Late Kick In The Teeth

CANTERBURY 24 OLD ALBANIAN 27

by David Haigh

A last minute penalty goal saw league leaders Albanians snatch the win which kept their National 2 East title hopes firmly on track. At the end of a bruising and high quality game It was disappointment for a Canterbury side who first kept afloat through outstanding defence then picked up the pace so well they went ahead in the final quarter. The free flowing visitors domination of possession and territory in the first half tested the city side to the limit but their commitment and organIsation restricted Albanians to a miserly three point advantage at the break. Sam Jones kicked them into a seventh minute lead with a penalty goal but, despite their control, it took another twenty minutes before they found a try. A lineout drive and close quarter pounding ended in fly half Andy Nurse battling over the line. Jones added the conversion but two minutes later Canterbury, who at that point had barely sniffed an attack, hit back through a brilliant individual score from flanker Ryley Thomas. His powerful midfield break ended under the posts and Frank Reynolds converted. If Albanians were frustrated, they quickly made up for it at the start of he second half. A charged down kick gave them field position and the pressure was sustained to create a converted try for centre Steve Hiheta. It may have looked ominous for the city side but the mood soon changed and the momentum began to shift. Reynolds slotted a penalty goal and, for the first time, Canterbury began to pose threats which brought them two tries and a seven point lead. A penalty and drive set up the first for Cameron Macmillan and, on 66 minutes, the forwards did the spadework before Tom Williams fired the pass which sent Harry Sloan across the line. Reynolds converted both scores, taking him past the 1000 point mark in his career with the club, but the quick thinking visitors were always in the game. They caught Canterbury sleeping with a throw to the front of a lineout, Elliot McPhun touched down and Jones’ conversion brought his side level. Canterbury hung on but Jones’ accuracy killed off their hopes with that late penalty as they head into two more testing February games against leading sides.

Canterbury: K.Heatherley, F.Morgan, H.Sloan, W.Waddington, L.Talbot, F.Reynolds, P.Farrance, D.Huntley, E.O’Donoghue, O.Frostick, C.McGovern, J.Stephens, J.Walker, R.Thomas, T.Oliver. Replacements: J.De Vries, T.Williams, C.Macmillan, G.Lister, C.Oliver.