Bears Defeat Stags
Bears hang on to beat Stags for a second time.
Coventry Bears 29 Hemel Stags 26 Kingstone Press League 1 Shield
Match Report by Mike Hyde
Photos by Tim Nunan
In a rerun of the Bears v Stags league
fixture earlier this season, the home side once again showed great strength and skill, wereclearly the better of the two sides yet once again found themselves hanging on for the final hooter.
The previous fixture had ended 28-24, despite the Bears building up a commanding 22-6 half time lead, and the pattern and flow of Sunday’s game was uncannily familiar to Butts Park regulars.
It was a classic English summer day, cool and nondescript, as the game started in front of a slightly lower crowd than usual due to the onset of the school holiday period.
The Bears were determined to shake off the disappointment of recent defeats and to start playing as a real team again, bolstered by their new signings.
Showing the attacking flair for which they have received much praise, and some of the defensive frailty which is also an unfortunate by-product, the Coventry side were 16-10 in the lead after 28 minutes. Brad Delaneywas in sparkling form, crossing over for two of the tries, in addition to kicking the conversions, and Brad Brennan made several bruising runs down the centre.
After a period of stalemate, prop Jack Morrison powered his way through the Stags defence, paving the way for James Kelly to cross the line and put the score at 22-10.
Half time Coventry Bears 22 Hemel Stags 10
Knowing their team’s tendency to fade, the Bears fans were relieved when Brad Delaney elected to kick for two points rather than use the opportunity for a possible try. This decision extended the lead to 14 points, meaning the wounded Stags needed to score three times to salvage the game.
Then showing real ruthlessness, the Bears went for the kill and Hayden Freeman crossed over in the corner to make it 28-10.
However, the match was far from over, and after an uncharacteristic Bears mistake, the Stags pounced, scoring a try and conversion, narrowing the gap to 12 points at 28-16.
Paul Emanuelli then showed why the Bears have recently signed him as he scored a drop goal to stymy the Stags comeback.
However, the Stags were still not ready to give in and withfive minutes to go put another six points on the scoreboard. Time for Bears fans to bite their nails once again.
Stags piled on the pressure and crossed over once more, but were unable to convert, and the score was now agonisingly close at 29-26.
And that is how it stayed, it had been a tense and well fought contest, and in the final analysis, the decisions to take go for two points via a penalty, and gain another precious point with a drop were all that differentiated the two sides.
Bears coach Tom Tsang was in good spirits after the game;
‘Its been a tough slog so far this season but there's a core group of players who have kept turning up with good attitudes and todays win was a just reward for those lads and the hard work they've put in.
Hemel came into the match full of confidence and much improved, looking for a third consecutive win so we knew we were in for a challenge.
I thought though that our lads really dominated throughout and probably should have gone on to win by a larger margin.
Fair play to Hemel they never gave in and came back a bit at the end but after the way we over powered them in the first 60 minutes, I was always confident we would get the result.
Our challenge now is to use this as a catalyst for more strong performances to finish the year.’
Man of the Match; Brad Delaney gaining 16 points out of 29for the Bears
Next Saturday, the Bears travel to Cheltenham to face the All Golds while the next home game is on Sunday August 20thkick-off 3pm, when Bears play London Skolars.
Coventry Bears 29 Hemel Stags 26 Kingstone Press League 1 Shield
Match Report by Mike Hyde
In a rerun of the Bears v Stags league
fixture earlier this season, the home side once again showed great strength and skill, wereclearly the better of the two sides yet once again found themselves hanging on for the final hooter.
The previous fixture had ended 28-24, despite the Bears building up a commanding 22-6 half time lead, and the pattern and flow of Sunday’s game was uncannily familiar to Butts Park regulars.
It was a classic English summer day, cool and nondescript, as the game started in front of a slightly lower crowd than usual due to the onset of the school holiday period.
The Bears were determined to shake off the disappointment of recent defeats and to start playing as a real team again, bolstered by their new signings.
Showing the attacking flair for which they have received much praise, and some of the defensive frailty which is also an unfortunate by-product, the Coventry side were 16-10 in the lead after 28 minutes. Brad Delaneywas in sparkling form, crossing over for two of the tries, in addition to kicking the conversions, and Brad Brennan made several bruising runs down the centre.
After a period of stalemate, prop Jack Morrison powered his way through the Stags defence, paving the way for James Kelly to cross the line and put the score at 22-10.
Half time Coventry Bears 22 Hemel Stags 10
Knowing their team’s tendency to fade, the Bears fans were relieved when Brad Delaney elected to kick for two points rather than use the opportunity for a possible try. This decision extended the lead to 14 points, meaning the wounded Stags needed to score three times to salvage the game.
Then showing real ruthlessness, the Bears went for the kill and Hayden Freeman crossed over in the corner to make it 28-10.
However, the match was far from over, and after an uncharacteristic Bears mistake, the Stags pounced, scoring a try and conversion, narrowing the gap to 12 points at 28-16.
Paul Emanuelli then showed why the Bears have recently signed him as he scored a drop goal to stop the Stags comeback.
However, the Stags were still not ready to give in and with five minutes to go put another six points on the scoreboard. Time for Bears fans to bite their nails once again.
Stags piled on the pressure and crossed over once more, but were unable to convert, and the score was now agonisingly close at 29-26.
And that is how it stayed, it had been a tense and well fought contest, and in the final analysis, the decisions to take go for two points via a penalty, and gain another precious point with a drop were all that differentiated the two sides.
Bears coach Tom Tsang was in good spirits after the game;
‘Its been a tough slog so far this season but there's a core group of players who have kept turning up with good attitudes and todays win was a just reward for those lads and the hard work they've put in.
Hemel came into the match full of confidence and much improved, looking for a third consecutive win so we knew we were in for a challenge.
I thought though that our lads really dominated throughout and probably should have gone on to win by a larger margin.
Fair play to Hemel they never gave in and came back a bit at the end but after the way we over powered them in the first 60 minutes, I was always confident we would get the result.
Our challenge now is to use this as a catalyst for more strong performances to finish the year.’
Man of the Match; Brad Delaney gaining 16 points out of 29 for the Bears
Next Saturday, the Bears travel to Cheltenham to face the All Golds while the next home game is on Sunday August 20th kick-off 3pm, when Bears play London Skolars.
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