Tavistock 16 Liskeard-Looe 14

ON their first visit to Tavistock for many years, Liskeard-Looe acquited themselves well. But a mixture of bad luck, poor discipline and some unusual decisions saw them just about manage to lose a very close encounter. Tavistock took the lead after only 10 minutes with a Josh Sutton penalty. The rest of the half was fiercely contested with neither side really getting the upper hand. The Lions were unlucky to lose Danny Curgenven with an eye injury that could not be patched up on the side lines, but the re-arranged front row of Mike Manders, Bob Bettison and Paul Mason kept their opposite numbers under constant pressure. Once again the back row of Mark Bunt, Stuart Aldritt and Ali Hill were prominent, often snuffing out promising moves by Tavistock. Ian Goldsmith and Adam Driver provided the power in the pack and were equally impressive in the loose. Half back Dan Goodman and Marcus Hill linked well and provided good ball for centre Lester Hannah and Martin Sobey, while wingers Neil Spencer and Tom Gilbard showed good pace. There was some good running from all of the outsiders, but for all their efforts they were unable to breakdown an efficient Tavistock defence and often were forced to defend themselves when the opposition ran the ball. It was on the stroke of half time that the stalemate was broken. Liskeard-Looe were awarded a penalty which Marcus Hill kicked to level the scores at 3-3. Not an inspiring half – much effort, but basic mistakes from both sides making for a scrappy affair which no-one can have been very satisfied with. The second half opened better for Liskeard-Looe as early inroads into Tavistock territory gave Marcus Hill the chance to put Liskeard-Looe ahead with his second penalty of the game. Sadly the lead was short lived as sloppy discipline saw Liskeard-Looe penalised and Josh Sutton levelled the score again. Liskeard-Looe were, however, still very much in the game. On at least three occasions, opportunities to take over were lost by poor passing and handling mistakes. This allowed Tavistock to regain possession and it was they who opened up a gap when Tom Dawe burst through for a try which Sutton converted. Liskeard-Looe pulled back some of the deficit when full back Bas Hocking, who had already made some excellent runs from deep, joined the line at speed inside his own half and beat three defenders before touching down in what was by far the best movement of the match. The difficult angle and distance defeated Marcus Hill, who was unable to convert. Hill made amends a few minutes later as play again moved into Tavistock territory. Liskeard-Looe won the battle wide on the left with Tavistock spread across the pitch. But with little or no opportunity for running, Marcus Hill collected the ball, ran 10 yards in field, and still on the run, kicked the best drop goal many spectators had seen in years. At 14-13 up Liskeard-Looe were going well; despite some ill discipline and wrong option choices they made frequent inroads into the Tavistock half. It was this indiscipline that proved to be their downfall. Too often they conceded needless penalties and with it hard gained ground. On several occasions they compounded this by back chatting to the referee and giving up even more yardage. Some of the referee's decisions were difficult to understand, but disputing them will never have any effect other than a further 10-yard penalty. The result was to encourage the Tavistock effort and they took the fullest advantage of all those gifted yards with Sutton kicked a penalty to give the team a two-point lead and a victory they did not really deserve. Again Liskeard-Looe showed that they are easily capable of competing at this level. The ability and teamwork is all there, but better discipline is essential if the hard work is to pay off.