No bonus for Derby as year ends in away loss
DERBY drew first blood at Sandbach but finished the day empty-handed as they ended 2018 with a defeat.
And despite applying pressure in the closing stages they missed out on a losing bonus point in this Midlands Premier encounter, which was played in difficult conditions.
They were playing into a fierce wind and driving rain in the first half but still managed to make a quick start, opening the scoring when Judah Simpson went over for an unconverted try.
However, the strong Sandbach pack began to gain the upper hand, taking their own line-outs and dominating the scrums.
From a forward drive, their winger Jack Leech squeezed over in the corner to level the score.
And, minutes later, more Sandbach pressure led to a penalty which was kicked by fly-half Mark Bird.
Against the wind, the Derby restart kick did not go beyond the 10-metre line, gifting Sandbach a scrum.
And Derby were then reduced to 14 men when skipper Martin Kent was sent to the sin bin before the home pack drove over for an unconverted try scored by prop Gareth Caen.
That gave Sandbach a 13-5 halftime lead but the visitors were optimistic about their chances of turning the game around with the wind at their backs after the break.
From the restart, Derby got the edge in the scrums and McGrath Van Wyk kicked a penalty.
One unpredictable and brilliant move by the Derby backs allowed Jack Dawson to break through the strong Sandbach defence but his offload went to ground, denying the visitors a certain try.
With Derby virtually camped in the opposition half, Sandbach introduced substitute Tom Namgauds, who made an immediate impact.
He steadied the ship and helped his pack to retain possession with short pick-up and drives.
When Josh Bingham had his clearing kick charged down, three Sandbach forwards chased the ball and Dan Stubbs touched down.
Bird converted to stretch the home team’s lead to 20-8 and the game was beyond Derby.
But the visitors still aimed to have the last word and claim a bonus point for losing by seven points or less. It looked as if Derby would score from a five-metre scrum but the ball was not channelled correctly and exited behind the feet of Callum Jones.
The quick reaction of Namgauds enabled Sandbach to claim possession and clear their line.
Derby return to action after the Christmas break on Saturday, January 5, when they take on leaders Scunthorpe at Haslams Lane.