A match report from Stephen John on the under 14's
On April 19th Queensbury took to the field for a 12pm kick-off at home to fellow championship contenders Meltham. Having played each other three times this season already the teams knew each other well and knew the danger men. Meltham had edged the first 3 games winning 2 of the 3 and Queensbury knew they were up against it.
Before the game, the coaches spoke to the players and said they had to believe that they were 15-20 points better than the opposition and that all the hard work they had put in over the past season would culminate in a trophy, a winners medal, a championship but to win them would take heart and courage, grit and sheer determination.
And so the game started; in very foggy and damp conditions, Queensbury showed from the start that this was THEIR field, and if anyone was going to take a giant leap towards the championship it was them. Dogged defending, big hits and brutal smashes ensured the game was played in the Meltham half and by the end of the half Meltham although scoring a good try from offloading and leading 4 - 0 had experienced our true tackling prowess for the first time and had a couple of players go off injured. Their own real attacking idea was to time and time again kick the ball deep on the 5th but our ever trustworthy fullback Simon Patchett was there to field the ball with great effect and Nathan Rideough dancing his way into opposition territory. Queensbury had also shown glimpses of their speed in attack with Tony Clarke touching down after and excellent breakaway by the mercurial Billy Naylor and great support from Scott Ratcliff who passed a perfect ball to Tony only for the referee t!
o deem the pass forward. It was a sign that we now know meant "look out Meltham!"
Half time and no ranting or raving from the coaches, just "more of the same please lads!" and words of encouragement.
The second half started with Queensbury receiving and straight into the heat of the battle. The players at half time had done most of the talking and spoken about support in the tackle, and support in offence and they must have listened with great intent as our players were constantly driven forward 10 yards and when Meltham attacked , surely enough they were driven back. Within 10 minutes Queensbury had just reward for their aggression, deep into his own half, Billy Naylor picked up the ball, beat one, two , three players then sprinted in for the score. The kick was unsuccessful so the score remained 4-4. From a great kick off the ball was returned to Bury courtesy of a knock on near the line and after a few tackles, the unstoppable Jordan Whittaker took control of the ball and bullied his way through the defence and charged in under the sticks. The resulting kick hit the post, 8 - 4 to Bury. Five minutes later and after good grafting work by the forwards, Billy had his s!
econd try, taking the ball in under the posts for another great try. The conversion made it 14-4 to Queensbury and the win was in our grasp with 5 minutes remaining. Meltham were shell Shocked and hit with another bombshell, the ball passed out wide right to the backs and Mr. Naylor looping to collect his hat-trick try! Stephen Montgomery then converted the hardest kick for a right footer, drilling it over courtesy of the cross bar from on the right touchline. Meltham were a shell of their previous selves and Queensbury sensed it and grew with confidence epitomized by Luke Dyson who made 3 consecutive tackles on big players as he came in from the wing mirroring the 3 tackles made in a row by Dean Walton in the first half. Great games were had by all who played; the forwards with their grit and strength and the backs with their skills and finesse. The captain Sam Cheney, led the game well, talking to his team and dictating pace and flow.
20-4 final score and the boys were one win away from the title.
Wednesday April 23rd saw the boys travel to Keighley for a late kick-off and although I was absent due to work commitments I have been told their confidence grew and grew from Sundays victory and Keighley were hit with a 30-0 loss at home meaning Queensbury Juniors under 14`s were crowned Division I champions for the 2007-2008 season.
Well done lads and your title is a tribute to you all, how you have developed, the skills you have adopted and the determination and team spirit you show week in week out. The coaches are proud to have you in their team. Congratulations lads!!!!
