East Rugby League Cup - Quarter Finals Brentwood Eels 20 -v- 40 St Albans Centurions After Iain Langley was carried from the pitch following a potential leg-break, the Centurions were reduced to a squad of just 13 players in the first-half. But with Coach Simba Mupamhanga scheming away at acting half and Captain Joe Baker leading from the front, St Albans responded magnificently to last week’s league defeat against the Eels to earn a famous cup victory. The match started brightly enough with Tom Spratt touching down in the second minute after some exceptional handling from the forwards to keep the ball alive. Brentwood responded in style with two tries of their own in an uncompromising start to the contest, well-controlled by the young referee. It was the ref who immediately ordered an ambulance to be called when a 3-man tackle on Langley saw him fall to the floor in agony. The first half was played out without troubling the scoreboard any further. The second half began as the first, with Jake Lawrence converting his own try on 42 minutes. And then the big boys took over. Playing downhill, the forwards put on something of a masterclass as first Joe Shaw and the player-coach Mupamhanga broke through a tiring Eels’ defence. The ever-reliable Scott Clellow added another try after the hour-mark before Baker made it half-a-dozen on 71 minutes. In the final minute, a second try for Lawrence completed a famous cup victory. After the match, skipper Joe Baker, was delighted: “Against all the odds we came away with a thoroughly deserved win. It seems we’re at our best when our backs are against the wall. I couldn’t be more proud of the lads today but know that it will count for nothing if we don’t carry the same level of performance into the next game”. The Centurions are away to Milton Keynes Wolves on Saturday k.o. 2pm. Update - Good news for Iain Langley (left) who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg. The leg is not broken but it has been put into a splint and Iain is on crutches. Best wishes to Iain from all at St Albans Centurions. Also a big thank you to Brian and his wife Linda who waited at the hospital and took Iain back to Hatfield … and not getting home until after 9pm. St Albans Centurions were left to rue two disallowed tries as they fell to a narrow 22-20 defeat at home to Brentwood Eels.
Both tries were ruled out for the same reason, the referee deciding that the players had already been tackled before they reached the floor. And the Cents despondency at the decisions was increased in the final minute when the match-winning try from Brentwood’s only real play-maker was allowed despite it looking to many that he had been bundled into touch before grounding the ball. But those decisions at a baking hot Toulmin Drive should not mask what was a below-par performance from St Albans who should have been out of sight well before the Eels winner. Coach Simba Mupamhanga was left scratching his head after the game. He said: “The game plan was simple enough; complete our sets so they’re only ever attacking from deep. “But in the second-half we completed only 50 per cent of them. Too many times, a killer pass was attempted when the better option was to take the tackle. “We kept handing them the momentum and lost a match we should have cruised.” But amidst the gloom there were, nevertheless, some very bright performances. Jake Lawrence again stamped his mark on the game with another try and a returning Ryan Shorter showed why he’s been missed with a try of his own to cap a powerful performance. There should also be more than an honourable mention for Callum Porter and Liam Meredith who dominated the tackle count, making 33 between them and missing none. And despite the stuttering team performance, Scott Cluelow and Joe Shaw’s legitimate second-half tries seemed to have won it for the Cents only for the heart-break of Eels’ last-minute winner. But a chance for revenge comes quickly when the Centurions travel to the Eels for an East League Cup game on Saturday. St Albans 18 -v- 22 Bedford Tigers What a game at St Albans with visitors Bedford Tigers. It started raining as the teams came out and stopped as the final whistle blew. Match report below. Game day pics now on our photo web site. The boys are back in town! After being comprehensively out-played and out-fought at North Herts the week earlier, the Centurions bounced back to dominate against high-flying Bedford Tigers, only to lose out thanks to two freak tries against the run-of-play. In treacherous conditions, St Albans dominated possession and territory from the first whistle, inspired by Scott Cluelow’s powerful man-of-the-match performance and Nick Woolley’s clever use of the ball from both hand and foot. Jake Lawrence’s 11th-minute try and sideline conversion were the least the Centurions deserved. On the half-hour the Tigers’ levelled the score thanks to an inspirational run from their right wing. Incredibly, he repeated the feat from the restart and suddenly the Centurions found themselves 12-6 down. Before the break, more quick-think and fancy footwork from Nick Wooley saw him score his first try of the season and convert it from short range. 12-12 at half-time. In the second-half as conditions worsened, territory was at a premium and the Centurions were clearly on top. Only for lightning to strike twice. First, a hopeful punt upfield was mis-controlled by Darren Westhead at full back allowing Tigers’ pacey wing to cross the line for his hat-trick, shortly followed by a knock-on from skipper Joe Baker which fell straight into the path of the same player who hoofed the ball forward and won the foot race to score his fourth of the game. Wave after wave of Centurions pressure followed with no reward thanks to stout Tigers’ defence or crucial errors being made just short of the try line. With two minutes to go, the ever-improving Jake Lawrence added his second try and converted that from the sideline, too. Sadly, Bedford were able to field the ball from the last up-and-under of the game and held on for a precious win. Captain, Joe Baker was thrilled at the performance if not the result: “The lads responded brilliantly today against one of the better teams in the League. There’s a real momentum building which I’m confident will soon deliver the victories the squad deserves. I can’t believe we didn’t win today but I’m delighted with the effort that every member of the squad is putting in.” The annual St Albans Centurions AGM was held at the clubhouse on Friday 11th May 2018. Reports were delivered by the chairman, club secretary and treasurer. The committee all stood down and were then proposed and re-elected. The committee remains the same as last year.
Several items were mentioned in the discussion that followed, the less boring of these were - End Of Season Presentation Evening - Get it in your diary now. 7pm, Saturday 18th August 2018. A sit down meal and presentation will take place at the clubhouse, followed by a sojourn to the White Swan for after dinner refreshments. We expect the price to be around £10 per head. More details to follow nearer the time. Lens Season Raffle - following last years success, Len McMain is continuing his seasonal raffle. After every home game, team physio Len will be in the clubhouse at his 'shop', selling rugby jerseys, t-shirts and other rugby elated items. He will also be selling raffle tickets at £1 each. At the end of the season he will make the draw . So far Len has a signed New Zealand rugby shirt and a London Broncos shirt in his collection of prizes already, and promises lots more to follow. Raffle is open to visiting players and supporters. Remember - you have to be in it to win it. St Albans Street Festival - The annual St Albans street festival will take place on Sunday 24th June, when the town centre is cordoned off and filled with food stalls, live music, creative activities, live performance and more - and the Cents will have a stall in the middle of it all. We are asking for a few volunteers who would be willing to man the stall, wearing their Cents playing shirts of course and all you need to do is hand out leaflets about the club and generally mingle and have interaction and a good time with the crowds, promoting the Cents as you do so. Len McMain is the co-ordinator of this event, so have a word with him if you want to join the street party. St Albans Centurions once again have the pleasure of announcing that the clubs major sponsor will be John McGuinness from The White Swan public house, Upper Dagnall Street, St Albans. Cents chairman Andy Lake made the announcement before Saturdays first game of the season at North Herts Crusaders.
Revealing the clubs new 2018 playing strip, Andy said "I cannot speak highly enough about John McGuinness. Once again he has supported this club with a four figure sponsorship, and once again, like the past several years, he asks nothing in return. He is just pleased that he can give something back to St Albans by way of supporting one of the towns sporting clubs. We have put The White Swan on the front of our playing shirts as a thank you to John." North Herts Crusaders 52
St Albans Centurions 6 A crushing away defeat to one of the favourites for the league was hardly the season-opener new skipper Joe Baker was looking for. But even as his exhausted warriors were trooping from the field, he was keen to identify the positives from the new-look team. “Against an outfit as slick and well-drilled as North Herts, the boys never let their heads go down and continued to fight for the shirt until the very end. The fact that we were once again camped out on their try-line as the final whistle blew is a testament to their spirit and teamwork. That’s a brilliant foundation for us to build on for the rest of the season”. Led by the old-guard stalwarts of Roy Dube, Joe Shaw and Matt Stringer, the Centurions fielded a team of mixed experience. Regulars like Scott Cluelow and Nick Woolley battling shoulder-to-shoulder with promising newcomers such as flying-winger Jake Lawrence and Alex Powdrell impressing in both attack and defence. Whilst the future does look bright with so many new faces on the scene, the learning curve will be a very steep one if Saturday’s performance is not to be repeated. Ill-discipline led to a string of penalties and the loss of both territory and possession. Whilst individually the lads tackled their hearts out – Niall Braniff making 19 and missing none – as soon as the defensive line lost its shape, the Crusaders’ ruthless attack punished it. Offensively, more guile and pace are required if opposition defences are to be exposed. Too many times the Centurions let promising situations go begging – something for Coach Simba Mupamhanga to work on with the boys before the visit of Bedford Tigers to Toulmin Drive on Saturday 12th, 2.30pm start. |
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