PURLEY JOHN FISHER 14 bt WARLINGHAM 7

Purley John Fisher came out on top against local rivals Warlingham in the Surrey Cup on Saturday but this derby clash was one to forget.

The words dour', torrid' and poor' are all a fair reflection of this closely fought match which was hampered by fussy refereeing.

There is always a great deal of eager anticipation whenever these two old rivals meet, so perhaps one shouldn't expect too much.

The first 30 minutes were particularly poor, with neither side showing any sense of rhythm or flair.

In fairness, a major contributor to this was the referee, who never allowed the game to flow, stopping play far too frequently.

In addition, sticky, damp conditions did not help matters.

Purley John Fisher managed to build a 6-0 half-time lead through two well-taken Neil Kirkpatrick penalties.

During this half, Nigel Bird and his opposite number were both sin-binned for offences during the same incident.

The second half started slightly better but, with the referee's attitude remaining over-officious, there was little flowing rugby on view.

Kirkpatrick put the home side further ahead with his third penalty.

Thereafter, the match continued much as before until Warlingham reduced the arrears with the first try of the match.

Following a penalty on their 22, PJF's scrum-half fed the ball to Simon Witham, whose miss-move pass was intercepted by the visitors' No 11.

He was eventually caught just in front of the posts but managed to recycle the ball quickly for a try, which was converted.

With some 15 minutes to go, a score of 9-7 was a little too close for comfort.

The outcome was soon settled, however, when a PJF penalty was kicked to within 10 yards of the Warlingham line.

The ensuing lineout was won, enabling Simon Thelwell to go over.

A difficult conversion attempt was missed.

The result was a fair reflection of a match which should have been a better spectacle.

This Saturday, Purley John Fisher are at home to runaway league leaders Richmond while Warlingham face Old Reedonians at home.

November 28, 2001 14:00