Coffee Anyone ?

Apologies for the lack of detail in this report as the afternoons details were lost at the end of the bar on Saturday night.

Early exchanges confirmed that the sides were very evenly matched with both teams able to secure their own set piece ball.

I think Gosforth kicked a few first half penalties and Novos scored a try via Jonny Ward. We were playing pretty well and looked in a strong position.

However, some poor decision making in the second half cost Novos dearly. Gosforth pack won the battle for possession and Novos were unable to gain territory via a kicking game.

The lead changed hands several times throughout the game and with about five mins to go Novos were still leading. I think Shaun Stewart kicked a few penatlties for us.

With only two mins to go a nice line from the Gosforth centre was enough to score the winner with just a few minutes to go.

Had we played well we could have won this game easily. Gosforth kept the ball well and were well marshalled by their nine and ten. I liked to think they won because they had more ex Dame Allans students than Novos !

Thanks go to the ref who travelled up from Driffield, whilst I was not happy with his performance he was good craic to talk to in the bar. At the end of the day if we had of played to our potential and made the right decisions at the right time, we would have won.

So another bonus point in the bag but I hope we dont rue these narrow losses later in the season. It is pleasing that coming into a new league, we are still competitive in our matches.

It was pleasing to hear that our other sides had some great victories. The last two weeks have seen excellent results from our other sides showing the depth of ability at our club.

It was also pleasing to see several of the Gosforth lads stay late and we will have to return the favour in the away game.

This week we have Consett, a bit of a grudge match as far as I am concerned. We have a lot of unavailability this week so it is a great chance for our new lads to step up and show what they have got.

Lets get two good sessions under our belts and look forward to another very winnable game on Saturday. Dont forget the bar is open on Thursday after training for a pint and some pasta from Lucy.

See you Tuesday lads !