Plymouth Albion fell to their second defeat of the season at Cinderford on Saturday afternoon as the hosts came out 20-12 winners.
The opening 20 minutes of the encounter saw both sides make approaches towards one another’s 22, but strong defending at either end repelled the advancements.
Cinderford found their breakthrough just over 20 minutes in when Tom Knight picked and went from a rapidly taken penalty, putting them seven in front in what had been a tight encounter.
That lead was quickly doubled when flanker Joe Mullis ran through a gap to reach over the line and Joe Winfield, as with the first try, converted the second.
The hosts’ lead was extended when Winfield spied an opportunity to kick at goal, and his drop earned them an additional three points a few minutes before the break.
Hallam Chapman nearly got over for his first Albion try, but he was held up in the last action of the first half.
Winfield had the chance to add another three to the total early in the second half, but his penalty sailed wide of the mark. Cinderford had done well to keep Albion out of their half throughout the opening minutes of the second period.
Cinderford continued to apply pressure in Albion’s half for a lengthy period, with the Janners endeavouring with full exertion to break through a solid line.
Albion sparked into life heading towards the final 10 minutes when a powerful pick-and-go from Chapman secured him his first try for the club, and it took a couple more minutes for Seta Raumakita to run over a second, putting us eight points behind with 10 to go.
We were unable to squeeze the gap any further from there on in however, with Cinderford holding on for the win.
Line-Ups:
Cinderford:
Harry Edwards, Nathan Taylor, Shaun Knight, Charlie Rice, Callum Thompson, Tyler Jerum ©, Joe Mullis, George Evans, Tom Knight, Joe Winfield, Mason Tonks, Jamie Forrester, Will Baldwin, Matthew Jones, Mike Willcox
Replacements: George Porter, James Elliot, Paddy Pearce, Tom Anderson, Jimmy Williams
Albion:
Dan Pullinger, Harry Wilkinson, Jenson Boughton, Dan Collier, Hallam Chapman, Angus Hodges, Torin Clarke, Sam Daly, Jack Oulton ©, Phil Jones, Pita Ratukadreu, Archie Hill, Jesse Lowe, Seta Raumakita, Tom Putt
Replacements: Gabe Mead, Ramaz Rukhadze, Jack Wickham, Morgan Stone, Connor Eastgate
