Match Report

Finally, this week saw a return to the Candy League and a short trip to Gateshead for Novos 2’s, and despite a number of last minute drop-outs, Novos were able field a strong side, with some equally strong mo’s on display.

With 6 new players in the side resulting in a handful of new playing combinations, Novos were forced to get used to playing with their teammates quickly; this was not at all helped by a strong Gateshead side quickly taking control of the play, and the scoreboard as they kicked two penalties in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the first half remained scrappy as both sides were forced to react to some rather interesting refereeing, and despite Gateshead receiving a yellow card after 25 mins, Novos were unable to capitalise and went into half-time 0-6 down.

The handful of freezing spectators were rewarded for their dedication with a thrilling second half with Scullion successfully taking 3 points in the first minute, followed by a missed penalty 5 minutes later. It was a moment of individual brilliance by Scott Elliott in the 11th minute, who exploited a gap in the Gateshead defence, and after brushing off a couple of tackles and some excellent footwork ran in for the first try of the match, and after a successful Scullion conversion, to put Novos ahead with the score at 6-10. This appeared to be the motivation that Novos have desperately needed, and with both forwards and backs battling hard in defence, and exerting pressure where possible, they continued to concede far too many penalties, which proved costly as Gateshead were able to pick up another 3 points to make it 9-10 with 20 minutes left to play. The following 10 minutes saw some excellent defence to keep out a constant barrage of attack from Gateshead, despite an undeserved sin-bin for JP Addison and uncontested scrums. A contentious attack from Gateshead in the 30th minute saw, what looked to be a certain try, actually disallowed as Gateshead’s own linesman alerted the referee that the player’s foot was in touch. This, shortly followed by a fantastic run from his own half by David Marshall, from which Novos were unable to convert into points proved to be costly, as Gateshead were able to score a try late on as their forwards barrelled over the line to make the score 14-10. Novos, despite really starting to look like a side that can play well together and Gateshead suffering another yellow card, were just unable to pick up a final try and the game finished 14-10.

There were certainly many positives for Novos to take from this week’s game as both new and regular players showed their worth, particularly Eoin Scullion and James McKenzie who shared the 9 position, as well as Dave Marshall in his first 2’s game of the season, who definitely made his mark. The Novos forwards were looking much more solid up front, with strong performances by Neil Spence, Josh Floyd, Fand Vohanka, and a welcome return by Alex Milton. This week’s man of the match was the man-flu-suffering Scott Elliott who had an excellent game at 10.

Lets see the whole squad down at training this week as we prepare to host Durham next weekend.