Aldridge back to winning ways

We got off to a bright start in last Saturday’s re-arranged league fixture versus Essington. Against the elements, virtually from the kick-off we forced an attacking lineout on the visitors 22. The ball was fed to No10 “Forest” who took the direct route, holding off tackles to touch down mid-way out. Then it was all change. Essington, using the conditions to good effect, moved play onto Aldridge’s try line. With their forwards well in the ascendancy and winning oodles of possession they had us under siege for much of the half - exerting plenty of pressure without being able to make the final yard to the try line. Plenty of chances went begging but a determined defence held out until the 20th minute when Essington flanker Andy Barker eventually breached the line. The re-start gave us a brief respite but the status quo was soon restored, Aldridge falling back onto the defensive almost immediately. With possession to spare Essington strived to bring their backs into play, which paid dividends. A move through the hands put No10 Adam Smith over mid-way out and he also added the extras. That made it 12 – 5 to Essington at the break.
We now had the benefit of the elements and wasted no time in turning it into territorial advantage. The forwards were still struggling though and possession remained a problem. It took another intervention by “Forest” to bring us right back into contention. A jinking run took him through the middle of a gaggle of forwards presenting him with a clear run to the line - touching down out-wide. Aldridge, now gaining in confidence, strived to secure the result but Essington managed to push play away from the danger zone and move up field. There were 10 minutes left when we won a penalty out wide just inside the visitor’s half. A sweet strike from full back Alex Yates put the ball high between the posts with plenty to spare, reclaiming for us the narrowest of leads. There were a final few fraught minutes to endure but we clung on to claim the points.