This week a chilly, murky Saturday saw Brentwood make the short trip to take on 7th placed Chelmsford hoping to keep winning momentum having held out against Wanstead the week prior.
Brentwood started brightly in a game which was to become an ill-tempered but exciting affair; Jack Richards opening the points scoring for the day with a well finished try in the top corner after Declan Gillette had run a beautiful line off of a short Eamon Tiernan pop pass, drawing the last man before finding Jack to the right, 0-5.
The next ten or so minutes then belonged to Chelmsford and although Brentwood were solid defensively for long periods, they couldn’t win back possession nor exit their own 22 and so it felt fairly inevitable when Chelmsford did eventually score having found some space through the middle of the field, 7-5.
The game’s first yellow followed soon after for Chelmsford for foul play and it didn’t take long for Brentwood to capitalise, camping near Chelmsford’s try line through various phases and going for the route one approach via Jack Mayes, Lewis Pratley and Andy Sutton before a quick tap penalty from Kieran Ballinger saw Ewan May nearly crash over in the corner, Alfie Adams bundling over just after, 7-10.
It was Brentwood’s turn for a yellow next, Lewis Pratley on the naughty step for ten minutes and Chelmsford wasted no time in drawing back level, converting the penalty awarded to them, 10-10.
With the game getting progressively rowdier, it was Chelmsford who were next to take the initiative after a couple of Brentwood kicks were a bit too loose and gave Chelmsford opportunity to counter, running the ball back well from their half where Brentwood were short of numbers on the wing and getting to within 5 metres before recycling and scoring the try a couple of phases later 15-10.
There were still just over ten minutes to go until half time, normally dangerous territory for Brentwood, and Chelmsford had seemingly swung the momentum in their favour with Brentwood having to work hard defensively. Some big hits in midfield and Luke Watson doing well out on the wing where he had found himself outnumbered on a couple of occasions finally forced a knock on to bring an end to Chelmsford’s attack; Brentwood awarded a penalty from the scrum which Ewan May put on Chelmsford’s 22.
Andy Sutton was once again accurate to James Killington, the ball coming off the top straight to Kieran Ballinger and into midfield to James Vogel. James popped to the ball on to Jack Mayes who looked to be tackled but managed to wriggle free and attract the attention of a couple more defenders leaving Brentwood with some space on the right, Ewan May coming round to put Declan Gillette through a gap. Declan still had plenty to do but stepped through one tackle attempt and bumped the last man to go over for the try, 15-15 and half time.
Ah, Brentwood scored the try before half time you’re thinking…this bodes well for once! Well, unfortunately not, Brentwood conceding two tries in the first eight minutes of the second half which, whilst well taken and finished by Chelmsford, were messes of their own making from an intercept and a charge down and with Chelmsford now having a 27-15 lead, Brentwood really went for the proverbial mountain to climb, reduced to 14 men with James Killington seeing Brentwood’s second yellow of the day.
This team though has really developed a strength of character this season and set about dragging themselves back into the game. About 5 minutes later a penalty just in front of the Brentwood 10 metre line gave Ewan May the opportunity to wallop an enormous kick down into Chelmsford’s 22 from which Jack Rocke found James Vogel at the front for the maul which bundled forwards rapidly, going to ground but with the ball available on Brentwood’s side. It went out into the midfield where Eamon Tiernan, James Vogel and Alex Williams contributed to some metres before it looked like Declan Gillette may have found a gap to glide through, only to pulled down a couple of metres short. Brentwood remain patient though, Alfie Adams trucking it up, Ewan May nearly stepping his way over, James Vogel bundling further before a Matt Whaley-assisted Eamon Tiernan managed to power over, with Ewan’s conversion 27-22.
Ten further scoreless but not scuffle free minutes then elapsed before Chelmsford added 3 points via a kickable penalty to take their lead back to eight points, 30-22, but shortly afterwards were once again reduced to 14 men with another yellow card. It only took 3 minutes for Brentwood again to make the advantage pay when, from a scrum in the Chelmsford 22, Eamon Tiernan (who’d moved from centre to 8), burst from the back and down the blindside, getting the ball away to Kieran Ballinger who avoided the cover tacklers to score the try in the corner. Ewan’s touchline conversion hit the crossbar and very crucially bounced over…30-29.
There were now less than ten to go and with the scoreline in the balance and some more shirt tugging going on, a holding on penalty saw Chelmsford add another 3 to extend their lead to 33-29 meaning Brentwood would need a try to win with time rapidly ticking away…
Was there to be late drama? Of course there was! The wheels set in motion when Kieran Ballinger was fastest to the ball after an overthrown Chelmsford lineout between Brentwood’s 22 and 10 metre, giving Brentwood back possession on the halfway line. Brentwood were once again patient and retained the ball well, Eamon Tiernan and Tom Walker eventually punching some holes through the middle before Ewan May and Luke Watson took play on to just past Chelmsford’s 10 metre line and won a penalty. Kieran was off quickly with the tap penalty and into Chelmsford’s 22, Alfie Adams following up before another penalty went Brentwood’s way. Into the corner it went and in buckled Brentwood’s support for yet another stressful final minute…
Andy Sutton’s reliable darts again found James Killington, so far so good, the briefest of mauls before Eamon Tiernan crashed into the midfield. Ewan May came back blind and took play to a couple of metres out before Alfie Adams and Calvin Close carried up and with a large concentration of bodies around the ruck, Chelmsford’s defence had suddenly got very narrow, Brentwood with clear numbers out to the left.
Brentwood had spotted the space and Kieran Ballinger found Ewan May with a long pass from the base of the ruck, first pass complete, all it needed now was for the ball to be shipped left through the hands…Ewan to Declan Gillette it went, second pass successful, and then on to debutant Alex Williams who caught the third pass and, with the game now feeling like it was elapsing in slow motion, dived over in the corner for the winner in the final play, Brentwood’s travelling support elated and a match reporter who realised she’d been holding her breath for the duration…Ewan’s conversion attempt missed but it didn’t matter (told you that one that hit the bar was crucial!), full time and 33-34.
For Brentwood, this was another bonus point win on the road and an impressive display of grit in a game that at times threatened to boil over and definitely could have got away from them. The win bumps them back up to 4th in the league, only 3 points behind Harlow in 3rd.
Brentwood now have break for a week, probably good news for all of us who felt like they needed a lie down in a dark room after that one, before unbeaten league leaders Westcliff make the trip to King George’s. Brentwood’s own unbeaten run was ended at Westcliff earlier in the season in a game where they outscored their hosts 3 tries to 1 but lost to a last-minute drop goal and I’m certain there will be no lack of motivation to try and get the win this time round.