy opened the scoring.
A penalty was kicked to the corner and after going through the phases the ball ended up with the number eight, who powered his way over the line. Craig Willis added the conversion to put his side 7-0 in front.
Ben Ward’s side then made a number of opportunities to extend their advantage but they could not convert them and were punished shortly afterwards.
Ampthill got their first try of the afternoon just before the 20-minute mark to get right back in to the match.
The hosts then went ahead as Sam Costelow’s penalty dissected the posts, but that sparked the Trailfinders into life.
A lineout 20 metres from the line set the platform, and then the maul rampaged all the way to the line as Alun Walker dotted down under the post. Willis added the conversion, giving his side a 14-8 lead at half time.
After the break the Trailfinders were looking to kill the game with an early score and had chances courtesy of Elijah Niko and Walker, but their Achilles heel for the afternoon was their discipline and that cost them again.
Peter Lydon was sent to the sinbin, which did not help Ealing as they soon trailed 22-14, but Burns took matters into his own hands and gave the Trailfinders a lifeline in the closing stages.
With a minute to play, the decisive moment then gave the visitors a huge sigh of relief. A penalty inside the 22 saw Willis smash the ball through the posts, and then straight from the restart he hammered the ball in to touch to confirm a dramatic two-point victory.