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Search forFirst-half onslaught sets up North Petherton victory
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:33
On another wet and sticky weekend at Beggars Brook, North Petherton ran out in front a large crowd, including the club's sponsors.
With Pethy still missing influential second row James Lees due to illness, powerhouse Mike Coles gained another start for the 1st XV.
The opening score went to the hosts when, after a few phases from the forwards, the ball was moved wide and Chris Burge ran on to it at pace.
He still had plenty of work to do, but powered through tackles to score in the corner. Tom Williams' conversion attempt went wide.
A Matt Foad break resulted in Petherton winning a penalty and Williams made it 8-0.
An opportunity for a second try was missed thanks to a Sam Williams knock-on, but Pethy remained on top and Tom Williams kicked another three points.
A darting run from Lloyd Williams, following a scrambled Winscombe clearance kick, allowed Rob Havill to score under the posts, Tom Williams' conversion making it 18-0.
A further Williams penalty completed an impressive first half for the hosts.
In the second half, the game deteriorated as Winscombe looked to stop Pethy from playing rugby.
Things began to turn ugly, with Harley Brown sin-binned for the first time in his long career for an apparent late tackle.
This made things worse and Pethy's Mike Taylor received a stud to the head shortly afterwards, not spotted by the referee.
Mike Coles' reaction earned him a red card and a yellow card for Matt Angel saw Pethy briefly down to 12 players.
This allowed Winscombe a way back into the game and a well-struck penalty eventually got the visitors on the scoreboard.
The Petherton pack struggled over the closing stages and the visitors scored a late try, despite appeals for offside from the hosts.
North Petherton's victory sees them move level on points with second-placed Tor in Tribute Somerset Premier, one point behind leaders Burnham.
NORTH PERTHERTON: T Williams, Burge, Havill, Foad (R Williams), Archer, L Williams, Lennox; H Brown, S Williams, Prescott (Angel), Gingell, Coles, Tarr (Robinson), Taylor, M Brown.
