H&B edged out in title showdown

HASTINGS & Bexhill are facing another end-of-season play-off after losing 14-13 away to Horsham.

The title decider in Division One of the Sussex Rugby League was played on the chilly, slippery clag of Horsham's sloping pitch and had all the intensity of a cup final.

H&B were set on righting their early season demolition by Horsham at William Parker - their only league loss - and on winning the league outright after three unsuccessful play-off bids for promotion to London Four.

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In the event, it was defences that won the day - and Horsham's heroic determination proved superior to H&B's dogged hard work.

The young Horsham side had the better start, and were unfortunate to miss a few good scoring opportunities. Quicker to the breakdown, more imaginative in the backs, and with better ball retention, they thwarted H&B's attempts to drive their bigger pack and heftier backs upfield. Time and again H&B's runners failed to break the gain line, all too often turning over possession in the process. And when the ball was thrown wide, moves soon broke down with poor passes and nervy hands.

H&B did get on the scoreboard first, thanks to an early Paul Sandeman penalty, but Horsham swiftly equalised, and then went ahead 8-3 with a good try moved well through the backs, exposing some flimsy tackling out wide. H&B tightened the game up and used their big pack's main advantage over Horsham, their mauling technique, to score a pushover try through Paul Flood.

The feeling at half-time was that at 8-8 the visitors were lucky to still be in with a chance.

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H&B started the second half better, with more control and better defence, good last-ditch tackling and sparks of inspiration. A powerful Sandeman run down the wing was soon followed by a Piers Claughton break-out from defence which went through a number of hands and came within an ace of a touch-down.

It was Steve McManus who put H&B ahead 8-13, with a catch and drive from a line-out. But like all teams on-song, Horsham hit back straight away with the first of a string of penalties conceded by an increasingly beleaguered H&B, to make it 11-13, and a further penalty with less than 10 minutes to go put Horsham into a 14-13 lead.

H&B threw everything at Horsham, besieging their line, but Horsham's defence was up to the challenge and disciplined enough to avoid giving away penalties. A Sandeman dropped goal attempt sailed tantalisingly wide, and as the final whistle went H&B were left facing the prospect of their fourth play-off against the runners-up in Kent One.

Hooker Ben Davies had an excellent game, making some big hits and throwing in well to the line-out, and captain Neil Redman and Flood battled tirelessly. The Claughton brothers tackled fiercely and handled faultlessly in the conditions, but none of H&B's key players managed to produce a match-turning spark of inspiration. Man-of-the-match was David Northen.

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Coach Roger Stanley hid his bitter disappointment after the game, trying to lift the spirits of his drained side in the dressing room.

Fly half Kit Claughton said: "We've no excuses. We let ourselves down. Horsham were the better side all round on the day. When we needed a big performance we just weren't there. We didn't have the level of fitness, we didn't have enough aggression and intensity.

"Now it's up to us to prove we're the good team we believe we are, and work hard over the next few weeks on the elements of our game that are weak - defending second and third phase, retaining possession, contact skills. We want to play Horsham again next season in London Four, and beat them.

"All teams go through bad patches. How we react as a team to ours is a test of how much we really want to be winners."

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