Tarrant on the money to sink his former club

THE second time in two home matches Blackheath won by a single point with Joe Tarrant determining the outcome in the dying moments against his former club.

Ampthill, however, will have left Well Hall knowing that this was a game they had let slip from their grasp.

The Bedfordshire side’s mighty pack had started to turn the screw as the second period progressed, but their failure to close the game out left the door ajar, giving the Blackheath’s flyhalf the opportunity to seal the win.

The visitors had the best of an untidy opening too, despite losing four early lineouts, but although a fifth went astray, BlackFOR heath failed to deal with the loose ball and Joe Bercis gathered to go over for the first try, converted by James Pritchard.

Gradually Blackheath began to up the tempo with Tom Chapman and Tom Baldwin making useful breaks, and following great work at the set-scrum from Hayden King, Geoff Griffiths’ chip sat up nicely for Jake Lloyd to touch down.

Ampthill responded with a Pritchard penalty as Blackheath came up offside, but a high tackle saw Aleki Lutui sin-binned and Tarrant converted the three points to reduce the home side’s deficit to 10-8 at the break.

Nine minutes after the re-start Blackheath took the lead. Spurning an easy three points on offer, a quickly-taken tap penalty

and long pass saw Mark Cooke over for an unconverted score, but with Lutui back on the field, the Ampthill pack began to assert its authority.

On 65 minutes a penalty provided an attacking lineout opportunity, and as Karim Lynch joined the drive towards the Blackheath’s goal-line, the full-back drove over to restore the visitors’ lead.

Ampthill looked likely to score again as Blackheath lost Anders Nilsson to the sin-bin for collapsing, but the ball was held up over the goal-line.

And with possession lost from the ensuing fivemetre scrum, the hosts were able to grind their way up field and force the off-side which gave them the match in the most dramatic circumstances.