| Albion Gain League Double | ||||||
| Plymouth Albion 19 Cornish Pirates
9 The Cornish Pirates rarely lose three in a row but this defeat at Brickfields has rounded off a miserable seven days for Jim McKay`s men. That it took until deep into second-half stoppage time for Albion to seal the victory was the only surprise in a game they should have won more comfortably. Dogged by injuries since their EDF Trophy triumph over Albion two weeks ago, McKay has had to use every resource at his disposal in order to field teams in subsequent fixtures. Yesterday saw the welcome return of most of his first choice line up but the team for the most part looked lacklustre, devoid of a cutting edge in midfield, and were badly hampered by a plague of individual handling errors.
Minutes later he sliced an easy pot at goal from close range and right on half time the hero who secured the Cup victory at Camborne with his two booming drop goals turned villain. His woefully understruck midfield chip and chase over the Albion defence was swallowed up and recycled in an instant. With Pirates full-back Adryan Winnan still off the field with a leg injury, Tom Arscott was suddenly presented with acres of space to run into down the right flank and his mazey run tore through the floundering Pirates defence for a try under the posts. Again Van Eyk could not miss. There was time for Di Bernardo to slot a second penalty leaving the game wonderfully poised at 14-6 at the break. Three minutes into the second half Di Bernardo reduced the arrears further with another penalty after Albion had been caught offside. With one score between the sides the match remained on a knife edge to the very end. Van Eyk and Di Bernardo both wasting good opportunities with the boot to trouble the scorers. The Pirates pressed hard for that crucial try as they marched towards the Albion line in the final ten minutes only to see indiscipline, basic mistakes and solid defence again destroy everything they tried. It was flat, slow and uninspiring stuff from the visitors. Graham Dawe`s team knew exactly what they had to do and once they secured possession themselves they marched deep into Pirates territory for the final act.
Now unable to escape from their own twenty-two the exhuasted Pirates became increasingly desperate. Mr Rowden penalised every indiscretion and Albion`s unrelenting pressure finally saw a trademark driving maul crash over in the Clubhouse corner. Keni Fisilau credited with the try. That Van Eyk missed again with the conversion was of no consequence as Mr Rowden called time to the delight of the Albion faithful. For the Pirates thoughts can now turn to their big day at Twickenham next Sunday. After three defeats on the road another failure is simply not an option for the Cornishmen. PIRATES: Pens - Di Bernardo (3) ALBION: Tries
- Arscott, Sestaret, Fisilau Referee - Ashley Rowden (RFU) Attendance 5981
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