1st TEAM Match Report
Saturday 21st January 2006
Non League Game
LUTTERWORTH 1st XV: 21 V WELLINGBOROUGH 1st XV : 10
Lutterworth lst XV put in a solid performance to beat their mid-table rivals Wellingborough who had won 27-12 when the two sides last met in October.
Conditions were set for a fast open game and so it proved with four tries scored in the match, all by wingers. The game started at a furious pace and the first few minutes saw each side get close to the try line but in each case the defences held up. The stalemate was finally broken when the visitors’ No 10 Vickers kicked a penalty on 27 minutes to give his side a slender three point lead. However within minutes, Lutterworth responded with a well worked try for Adam Higgins playing on the left wing. The try was not converted but the home side led 5-3. Wellinborough responded with a winger’s try by Smart which Vickers converted to take a 10-5 lead at half time.
Recent Lutterworth form has been for Lutterworth to fade in the second half but not this time. Five minutes after the restart, Bobby Williams kicked a penalty to close the gap to two points. Shortly afterwards, Lutterworth winger Phil Daffern followed up a neat kick ahead to touch down for a try that, for the first time, put Lutterworth ahead, by 13-10. Williams missed the conversion but made amends with a penalty shortly afterwards to extend the lead to 16-10. With five minutes to go, another kick ahead put Daffern over for his second try. That was the final score leaving Lutterworth winners by 21 points to 10 with the visitors unable to score in the second half. It had been a good team performance under Paul Wilford, now confirmed as lst Team Captain for the rest of the season but even he had to give best to Adam Conway who was named Lutterworth’s Man of the Match after a storming performance at No.8.
Lutterworth continue their League programme next Saturday, travelling away to play Northampton Casuals, kicking off at 2.15pm. Although Casuals sit four places below Lutterworth in the league table, they took the points in the match played at Lutterworth in October so Lutterworth need to maintain Saturday’s form if they are to win the away fixture.