Dangerous Dons
Maidenhead RFC vs Wimbledon RFC: David Mobbs-Smith’s men are
Maidenhead 15, Wimbledon 67
Following a four-game winning streak in the Regional 1 South Central, Maidenhead RFC have now endured a torrid run of three losses with their latest coming from an unforgiving Wimbledon outfit at Braywick Park on Saturday.
The visitors set the tone early – the second minute to be exact – as Ollie Kitto outpaced Maids’ defence before touching down five points. Ed Morgan was spot on with his first kick of the afternoon to add another two.
The Dons’ speed of play inside the opening stages was unsettling, and another try was scored before the 10-minute mark by their number 22. This time, however, Morgan failed to add the extras – the score 0-12.
Elio Mandozzi dragged Maids up the pitch next and made enough ground with his marauding run to allow the side to try their luck with a penalty kick. With it being successful, Maids chalked on their first points of the game in the 14th minute.
It appeared as though Wimbledon were going to immediately respond with a try, but their front man was brought down under the posts before the referee awarded the hosts possession.
However, they did have another handful of points to their name with a quarter of the game gone thanks to a rolling maul which got the ball over the line.
With the extras added, the score was 3-19. That advantage was swiftly increased as Kitto jinked his way past several Maids players to score upon the restart in play.
Alex Turton almost obtained the hosts another try following a formidable run but as the referee noticed an infringement, the ball was brought back.
With Maids just metres from scoring, the Dons were able to seize possession and kick clear.
Frustration amongst the players and management team grew when Scott Prince and Chris Bart required attention for injuries minutes before the break.
Capitalising on Maids’ missing players, the Dons scored another try on the stroke of halftime. Despite the squandered extras, Wimbledon had a considerable lead at the break.
Their intensity continued in the second half and some lovely passing rewarded the side with a try two minutes in. From Henry Peuble to Kitto, the ball was taken over the line on the right side.
It took until the 50th minute for Maidenhead to score their first try of the match. Assisted by a well-weighted pass from Kyle Beattie, Mandozzi
dived over the line to the encouraging applause of the home support.
A robust tackle denied the Dons from scoring an immediate try but Maids’ 22 was breached moments later when the ball was switched from left to right. Another try in the 60th minute made the score 8-46.
Having caught a long punt, Jamie Maddern emulated Mandozzi’s early drive and bombed up the pitch before being brought down. Sadly, the number 15 – along with a Dons’ player – saw yellow next following an altercation.
Maids barely had time to breathe in the final 20 minutes as Bracegirdle first went over the line having intercepted a pass, before Kerr grabbed himself two tries with immense pace, the latter deftly assisted by Harry Scoble.
Once they finally had their hands on the ball, Maids managed to score a late try and succeed with the conversion.