Burntwood recorded their sixth win on the road by three converted tries and a penalty goal to nil against Newport (Salop) 2nds. They remain in seventh place in the table but closed the gap on their sixth placed opponents to four points with a game in hand.
Having lost the home fixture between the two sides last October, Jack Johnson’s side were expecting a tough test and so it proved but they defended solidly when they had to and took their chances when needed.
Each side probed in the first quarter but promising positions were lost due to infringements with the breakdown proving to be very competitive. A double blow for the visitors looked to prove costly when skipper Johnson limped off to be replaced and then Alfie Dewsbury saw yellow for a late hit on the Newport scrum half.
However, during his absence Burntwood went ahead. Sam Hull chased a kick by Kian Carter to earn a penalty. Carter kicked close to the right corner and Josh Canning secured possession to launch a drive for the line. The home defence was stretched left and then back right for Sam Perrins to cross in the corner. Carter added a touchline conversion for 7-0 after 24 minutes.
After Dewsbury’s return, Alex Smail almost sent Tom Pockson clear but the pass eluded him. Pockson’s next involvement was to put in an important tackle as the hosts broke through centre field.
Carter’s dribble through rebounded off an opponent to set the Shropshire side on the attack and their first real threat of the half but the move ended in a knock-on close to the line to leave the score unaltered going into the half time break.
Good work by Dan Clements earned a penalty for not releasing right at the start of the second period and Carter made no mistake from the tee for 10-0.
The hosts responded, helped by a couple of penalty awards which they used to establish good field position. They won a line out but were held up over the line to deny a score. The pressure on the visitors told when Reece Elliot was yellow carded for repeated team infringements.
However, the Burntwood defence held firm with Clements in particular doing well to jackal possession on two occasions and also chasing back to tackle as Newport threatened. Carter, Billy Fisher and Luke Rookyard also made significant plays to turn the tide and protect the narrow lead.
Moving into the last ten minutes, Newport’s task became more difficult when they lost a player to a yellow card for a high tackle on Canning. The time remaining belonged to Burntwood. They were held up over the try line initially but the goal line drop out was returned with Rookyard and Elliot driving for the line before possession was moved wide for Clements to shrug off a tackler and cut inside the overrunning cover to score a well-deserved try, converted by Carter.
The restart did not travel ten metres and a disheartened opposition compounded the error by conceding two penalties which Carter used to pin Newport close to their own line. Perrins through the centre and Hull further out went close before Rookyard took advantage of Newport defending around the fringes of a ruck to steam straight ahead to the try line. Carter’s conversion brought proceedings to an end.
The 2nd XV’s home game against Newcastle (Staffs) 3rds was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The sides hope to play the fixture this Saturday. The 1sts will also be at home, weather permitting, to face Telford Hornets in a twice re-arranged league fixture.