Rare victory for St Andrew’s against Selborne
FOLLOWING their win against Grey Bloem the week before, it was a confident Selborne side that ran out against the St Andrew’s first team in East London on Saturday.
Turning down three opportunities for points, and looking to put early forward pressure on the St Andrew’s pack, they were unable to break through the visitors’ defence.
In their first real opportunity of the half, St Andrew’s scored after a good break by Murray Koster and a clever kick behind the Selborne defence, with Jack Allanson finishing under pressure in the corner.
After further pressure was soaked up by the St Andrew’s defensive line, where James Quarmby and Callum Dugmore were outstanding, a turnover allowed Matt More to break through and offload to Allanson who again put Selborne behind their poles as St Andrew’s took a 14-0 lead into half time.
After the break, a good counter attack by fullback Sean Varty and great work at the base by Oscar Evans put Allanson away for his hat-trick.
Selborne came back with a try of their own but St Andrew’s hit back with a solo effort from Matt More, who ran 80m to put the game beyond Selborne’s reach at 26-5.
It was St Andrew’s first win over Selborne in East London since 1999. In hockey, St Andrew’s endured one of the tougher weekends of the season against Selborne as they encountered skilful teams across the board.
The U14Cs lost 3-1, but showed tremendous determination in the second half.
The seconds and thirds lost against good quality opposition, while the U16Cs and U16Ds also lost but were competitive until the end.