Old Albanian 31-22 Henley Hawks
By Alistair Beynon
For the second week in a row, Henley Hawks left themselves with a mountain to climb, and despite a much-improved showing in the second half, fell short in a 31-22 loss to current league leaders Old Albanian.
It has undoubtedly been a tricky run of fixtures for Luke Allen's side to start the season, in what is certainly the most competitive National 2 East for many years, and despite their performance in the second half, Henley will be frustrated to have left The Woolams empty handed when their display warranted at least two bonus points for their efforts.
The home side came out of the blocks quickly and were the first on the scoresheet when centre Stephen Hihetah managed to fend off some poor tackles to cross the whitewash for an excellent solo effort. Ex-Hawk Elliot McPhun converted and it was 7-0 with just 5-minutes of the contest gone.
The Hawks slowly got a foothold in the game and with George Wood at his rampaging best, were making good ground through midfield. A straightforward Will Baildon penalty got Henley on the scoreboard at 7-3, and it looked as if the Hawks were up for the challenge in front of them.
However, as with the Dorking game last weekend, Henley were blown away by a three try salvo within a 15-minute period. First, Alex Noot was the first to gather an excellent kick through from Hihetah, following another excellent break from the elusive centre to dot down. This was quickly followed by a third score from openside flanker Ben Alexander, who powered his way over from close range 5-minutes later. Both tries were converted by McPhun and OAs had put daylight on the scoreboard with a 21-3 lead on the half hour mark.
The Hawks came very close to their first try of the game when patient build-up play from the away side saw Liam Goodison fashion an opening to cross the line, but frustratingly for Henley, was deemed to have been held-up by the referee.
The Hawks were struggling to contend with the strong gusts that made the contest a little fragmented, and fell even further behind a few minutes before the interval when another searing break from Hihetah saw Noot over in the corner for his second of the game. McPhun was off target with the extras, but OAs had a commanding 26-3 lead.
There was a ray of light for Henley just before the half time whistle when a superb break from replacement prop Moses Fakatou saw the Hawks into the OAs half, and a great pass from Baildon saw Ollie Snook ghost his way through the home sides defense to dot down out wide. Baildon was narrowly wide with his conversion, but the Hawks had narrowed the gap to 26-5 at the interval.
The Hawks coaching team undoubtedly had some hard words to say during the break, and it certainly had the desired effect as Henley were a completely different side in the second period. More direct and playing with a different intensity from the first half, the away side patiently began to re-establish themselves in the contest. They were rewarded on 53 minutes when captain Spencer Hayhow peeled off the back of a driving maul to dot down. Baildon converted and at 26-15, Henley had a carved an opening.
That opening very much became game on just 5-minutes later when another excellent carry from Hayhow gave Henley front foot ball deep within the home sides 22. Recycling the ball well, Scott White was the man to crash over out wide for the Hawks third try of the afternoon, and with Baildon's excellent touchline conversion in the swirling breeze, made the score 26-22 heading into the last 20 minutes.
The game became an arm wrestle with neither side giving an inch. However, with a dominant scrum, the home side slowly clawed their way back into the contest and were rewarded with Josh Skelcey's acrobatic finish in the corner with 10-mintutes remaining. McPhun missed the tricky conversion but more importantly, OAs were two scores clear at 31-22.
Henley weren't finished yet, and pushed hard to come away with at least a couple of bonus points for their work rate. Despite having the ball within the hosts 22 for much of the final minutes, they couldn't quite create an opening they deserved. Baildon was held up over the line following an excellent break, before being denied again moments later when a powerful driving maul was also deemed not have been grounded.
Credit to the OAs stoic rearguard effort to close out the contest without further alarm which saw Henley come away with nothing to show for their efforts. Luke Allen's men will need to put this one behind them quickly as they welcome National 2 East newcomers Oundle RFC to Dry Leas this coming Saturday, October 11th, kick-off 3pm.
Henley Hawks: 15. Toby Howe, 14. George Wood, 13. Leo Webb, 12. Ollie Snook, 11. Lailand Gordon, 10. Will Baildon, 9. Oskar White, 1. Kadeem Collins, 2. Spencer Hayhow (c), 3. Louis Bailey , 4. Ben Elsey, 5. Sam Lunnon, 6. Liam Goodison, 7. Roan Noone, 8. Jake Rawcliffe
Replacements: 16. Nelly Kinniburgh, 17. Moses Fakatou, 18. Scott White, 19. Sam Allen, 20. Max Titchener
