Alton Push U13 A Team All The Way

If the first match was close, the second was to prove even closer, as the A squad looked to “do the double” on Alton. The opening exchanges were scrappy as Alton undid some fine scrummaging, which allowed them to win the ball against the head, by giving a way a succession of penalties in the ruck. Gosport made the most of one such opportunity, with Matthew “Dids” Symington spreading the ball wide to Jake Moseley, who ran down the left wing, then cut inside to open the scoring after 7 minutes. A promising and well supported attacking run from Stephen Cheatle, looked as though it might unlock the Alton defence but the ball was lost in contact and, with no attacking threat from Alton, the score remained at 5-0 until half time.
Alton were first out of the blocks after the restart with a dangerous-looking run down the left wing, which threatened to yield a try. A great tackle from Jake Ellard snuffed out the attack and Alton found themselves back in their own 22, albeit briefly. They were soon back up to half way and in a prime attacking position as Gosport were penalised for going offside at the ruck. Some excellent passing through the Alton backs found them scoring in the corner to level the scores. Gosport fought to get back on top, helped by Alton's mounting penalty count and some fine forward play. George Crouch stole more than his fair share of turnover ball, as usual, and a powerful run from Connor Parkinson set up a good attacking spell for Gosport. The ball was kept alive through several phases, then taken on by Cheatle, who put Jake Ellard in for Gosport's second try, 9 minutes into the second half.
If Alton seemed beaten, they soon proved otherwise when they put together probably the best attacking move of the match. Some sublime passing and angles of running almost saw them score in the corner but for a last-ditch tackle by Jake Moseley. Gosport, however, were penalised for a high tackle and Alton capitalised on a great attacking platform deep in Gosport territory to score their second try and level the scores again. Another missed conversion meant that Alton failed to take the lead and the game finished tied at 10-10.