St Ives vs. Bedford Queens
St Ives lost 28 - 5 to Bedford Queens this weekend, a score line that did not complement St Ives' performance.
St Ives, still searching for the first win of the season were unable to convert possession into points on Saturday, credit must go to the Queens defence however, which repelled the St Ives attacks on numerous occasions. The St Ives team conceded three soft tries in the first half and were chasing the game from then on. Playing up the hill in the first half, St Ives did look dangerous and enjoyed periods of sustained pressure in the Queens 22, but unfortunately a mixture of indecisiveness and poor handling prevented the scores from coming.
The second half again saw St Ives enjoying long periods of possession and looked threatening with the ball in hand, but once again the final pass was not forthcoming. They did cross the line early on through a Mike Sykes drive (playing at outside centre) but the referee judged that the ball was lost before grounding. Queens scored again late in the half, again through a St Ives error at the line-out and St Ives hit back late on with a consolation try scored by player coach Mel Jessop, collecting a delightful offload from Matt Lippard.
St Ives captain Ross Thompson identifies the problem as confidence, the build up play is very good and we are competing in all areas of the game again; but unfortunately we are unable to score. Playing so long into the season without a win is obviously playing on the minds of the team, and it is felt that one win could be the turning point of our season.