Match Report - High Wycombe 19th Nov 2006
This was meant to be a B team fixture against local rivals, High Wycombe. Instead, they brought their whole squad of 20 players, meaning that the plan for the session had to be altered. We were missing about 8 players also, plus many of our lads arrived late. All in all, not the best start to the morning, (which set the tone for the game - and my mood for the rest of the day! Sorry everyone) . Pre-match training had a decidedly lacklustre feel to it.
Anyway, on to a report of the action itself....We fielded something like B team in the first half and, unsurprisingly, found ourselves doing most of the tackling against a High Wycombe team that has improved since last season. They have a big pack of forwards and were able to enjoy plenty of possession. That said, the Marlow tackling was generally excellent. There were plenty of examples of textbook tackling by smaller Marlow players against big & chunky High Wycombe runners. Particular praise goes to Alex Imre who tackled superbly and never failed to bring down his man. Alex is still quite small but provides an example of how to tackle correctly & bravely. In the first half High Wycombe scored 2 tries and 1 conversion. Marlow rallied strongly towards the end of the half and scored at try in the far right corner. Score was 12-5 to them at half time.
Marlow brought on the reinforcements at half-time (even though we were missing big Michael & Connor from our normal line-up). I think it's fair to say that Marlow were clearly the better team, though we managed to make very hard work of it. The teamwork seen in recent weeks was largely absent and our decision-making and handling in the backs was definitely off-key. There was plenty of effort, however, and some fine individual performances. Credit to Tom Carroll, in particular, who was aggressive & determined to get the better of his old teammates. Marlow were on top throughout the second half, scoring 2 tries and narrowly failing to reach the line on a few other occasions. High Wycombe did score 1 try as a result of a soft interception gifted to them. Score at full time was 19-17 to them.
In summary, not a great day for us. That said, it's difficult to get the formula right when the opposition turn up with one team and we have to then aim for a win whilst trying to juggle things so that everyone gets a fair amount of playing time. In such circumstances we are bound to see the odd disjointed performance. As we know, the players also have to be in the right mood to do themsleves justice on the field. Now to focus on the Bucks Cup game against Drifters next Sunday.
Anyway, on to a report of the action itself....We fielded something like B team in the first half and, unsurprisingly, found ourselves doing most of the tackling against a High Wycombe team that has improved since last season. They have a big pack of forwards and were able to enjoy plenty of possession. That said, the Marlow tackling was generally excellent. There were plenty of examples of textbook tackling by smaller Marlow players against big & chunky High Wycombe runners. Particular praise goes to Alex Imre who tackled superbly and never failed to bring down his man. Alex is still quite small but provides an example of how to tackle correctly & bravely. In the first half High Wycombe scored 2 tries and 1 conversion. Marlow rallied strongly towards the end of the half and scored at try in the far right corner. Score was 12-5 to them at half time.
Marlow brought on the reinforcements at half-time (even though we were missing big Michael & Connor from our normal line-up). I think it's fair to say that Marlow were clearly the better team, though we managed to make very hard work of it. The teamwork seen in recent weeks was largely absent and our decision-making and handling in the backs was definitely off-key. There was plenty of effort, however, and some fine individual performances. Credit to Tom Carroll, in particular, who was aggressive & determined to get the better of his old teammates. Marlow were on top throughout the second half, scoring 2 tries and narrowly failing to reach the line on a few other occasions. High Wycombe did score 1 try as a result of a soft interception gifted to them. Score at full time was 19-17 to them.
In summary, not a great day for us. That said, it's difficult to get the formula right when the opposition turn up with one team and we have to then aim for a win whilst trying to juggle things so that everyone gets a fair amount of playing time. In such circumstances we are bound to see the odd disjointed performance. As we know, the players also have to be in the right mood to do themsleves justice on the field. Now to focus on the Bucks Cup game against Drifters next Sunday.
posted by Marauders Latest News at 9:02 AM
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