Evesham remain fourth after defeat (From Cotswold Journal)

Evesham remain fourth after defeat

9:30am Saturday 19th January 2013 in Sport

EVESHAM failed to maintain their winning start to 2013 as lowly visitors Ledbury triumphed 31-16 in Midlands Three West (South).

They remain fourth in the table but have a tough test in their next league clash on Saturday, January 26, at fifth-placed Kings Norton who are five points behind with a game in hand.

Against Ledbury, the hosts started the strongest with field position gained by Simon Corbett allowing the back row to earn a penalty and shot at goal.

Mike Diston kicked successfully but Ledbury responded and Evesham’s indiscipline gifted a kick to the corner with the resulting drive leading to a forwards score in the corner.

But within minutes good forward play from Pete Taylor and Clive Smart earned another penalty for Diston to convert.

The pressure continued and strong line-out work from Kerren Lippett, Stewart Stock and Smart led to a perfect set-play.

Zak Shotton set the ball up in midfield for Dan Humpston to find his blindside winger Zac Reid and he offloaded to Henry Webb who cut inside to crash over for an 11-7 lead.

The momentum swung, however, and hard-working Ledbury barricaded the Evesham line for the fly-half to step through and give them a half-time lead with a try.

With both sides exchanging possession, the game turned when a dubious penalty was given against Evesham for puddling down their own maul.

Ledbury kicked for the corner and, from the resulting position, then scored another try.

Evesham looked to press on but breaks from Sam Huckvale, Alex Jackson and Stef Lasotta were in vain as the ball was not quite falling in the home side’s favour.

The game was as good as over when Liam Green dithered in midfield and floated a pass straight into the opposition’s hands for an interception try.

Evesham battled on, despite countless penalties in the Ledbury 22 not resulting in a sin-bin, and grabbed a consolation score when Sam Garrett and Humpston went blind to find Diston on the angle to score.