Sutton clinically
Buoyant Maids run in nine tries in impressive
Maidenhead 61, Sutton & Epsom 24
A clinical and clearly buoyant Maidenhead managed to put 60 plus points on the board for the first time this season as struggling Sutton & Epsom were put to the sword in ruthless fashion at Braywick Park
Maids head coach David Mobbs-Smith felt the side was in a better frame of mind heading into the home fixture, having stopped the rot of five defeats with an impressive 24-10 win at Bournemouth two weeks ago. And that clearly appeared to be the case as they flew out of the traps against a Sutton side who've generally been difficult to beat on the road this season. Results may have gone against them - with the visitors having managed just one win and a draw from their 10 matches coming into this weekend's test, however, most of their defeats have been by one or two scores and a handful of points.
This was very different, and you sensed it might be from the opening couple of minutes. By the time some spectators had figured out how to pay for their parking and taken their place in the stands at Braywick Park, the hosts were already 14-0 up.
A loose kick from the visitors in the second minute was seized upon by Maidenhead, who made repeated charges for the line from inside the visitors 22' before forward Dan Hostetler managed to barge his way over close to the posts. Greg Smith slotted the relatively easy conversion, the first of eight for the fly half. If the first try was a set-back for Sutton, the second - just a minute later must have left them feeling thoroughly demoralised. Pretty much from the kick off, Maids ran the ball from deep in their half, passing it left for Niall Crosley to collect and storm through for another try under the posts. Smith slotted the extras to make it 14-0 after only five minutes. A third might have followed within another couple of minutes when winger Alex Turton was adjudged to have placed a foot in touch before scoring in the far-left corner, however, that wouldn't be his last involvement on a day when Maidenhead's backline simply purred.
The hosts continued to keep the pedal to the metal as Will Macaulay got in on the act after 10 minutes, collecting a clever reverse pass which fooled the Sutton defence to touch down a third try, again close to the posts. Smith sent it over to extend Maids' lead to 21-0.
Having recovered a little of their composure, Sutton then managed to starve Maids' backline of the ball for a good 15 to 20 minutes. They also managed to get the ball into Maidenhead's half and threaten the hosts' try line. From a lineout on the left in the 16th minute, the Sutton pack caught and drove for the line, Matt Harwood eventually bundling his way over to reduce the deficit. Sam Hurley's languid kicking style almost saw him caught out by Scott Prince, who raced from his line to block the conversion, but the referee showed a little leniency to Hurley, who was allowed to retake and slotted brilliantly.
The game was more even now, despite the disparity on the scoreboard, but Sutton might well have narrowed that gap before
the home side took the game away from them before the interval. A penalty in front of the posts gave them a chance to kick for three points, but instead they put the ball into the corner and, for once, their solid set piece game faltered, and Maids survived.
Momentum then switched heavily in Maids' favour with Prince skipping in from the left to score a fourth try under the posts. With Smith's conversion the score was now 28-7 and, with the referee adding more injury-time than many expected, there was still time for another try for the hosts.
This was the best of the lot, Turton outstripping three or four desperate Sutton players, jinking inside and outside of tackles to run round and score. Smith swept the ball over to make it 35-7 and the game was as good as done, however, four of Maids' five tries came in the first five minutes and last five minutes of the half.
If Maids were expecting a second half backlash from Sutton, those flames were quickly dampened by a try from the excellent Jamie Maddern a minute into the period. Captain Crosley made the break and offloaded a pass for Maddern on his shoulder who raced through to touch down. With the conversion it was now 42-7.
A yellow card for outside centre Harry Wells a few minutes later made for a more even contest and Sutton took full advantage, scoring two tries through Chris Farrell and Seb Priest.
The first came from a barrelling catch and drive from the visitors, but the second was very well worked, Austin Bell feeding Priest to squeeze through a gap and score. Hurley made the tough looking conversion from wide on the right look easy.
There were still more than 20 minutes left in the match and Maids weren't quite finished yet. Maddern broke the Sutton defensive line once more to feed a rampaging Jack Norris to touch down in the right corner in the 59th minute, Smith missing his only conversion of the game. And, like buses, a second try quickly followed, with Wells now restored to the field following his yellow - charging through to score their eighth try. The conversion took the score to 54-19, but there was still time for Maids to break 60 points as Prince dotted down his second of the game following an excellent team move. Smith kicked his eighth and final conversion to make it 61-19. Sutton probably deserved something for their efforts, and they earned a losing bonus point for their fourth try when they Rob Hegarty fell on the ball off the back of a rolling maul after 73 minutes.
Maids might have fancied themselves for a 10th try before the final whistle, but any impetus they might have had for it was stolen from them when substitute Charlie Scott was yellow carded for what the referee deemed a deliberate knock on. He then sensibly called the game to a halt after a heavy looking clash between two Sutton players as Maids looked to carve their way through again. Maids remain fifth in the Regional 1 South Central table but have moved to within a couple of points of fourth placed Oxford Harlequins ahead of next week's home game with derby rivals Bracknell.