Clevedon 9ptsDrybrook13pts
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A knock on denied Clevedon a try in the last seconds of this game that would have given them victory and in the end Drybrook were relieved to have got their first victory on the road in South West One.
In truth it should never have been that close as Drybrook controlled most of the second half with another fine display from their forward pack.
The first half was a war of attrition played out on a gluepot of a pitch that made constructive rugby difficult to achieve.
Clevedon had most of the territorial advantage and were held up over the Drybrook line on 15 minutes before eventually opening their account with a penalty after 20 minutes.
For a period Drybrook conceded a lot of penalties at the breakdown and slipped further behind to another successful Clevedon kick.
In the period leading up to the break Drybrook began to see more of the ball and with 5 minutes remaining they were held up in the home in goal area.
Continued pressure saw scrum half Mitch Baldwin and prop Craig Clarke go close and Clevedon just held on but a penalty finally came and Tom Treherne made no mistake from in front of the sticks.
Half Time:
Clevedon 6pts
Drybrook 3pts
Clevedon came out all guns blazing at the start of the second period and Drybrook did well to keep them out but with 12 minutes gone another penalty put the home side further ahead.
Following this Drybrook began to get a foothold in the game and put together a lot of good phase play that began to wear the home side down.
Lots of pressure in the home 22 metre area finally told when a Clevedon defender was yellow carded after his team had conceded a string of penalties.
Drybrook seized the opportunity to stay on top and after building up lots of pressure near the home line skipper Ben Large finally broke through for the games only try.
Tom Treherne struck his conversion well out of a sea of mud to put Drybrook into the lead for the first time.
The game became very physical in the last 10 minutes but Drybrook kept retention of the ball and were unlucky not to increase their lead when Treherne’s 73rd minute penalty attempt drifted wide.
Clevedon threw everything into attack and missed a kick at goal themselves with 5 minutes remaining on the clock but Drybrook hit back and looked to have secured victory when Treherne put over another penalty with a minute to go.
Clevedon raced to get the game restarted and Drybrook quickly gained control of the ball but an awful clearance kick swung the initiative back to the home side.
Attack after attack was thwarted until the home side looked to have sealed it at the death when a knock on saved Drybrook and with it came the final whistle.
This was a gritty performance from Drybrook who played the conditions well and a number of players had stand out performances. Niall Gibbons reigned supreme at the lineout for Drybrook and No 8 Mitch Bourne had another stormer whilst the introduction of hooker Mitch Renton at half time brought some much needed bulk to the back.
Out behind centre Jamie Cook put in some crunching tackles and strong runs but he was just pipped to the man of the match accolade by fellow centre Jack Simmons who had his best game so far in Drybrook colours.
Drybrook; Tom Treherne, Andy Milner, Jamie Cook, Jack Simmons, Connor Hale, Ben Large (capt), Mitch Baldwin, Craig Clarke, Luke Fisher, Elliot White, Marcus Cowles, Glenn Nott, Danny Price, Niall Gibbons, Mitch Bourne.
Replacements; Mitch Hale, Mitch Renton, Dean Jelf.
