Elks suffer Cup defeat at Derby

But despite the Elks having the bulk of possession and territory, especially in the first half, Derby ran out 17-3 winners by playing much better tactically and taking their opportunities.

Elks made a bright start with Isaac Taylor impressing with some powerful running, he took play into the Derby 22 but the ball was knocked on.

When Derby did have possession the Elks defence was strong pinning Derby in their own 22. Elks pressure finally told when Derby were penalised for offside, Joel Haigh struck the penalty cleanly to give the Elks first points on the board 0-3

Elks were soon back on the attack through Alex Ayres taking play into the Derby 22, the move was carried on by Reuben Elley but knocked on at the ensuing breakdown.

Elks recovered possession and a well-practised move in the backs saw Jack Partington clean through to score under the posts, amazingly play was pulled back when the referee penalised Elks for crossing to the surprise of most of the spectators.

This was a pivotal point in the game as Derby cleared from the penalty and created space down the blindside and scored in the left corner, this was well converted in the conditions to give Derby a 7-3 lead showing the value of taking opportunities. There was no further score before half time and the Elks only had themselves to blame for not having more points on the board despite having the bulk of possession.

Chris Tipton replaced Stephen Fowkes at half time.

Derby started the second half well and the Elks conceded a kickable penalty on 47 mins, this was kicked to stretch the lead to 10-3.

The Elks were playing well until the final pass and not taking chances when in possession. The Elks were penalised again for crossing although there didn’t appear to be a Derby tackler nearby. Derby kicked to touch and drove well from the catch, the ball was recycled and moved into midfield, a gap appeared in the defence and Derby took advantage to score under the posts on 52 mins, converted to make it 17-3.

Promising 17 year old Robson King came on after 54 mins replacing Jake Smithurst, the Elks youth policy continued when Gordon Pringle replaced Tom Holland after 60 mins.

Elks tried hard to get back into the game but Derby were well organised in defence and denied the Elks any real line breaks, there were few scoring opportunities in the final 20 mins apart from a Derby penalty kick which fell short, final score 17-3.

On the day Derby deserved their victory and they certainly played tactically better than the Elks who at times played too much rugby in the heavy conditions.

It was good to see Joel Haigh back on the pitch as he has been sorely missed, the Man of the Match however goes to Rueben Elley who worked tirelessly in defence and had several powerful runs.

Have a great Xmas break and hope to see you all at Paviors on Jan 4th 2.15 Kick Off.