Monday 27th September 2010

PANTHERS 2nd XV 30 - 7 HOPE VALLEY 2nd XV

Panther's second team manager Mark Blair was delighted to have a squad of 26 players for this home game with Hope Valley.

Even given a good win against a very strong and experienced side the most pleasing outcome of the game was from the youngsters. Stepping up into senior rugby is never an easy task but the youngsters did it with ease, especially when faced with the wealth of experience of the opposition.

Special mention most go to John Kelly, Phillip Cawthorne and man of the match Scott Widdowson, all of whom had exceptional games.

Panther's tries came from Richard Cook (2), Mark Coward, Chris Cooper, Gary Bates and Luke Holt with a Liam Alford conversion completing the total.


PANTHERS (U17s) 29 - 36 MATLOCK (U17s)

Chesterfield travelled to local rivals Matlock for this NLD League encounter and showed how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Both teams set off at an incredible rate and with Matlock virtually camped on the Panthers try line they opened the scoring with a try early in the game. Some great work by the forwards saw Chesterfield hit back with a try from Charles Richmond but Matlock regained the lead with a second try midway through the half.

Chesterfield then found their rhythm which resulted in a Jordan White try under the posts which Sam Curry converted. A mix up in the Matlock defence while the visitors were pressing allowed Sam Curry to touch down and Chesterfield lead 17 - 10 at the break.

In the second half a great cross-field kick by Jack Heath ended with a second try for Jordan White with Curry again converting.  The game ebbed and flowed until a try by Dillon Samuels then looked to have ended the contest but to their credit, Matlock rallied and scored four tries, three being converted, in the final five minutes to turn the game on its head.

Facing a large Rotherham side, the Panthers looked to have a difficult job from the off but this did nothing to dampen the spirits of the travelling team who competed well at the line out and scrum despite their lack of weight.

Rotherham got the first score on the board as the Panthers allowed the backs to run at them and break the gain line with some missed tackles.

Rotherham ran in four early tries before James King pounced on a loose ball and powered through to score his first try of the season and get the Panthers onto the scoreboard. Half time 20-5.

The second half was much the same, with Rotherham attacking in the backs, but some excellent defending from Chesterfield kept them out. Some strong forward work then saw Blaine Osbiston break clear to touch down and only minutes later the same move was repeated to give the same result.

In the final minutes it was all Chesterfield and they were very unlucky not to close the gap some more.

Man of the Match was Andy Castledine.

Early pressure saw Matlock take the lead with a try from the forwards but then the Chesterfield team took complete control to record a comfortable victory.

Strong forward work and a desire to be first to the loose ball at the breakdown gave scrum half Harry Atkin plenty of ball to feed out to the backs who used it very effectively to pin Matlock in their own half for long periods. Matt Ford at fly half was the first to break through with a characteristic weaving run to touch down out wide on the left. Matt Lamin, playing at centre, ran strongly to touch down close to the posts and Alistair Taylor converted to give a lead at half time of
12 - 5.

The second half brought several scoring opportunities for Chesterfield but they were denied by a brave Matlock defence. It had to give eventually though and Lamin finally broke through with a determined run to score under the posts. Taylor converted.

To round off the game Nick Foan picked up a loose ball on the right wing and ran through the Matlock defence to score his first try of the season. Taylor converted.

Man of the Match was Ben Finney.

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