Poor first half leaves Elks far too much to do

Rasen were soon back on the attack and although the ball was turned over they came back again, a chip over the top wrong footed the Elks defence and Rasens centre gathered the ball and ran in unopposed, extras added to make it 0-7 after 13mins

Elks responded well with a good carry from Tom Pottinger but Rasen defence was strong and cleared the danger

Further disruption fell for the Elks with Simon Hallam forced off through injury, he was replaced by Dan Bell

Discipline was again an issue at the breakdown and Elks were penalised for hands in the ruck, Rasen kicked to the corner and from the line out took good ball and drove forward, their forwards controlled the drive and crashed over for another try on 22 mins, extras missed making it 0-12

Penalties at the breakdown were ruining any attacking chances for the Elks allowing all the momentum to come from Market Rasen

Rasen were next to infringe and Elks had their best attack through Jake Lamb, Adam Corcoran and
Jono Falls, the ball was recycled but knocked on soon after

Elks continued to make individual errors as Rasen finished the half strongly, they turned over an Elks scrum and the scrum half broke right, he off loaded and although the tackle was good another off load saw Market Rasen go over for their third try, extras missed but a dreadful first half for the Elks saw them 0-17 down at half time

Elks faced a massive challenge but at least had the slope for the second half, Elks started well and were helped when Rasen had their flanker sin binned for side entry

Elks threw everything at Rasen in an attempt to get back in the game but errors were still halting any progress, Richard Hutchinson was another forced to leave the field with injury

Market Rasen were still controlling the game with better tactical awareness and good set piece

Elks were given a golden chance when Rasen made a mistake in their own 22 and Elks had an attacking scrum, Elks finally linked some phases together and scored through Hugh Smith in the right corner, extras missed making it 5-17 after 68 mins

It was now all Elks as they chased the game and a loose kick from Rasen was returned by Joel Haigh, he fed Smith who drew his man and passed to Falls to score, extras missed making it 10-17 after 74 mins

The game was now frantic as Elks went in search of the vital score and Rasen defended desperately, Elks had several phases and finally scored through Smith with his second try although it was in the corner and left a difficult conversion to take it to extra time, Falls fell short with the kick and the game was gone

It was too little too late for the Elks as they left themselves a mountain to climb with a poor first 60 mins, Market Rasen fully deserved their victory and we wish them luck in the final

Not too many highlights for the Elks but Tom Pottinger stood out with his good carries and work rate and gets the Man of the Match

Next week sees a tough challenge as top of the table Syston visit the Stute, kick off 3.00pm