Close game goes to the wire

With Ives 1sts having a rest weekend from league activity, a number of their squad travelled to support the 2nds on a bright, breezy day. And what a game they witnessed.
It could not have started worse for the Bulls as knock and penalty from the kick gifted Mildenhall possession. That the winger dropped the ball short of the line was unfortunately missed by the important one and they were ahead within 2 minutes.
Ives struck back almost immediately, good play saw them suck in the home defence leaving skipper Josh Taylor to dot down on the wing (yes, the wing!).
A couple of errors then gave Mildenhall the lead. First an overlap was lost with a forward pass, then a missed penalty kick to touch saw Mildenhall run through soft shoulders to score.
The hosts were beginning to dominate the contact areas and scored quickly after a quickly taken penalty, this time converting.
Mildenhall clearly had an idea that the match was going to be close. A penalty close in was kicked to take the lead to 20-5.
As the half was about to expire, Ives put some continuity to gain territory. Debutant Steven Macroff was the beneficiary, receiving the ball and thundering through the last defence to score.
Halftime 20-10
Mildenhall were now playing with the wind and enjoyed decent territory for 15 minutes. Bit stout Ives defence kept them at bay until the stand off sat back in the pocket and struck a well taken drop goal.
They followed this up with a converted try as Ives were struggling.
With 15 minutes left, the Bulls picked up their game for their best period of the match. First Max Flint receiving the ball close to the touchline and with 40 metres to go shoed great determination to bat off the covering defence and score a fine try, converted by Joe Cox.
Mildenhall raucously upped the ante and score a converted try of their own.
Ives were in no mood to give up the game. Completing some practised backs moves well, newcomer Jake Clayton was left with a sprint for the line to score, securing the try bonus point. The conversion attempt from the post and stayed out, which ultimately unluckily cost Ives a losing bonus point.
The finest move of the entire match came as time was up. The forwards won fine possession from a set piece, Ives played out the back and released Flint in space. His pace took him away from allcomers and completed a fine move with a try under the posts.
Cox converted to leave Ives happy with their second half performance and wondering what might have been.
Skipper Taylor was sanguine after the game. “We played well in the second half and came off having enjoyed the game. It’s just a shame that we were so near to the win, but good to get the try bonus point.”