Elks rue ill-discipline in defeat at Huntingdon

Huntingdon’s kicker put in a 100% performance with the boot to help them register a 36-31 victory over the Elks.

Elks kicked off into a strong wind and soon had the first attack when Huntingdon were penalised at the breakdown, Jake Lamb kicked into the 22 and Chris Tipton took good line out ball, the ball was moved right but knocked on and Elks were penalised for a high tackle, the Huntingdon full back duly kicked the long distance penalty which was to be a theme for much of the first half, 3-0 after 5 mins.

Elks were finding it hard going into the strong wind and were under pressure at the breakdown, another infringement resulted in the same end result as Huntingdon kicked another long distance penalty to make it 6-0 after 11 mins.

This fired the Elks into a good response with first Joel Haigh and then Tipton carrying the ball into the Huntingdon half, from a line out Tipton caught well and the ball was moved right, Alex Ayres burst through and passed to G Taylor who drew his man and fed Jacob Heath to run in the first try after 19 mins, Jono Falls missed the extras into the headwind but the lead was now just a point at 6-5.

Elks were soon back on the attack but turned over in midfield and penalised on half way, the Huntingdon full back maintained his 100% record as he converted the kick to make it 9-5 after 22 mins.

Elks continued to give away penalties and another chance was taken on 24 mins to make it 12-5. Elks responded well through G Taylor, Ayres and Tipton, the ball was recycled and Tom Hicks broke through in the 22, he was stopped short but Ayres was on hand to crash over and make it 12-10 after 29 mins, extras missed.

Elks came straight back from the kick off through Haigh and Tipton, the ball was passed to Heath who drew his man and fed Hugh Smith to score, Falls kicked the difficult conversion to give Elks the lead at 12-17 after 34 mins.

Tipton again caught the kick off and charged forward, the ball was recycled and chipped through into the Huntingdon 22 , Heath gathered the ball and fed Smith who was bundled into touch. Huntingdon used the wind well to clear their lines and were soon in the Elks half, the forwards ran through several phases and kept play tight, they continued to pick and drive and eventually forced their way over on 38 mins, again the full back slotted a difficult kick to make it 19-17.

Huntingdon had the final attack of the half but were stopped short of the line, Elks were penalised and G Taylor received a yellow card, Huntingdon converted the easy penalty to make it 22-17 at half time. Toby Keep replaced Dan Bell.

Elks now had the wind advantage and soon made it count when Haigh put a great box kick up which Huntingdon failed to deal with, Kartar Soar was first to grab the loose ball and fed Lamb for an easy run in, Falls with the extras to make it 22-24 after 44 mins.

Elks dealt with the kick off but gave a penalty away at the ensuing breakdown, they kicked to the corner and drove from the line out, the initial drive was halted but the ball recycled through 3 phases to create a gap to score, needless to say the extras were added to make it 29-24 after 49 mins. Jake Smithurst replaced Tom Hicks.

Elks again responded well and were soon back in the Huntingdon 22 with line out possession, Tipton took clean ball but after driving forward the ball was spilled into touch, Huntingdon launched an attack through the forwards and worked down to the Elks 22, their driving maul was working well and they created another chance to score close in which was taken on 64 mins, extras added to make it 36-24.

Again the response from elks was good with G Taylor turning ball over and launching a counter attack, Haigh made a lovely break and fed Fall to score in the corner, he converted his own score with a difficult kick from the corner to make it 36-31 after 69 mins.

Elks were soon up to half way as the game entered the final 10 mins with all to play for, Huntingdon were penalised and Elks kicked to the 22, Soar took the line out and the pack drove forward, the ball was moved left but strong defence turned the ball over and Huntingdon cleared the danger.

Will Taylor replaced Hugh Smith.

Huntingdon controlled the final minutes with some strong forward drives keeping possession and denying Elks the chance to break out and score, final score 36-31.

Despite outscoring the opposition 5 tries to 3 Elks penalty count was high and the Huntingdon full back had an outstanding game with the boot ending up with a 26 point haul and 100% strike rate.

Ayres, Haigh and G Taylor all had good performances but Man of the Match goes to Chris Tipton who took good line out ball, carried some hard yards and worked tirelessly in the loose.

Next week sees a break from League action and the much anticipated NLD semi-final at home against Market Rasen 3pm kick off. With the added opportunity to see England stuff Scotland after the match let’s get down to the Stute for what promises to be a great afternoon