Elks create history!

The Elks kicked off and made a good start with Adam Corcoran carrying well, Scunthorpe were penalised and Elks kicked to touch, the Elks line out was turned over and gave Scunthorpe their first attack, the ball was knocked on and from the ensuing scrum Scunthorpe put massive pressure on the Elks and forced a penalty.

Continued pressure by Scunthorpe led to another penalty, this time in front of the posts, their kicker made no mistake and Scunthorpe led 3-0 after 11 mins.

Elks were seeing plenty of possession but strong defence from Scunthorpe was forcing turnovers. Scunthorpe were also making mistakes as the Elks defended well with Greg Taylor and Alex Ayres in particular tackling well.

The Elks were finally settling into the game much better but defences were on top for both sides with little space available for either sets of backs.

G Taylor was involved in most of the Elks good play with some strong running and good tactical kicking forcing Scunthorpe to run from deep, good chasing and first up tackles were forcing mistakes from Scunthorpe.

Elks had their best spell of the half when G Taylor and Ayres ran strong and carried play into the Scunthorpe half, the ball was recycled and good hands from Ayres, Jacob Heath and Jack Partington carried play into the opposition 22, Scunthorpe were caught offside and Partington struck the penalty cleanly to level up the score at 3-3 after 35 mins.

No further scores were registered before half time leaving all to play for in the second half.

Scunthorpe made the brighter start with a move down the blind side, a forward pass halted play but back chat from Scunthorpe gave Elks a full penalty. Elks kicked to touch but lost the line out, Matt Watkins was replaced by Steve Quinn on 46 mins and Jake Smithurst replaced Chris Tipton.

Elks pressured Scunthorpe and forced a penalty, this was kicked to the corner and Nock Gray took a clean catch, the Elks drove forward but the maul was illegally dragged down and Scunthorpe were penalised, they also received a yellow card giving Elks the man advantage.

Elks kicked to the corner and from the line out drove forward, the ball was held up over the line and Elks had a 5 metre scrum, the ball was struck clean and the Elks pack drove over with Corcoran getting the vital touchdown, Partington added the extras to give the lead to the Elks 3-10 after 52 mins.

The kick off was knocked on giving momentum back to Scunthorpe, they moved the ball right and Elks were penalised, Scunthorpe took a quick tap and made good ground but great defence by the Elks forced a penalty allowing them to clear. Gray took another clean catch and the ball was moved into midfield carried well by Ayres, Quinn kept the move going but the final pass went astray. Tipton returned for Quinn.

Scunthorpe then attacked from a line out but a strong tackle from Reuben Elley forced a knock on. Elks were penalised and Scunthorpe kicked to touch, they launched another attack as they started to throw everything at the Elks in search of a score, but the Elks defence stood strong.

The Elks scrum was looking better providing a better platform for the backs, Jake Lamb was kicking tactically well and forcing Scunthorpe back, Elks were caught off side and they kicked to half way, the line out was caught and they created a gap on the blind side, a score looked likely until Heath made a great cover tackle forcing a forward pass. The scrum was won and the ball kicked to touch.

Elks were penalised at the line out and Scunthorpe set up an attacking maul, they drove forward and peeled off the side to score on 75 mins, the conversion was not easy and thankfully for the Elks drifted wide making the score 8-10

Scunthorpe came strong at the Elks looking for the winning score but the defence stood firm as it had for most of the game. Tom Holland was replaced by Toby Keep on 78 mins.

Great play by G Taylor and Ayres took play into the Scunthorpe 22 where Elks managed to stay until the final whistle blew and the Elks celebrated a famous victory.

This was a fully deserved victory for the lads with the defence outstanding, performance were strong through the team with Ayres and Corcoran excellent, but man of the match goes to Greg Taylor who kept the Elks going forward with some great tactical kicking and immense tackling in defence.

A fantastic finish to a season which has been very inconsistent due to injuries and unavailability of key personnel, however this gave opportunities to several young players who have shown great promise and all looks good for next season. A big thank you to all the players and coaching staff for giving the club a great finale.

To cap off a great weekend for the club the U19s Colts won their plate final 17-12 against Mansfield coming back from 12-0 down at half time. No pressure on the Vets then in their Derbyshire Cup Final against Amber Valley Vets!