Sidcup 7 v 22 Thanet

Rugby Union London 2 South League

SIDCUP Rugby Club made it hard work for Kent side Thanet Wanderers at the weekend even though they went into the match knowing they were already relegated.

Hooker Iain Wilson took over the captaincy for the day as club captain Danny Mizen was forced to sit out due to an ankle injury.

The line-up was forced to change further when no 8 Matt West was replaced by Colin Cooper after a blow to the head needed stitches.

The visitors started well forcing Sidcup to put in some strong tackles to stop them scoring early on.

But Thanet's hard work soon paid off and they opened the scoring after 15 minutes when some slick passing along the back line put winger Tom Longdon through for a converted try under the posts.

Sidcup re-started the game but were caught asleep as Thanet's inside centre Stuart Plumridge received the ball from a maul to score a converted try almost immediately after the first one.

Sidcup heads did not drop and they continued to defend well and turn over possession in both Thanet's set pieces and open play.

However, a silly mistake by Sidcup gave away a penalty in a prime place for Thanet to add three points to their score which they duly did.

Sidcup got some points on the board just before half time.

A kick over the top of Thanet's line by James Cosh was caught by winger Richard Roddis on the half-way line and he put his pace to good use to score between the posts.

The try was converted by Richard Evans to make the half-time score 7-17.

The second half was a fiery affair with the referee showing four yellow cards.

Sidcup kicked off and soon conceded another try, this time unconverted, after another impressive run from Thanet's number 14.

The first yellow card came on 55 minutes and was shown to Thanet winger Yan Dong for holding on to the ball on the ground.

The referee dished out two more cards 15 minutes later this time to Sidcup prop Rob Farlham-Jones and Thanet full-back Gareth Redmond for fighting.

The fourth went to Thanet's tight-head prop Winsom for a high tackle.

The reduced numbers meant neither team got a real hold on the game in the second half and it petered out with no more points scored.

Sidcup club president Phil West said: "Although we were 17-0 down at one point and have already been relegated, the team put up a fantastic fight and did not let their heads drop once, showing the Sidcup spirit is still there."