BLUES: Doncaster defence triumphs
Blues short of answers on home turf
The Championship
Bedford Blues 12 Doncaster Knights 23
Doncaster Knights gave their play-off hopes a significant boost as they claimed a thoroughly deserved 23-12 win at Goldington Road.
One side were desperate for points, the other didn't really need them, and it showed as the visitors, who led 13-0 at the interval, did more than enough to take the spoils back up the M1 to Yorkshire.
The Knights' defence proved, ultimately, to be the difference as they successfully repelled everything that was thrown at them, especially in the second half when they hardly got their hands on the ball.
On a still afternoon, the first points scoring opportunity fell to the visitors in the fifth minute.
After a breezy start to the game from both sides, Alistair Warnock missed the target with a penalty attempt from just inside Blues' territory.
Possession then belonged to the Knights and they were rewarded five minutes later with a well-worked try down the right-hand side, Andrew Wright putting the finishing touches to some good handling with Warnock added the simplest of conversions.
The home side were yet to find their feet or any kind of rhythm and their initial foray into enemy territory came to nothing as a knock-on enabled the Knights to clear their lines and move play 60 yards upfield.
It was all Knights as the half approached the midway stage with play being swung from right to left in search of an opening.
Nicholas Griffiths was held up over the line as some scrambling defence did its job, but from the resulting scrum a penalty was awarded against the home pack and Warnock made no mistake to take the score to 10-0.
Starved of possession, the hosts made next to no impact on proceedings until Ollie Dodge broke out of nowhere down the right.
After Dodge eluded what looked like a high tackle, the ball was recycled and an astute Ian Vass kick put the Blues in a position to attack.
A neat blind side move saw Dodge tackled close to the Knights' line, however, they were unable to hold on to possession and the chance went begging.
Quickly back on the front foot, the Blues were beginning to exert their influence.
A minor fracas livened things up for a minute or two and the edge it subsequently gave the contest served to do the Blues some good.
A number of phases were worked through as the pack battered against the Knights' defence with little success and just as they appeared to be getting somewhere they contrived to lose the ball with the line in sight.
In the final minute of the half Warnock added a long-range penalty off the right-hand post and the interval arrived with the Knights 13 points to the good.
James Pritchard got his first chance to kick for goal four minutes into the second period when the Knights were penalised near the halfway line, but his effort drifted wide.
A flowing effort released James Fielden and then Pritchard before the covering defence got their man and the full-back then squandered a fairly straightforward penalty.
In contrast to the first half, at least the Blues were in the ascendancy. There was a more purposeful air to their approach and they got themselves back in the game when Dodge crossed wide on the right, Myles Dorrian hitting the post with the conversion
The try was well deserved and a result of a patient and determined period of play, but it was quickly negated when Warnock was allowed to add to his tally with his third penalty of the afternoon just before the hour.
And when Douglas Flockhart intercepted Vass' hopeful pass 40 yards out and outsprinted Duncan Taylor to touch down under the posts, Warnock converting, the game became the Knights' to lose with the Blues three scores behind.
A raft of substitutions were made as the Blues sought to give themselves some impetus going into the final stages.
Another interception close to their own line after a long stretch of pressure gave way to desperation enabled the Knights to clear the danger and give themselves a bit of breathing space.
The Blues were having nearly all of the ball and doing their best to break through, however, the Knights were standing up to the task and although Taylor shimmied his way over after Fielden's break had sucked in the defence, Dorrian converting, and Dodge was stopped just short of the line in added time, the horse had already bolted.
BLUES: Pritchard (Taylor 63), Fielden, Dorrian, Vass, Dodge, Davies, Walshe (Roberts 66), Walsh (Cecere 53), Richmond (Locke 78), Boulton (Seal 53), Tupai, Rae (Harlock 48), Lewitt, Harding (Gillanders 65), Goodman.
Referee: C Marchat
Attendance: 2,241
Blues MOM: Chris Goodman. A whole-hearted effort up front.
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
