Wheatley gave a good account of themselves against the newly relegated side taking 6 against the head in the scrum and with the home sides line out not functioning well Wheatley were able to exceed expectations in the set piece.

Wheatley opened the scoring with the hosts conceding a penalty at the breakdown on the 15 minute mark and Aaron Laman duly stepping up to get Wheatley off the mark, Gosford will consider themselves luck not to have been reduced to 14 men with the home sideds loose head prop getting away unpunished for a obvious headbutt.

Wheatley continued to put the former Southern Counties side under pressure at each and every opportunity but lacked penetration too often opting to ship the ball wide and letting Gosford off the hook,

Gosford were able to have a brief foray into the Wheatley 22 and were rewarded with 5 points after some poor tackling the Gosford number 8 crashed over from close range, Luke Agius was able to charge down the conversion and ultimately give the purple men a loosing bonus point.

5-3

The remainder of the half was played out on the halfway with Wheatley struggling to break the defensive line and with some guilt edge opportunities being knocked on too often,

Half Time

Gosford came out the blocks in the second half and on the 48th minute a we executed drop goal saw their lead extended after some robust defending from Wheatley kept the big ball carrying forwards at bay. 8-3

Wheatley undeterred continued to apply the pressure but were under more pressure than usually seen in the BBO Prem with Gosford press defence giving the Wheatley back line little time to function, with frustration building Wheatley's discipline faltered and conceded 2 penalties in quick succession adding 6 points to the home sides advantage 14-3

This seemed to galvanise Wheatley and from the resulting re-start Wheatley wound the screw and it was Gosford who now began to crack under the pressure conceding multiple penalties for dangerous play but with the official seemingly haven forgotten his cards conceding a well worked try was probably a favourable outcome for Gosford, Alex Gabbidon creating a try from a quick tap and Aaron adding the conversion. 14-10

The final 10 minutes was a frustrating watch with Wheatley unable to find any rhythm, it was Gosford who were able to establish some control after a harshly awards penalty was awarded to the home team for an apparent non release of the ball despite several Gosford players seemingly over the ball un supported, None the less the penalty was awarded and after 2 minutes eventually it went through the uprights to give some breathing space to Gosford. 17-10

With little time on the clock, Gosford controlled the restart well and played out the clock.

Wheatley can take considerable heart from this performance with little between the 2 sides on the day, Gosford were relentless at the break down and gave the half backs little time on the ball, Wheatley's lack of penetration probably cost them the victory but there is plenty to work on.

MoM Alex Gabbidom

DoD the Moose as he Stephen Spielberg he is not!