Dronfield’s away cup quarter-final in the NLD Senior Competition against Nottinghamshire side Paviors, unfortunately had to be cancelled last weekend, as Paviors encountered squad difficulties and so Dronfield were keen to get back in action.
With four teams still in contention for the automatic promotion spot and with only five league fixtures remaining Dronfield were needed a convincing away victory to maintain top spot Facilities at the Old Saltleians ground were first class in part due to funding provide by High-Speed Rail and the pitch dimensions would hopefully suit Dronfield’s expansive game. Once again Dronfield were unable to select a full-strength side and continued to be without their influential captain Jake Steade, Despite the recent rain the pitch was in an excellent condition.
It soon became apparent that the Old Salts’, as they are known, game plan would be based on short forward inter-passing and attempted forward drives. However, the renown solid defence that Dronfield have established in recent years, kept their opponents at bay, After the initial surge from Old Salts it was Dronfield who gained the momentum. A long kick out of defence from Harley Saunders put the visitors in a strong attacking possession. It appeared that the kick was a 50-20 giving Dronfield the line out possession but after discussions with the Old Salts players it was deemed by the referee to be a Old Salts throw into the line-out and so Dronfield were unable to work a planned move from their line-out After about twenty minutes Dronfield advantageous possession count was rewarded An opportunity arose for a well drilled forward drive close to the home side line. With superb control and a co-ordinated forward effort George Burch was on hand to touch down. This gave Dronfield a deserved 0-5 lead
As the game progressed Dronfield’s strong running backs began to show their talents and on the 30 minutes mark quick ball was moved wide to Jenson Cliff who showed variation in both direction and speed to create a fine solo try, A Harley Saunders conversion increased the visitors lead to 0-12 Soon after this lead was increased with a Joe Farrell converted try after a superb break by Jenson Cliff. It meant that at a somewhat earlier than anticipated half time Dronfield had widened their lead to 0-19 There was a delay in starting the second half as Old Salts had elected to return to their dressing room at half-time leading to the referee and the Dronfield players waiting more than the normal amount of time for the re-start.
Dronfield now moved up a gear, and another exhilarating back move was instigated by their forwards overturning possession. Harley Saunders who was having an impressive afternoon kicked through and Jensen Cliff was on hand to score his second try of the afternoon. This try meant that the visitors had obtained the try bonus point they had strived for. The lead was now 0-24. With fifteen minutes of the second half gone Dronfield from being in a promising attacking position found themselves losing possession due to an over ambitious attempted pass. Old Salts took advantage of the situation and scored an unconverted try –The score was now 5-24
For the next phases of the game Dronfield lacked concentration and went off the boil wasting further scoring opportunities through poor handling and selecting the wrong options when in attack -In fairness they were not helped by some strange refereeing decisions and some discreet Old Salts tactics on the blind-side of the referee. The game needed a spark of ingenuity and luckily this came when scrum half Lucian Hagin noticed a gap on the blindside. Back row Lucas Rushton was up in support, and he has the speed to outpace the covering defenders to score a converted try increasing Dronfield’s lead to 5-31. This lead should have increased but for an Old Salts player moving slowly back to defend impeding the flight of the ball on its way to three unmarked Dronfield wide players, The award of a Dronfield penalty appeared to be a lenient punishment. As the game progressed Lucian Hagin was gaining in confidence at scrum half and a kick behind the retreating defenders plus a great driving run from Lee Monks led to George Burch being on hand once more to score his second try of the afternoon A wind assisted conversion increased the lead further to 5-38
With ten minutes remaining an attempted long pass from Dronfield led to an Old Salts interception and although Dronfield stopped the initial attackers Old Salts gained the possession at the breakdown and scored a converted try When the final whistle went somewhat earlier than anticipated Dronfield had gained a 12-38 victory. Next week they return to Gosforth Fields for what on paper could be a defining fixture in their quest to be league champions They play third placed Walsall who were the last side to defeat Dronfield in a home league match well over a year ago!!
