Woodford.......................23

Sutton & Epsom.............16

(London League Div One)

WOODFORD turned back the clock and turned on the style with a winning performance which ensured they ended the year in the same form as they began it.

With confidence rising and no shortage of competitive spirit, they claimed the scalp of Sutton and Epsom, a team several places above them in the London League division one table, to leave their director of rugby, Ian Palmer, a happy man.

He said: "The team is elated by this result. It wasn't quite expected but it was thoroughly deserved.

"I hadn't thought we would beat them but it could have been an even bigger margin at the end. We were worth more than that on the day. We gave them a soft try which put them ahead and, at that stage, I thought we might be in trouble but in the second half there was only one team in it."

The match had opened with Woodford engineering combined drives out of defence but being driven back upon reaching the visitors' half.

It was Sutton who opened the scoring, a penalty kick to the corner resulting in an unconverted try, but it was clear that a spirited Woodford side had plenty to give in return.

They replied almost immediately through wing forward Ben Wyer-Roberts. A charged down kick led to an attacking position and he was released to score following a powerful run.

A penalty from full back Andy Atkinson gave the Highams men an 8-5 lead, but any complacency was shattered when an interception allowed the visitors to run in a 50-yard unchallenged try.

Sutton added the conversion to give them a 13-8 lead at the break but the second half was quite a different story.

It was at this stage that Woodford began to dominate the lineouts and they built on this to good effect, gaining ground and creating scoring chances.

Phil Baker found a gap to canter over for a try to level the game and, although Sutton countered with a penalty, steadily the home side began to take charge.

The try which gave them the lead was the result of a splendid move which spread the breadth of the pitch. A well-timed pass gave right wing Kyeron Clutton room to move and he set off on a thrilling 50-yard run, skipping past several tackles for one of the best tries of the season.

Atkinson converted and added another penalty to put the game out of Sutton's reach and complete a fine all-round performance.

The win finishes off Woodford's competitive fixtures for the year and they return to action on January 2 with their crunch NPI Cup tie against Maidstone. Before then, they have a trip to Hampstead on Saturday for a friendly.

Other results: Extra 1st 13 Sutton & Epsom 10, Woodford A 26 East London 10, Woodford B 7 Ilford Wanderers 13; Youth: under-17 12 Wanstead 15, under-16 20 London Welsh 0, under-13 91 London Welsh 0. Minis: Against Maidstone: under-12 lost 7-32, under-11 won 33-0, under-10 lost 0-15, under-9 lost 0-5, under-8 won 35-15, under-7 drew 15-15. Against Medway: under-12 drew 20-20, under-11 won 19-0, under-10 won 20-5, under-9 lost 0-10, under-7 won 25-15. Against Erith: under-12 drew 14-14, under-11 drew 7-7, under-10 won 20-0, under-7 lost 10-15.

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