Sat 16 Mar 2024
Alcester 26 - 26 Bromsgrove IIs
Alcester finished all square in a hard fought battle with local rivals Bromsgrove on Saturday, 26-26.
Right from the kickoff, Bromsgrove showed energy and determination, and opened the scoring within the first five minutes, despite being held up over the line minutes earlier.
A well-executed 50:22 from winger Mark Burrell, earned Alcester crucial territory and put them in the attacking zone. From this, Alcester pushed for the line and finally broke through with Christian Rushton with the conversion hitting the cross bar and falling just short.
Despite Alcester's efforts, Bromsgrove's bigger pack proved to be a force to be reckoned with, bulldozing their way over the line for their second try of the game.
Bromsgrove looked to be on top but kept giving away crucial penalties, which saw Ed Gough kick an easy three points in front of the posts.
Two minutes since their last try, Bromsgrove had crossed the whitewash again, running over three-quarters of the pitch unopposed.
The game was very physical, with big hits and fierce contesting at every breakdown. The physicality spilled over when Bromsgrove's tight head prop went into a tackle a little too high on Alcester's Jake Stephens-Smith who was subbed off for a head injury assessment. Bromsgrove were shown a yellow card as a result.
In an action packed final five minutes of the first half, Gough kicked another penalty, before Nigel Burrows was shown a yellow card for dissent. Alcester weren't deterred and Robbie Parker went to score on the stroke of half time, with a successful conversion bringing the score to within a point of one another, 18-19.
The second half started messy and scrappy but it wasn't long before the visitors has added their bonus point try.
However, Alcester kept fighting, refusing to let Bromsgrove run away with things. The home side made it difficult for themselves, throwing some wayward passes before Tom Burgess scored on his first game this season, after recovering from secondary concussion.
Two missed penalty opportunities from Alcester, added to the tension as the game approached its climax. However, a third successful kick by Gough drew the scores level.
Both teams fought until the final whistle, and it finished all square.
Alcester travel away to Broadstreet IIs next week in a reverse fixture that the red and blacks won convincingly.
