Pethy hang onto second place to keep promotion hopes alive
North Petherton came away from Nailsea & Backwell on Saturday the happier of the two sides after a tight game finished 15-15. The draw was enough to keep Pethy 2 points ahead of their hosts and still in second place in Somerset One with four rounds of matches remaining. Playing up the slope in the first-half, Petherton were happy enough to go into the interval only 8-0 down after having to defend for long periods, although it could have been much better if it wasn't for a breakaway Nailsea try in the 39th minute.
With the wind and slope in their favour in the second-half, Pethy gained much better territory to get themselves into the game, and they were boosted 10 minutes into the half when the Nailsea 7 was sent off for punching Petherton scrum-half Kev Rybaruk. Pethy seized on this and scored two tries in quick succession through Andy Agar and Ben Williams to put themselves 12-8 in front. However, Nailsea came straight back and scored a well-taken try to lead by three points. A penalty on 60 minutes by Tom Williams leveled the scores and the rest of the match became a nervous affair as both teams struggled to break through each other's defence in a game that neither side could afford to lose. Read the match report here.
In other results in Somerset 1, there was a big shock as 11th placed Crewkerne beat league leaders Burnham-On-Sea at home. The draw between Nailsea and Petherton has now brought 4th placed Wiveliscombe into promotion contention after they won a close game at Combe Down. All of the weekends results can be seen below.
Tribute Somerset 1 Results - Saturday 1st March 2008
Bristol Barbarians 32 - 16 Keynsham II
Broad Plain 51 - 0 Imperial
Combe Down 7 - 10 Wiveliscombe
Crewkerne 14 - 12 Burnham on Sea
Nailsea & Backwell 15 - 15 North Petherton
Old Culverhaysians 99 - 0 MartockWith 4 rounds of matches to go, Pethy will realistically have to win all of their remaining fixtures to keep hold of second place. Burnham still only need 2 wins to take one of the promotion spots, given their superior points difference over the chasing pack. The table below shows the run-in for the top four sides: -
Petherton and Wiveliscombe have arguably the most difficult run-in, and it is difficult to see how Nailsea will not win all of their remaining games against sides near the bottom of the table. However, results in recent weeks have shown that anything is yet possible in Somerset One this season.
Pethy Seconds were again frustrated at the weekend as Tor Thirds cancelled their league fixture when they could not raise a side. The resulting walkover victory keeps them in third place in the league table. All of the weekends results can be seen below.
Tribute Somerset 3 South Results - Saturday 1st March 2008
Chard III 7 - 23 Castle Cary
Hornets III 12 - 61 Wiveliscombe II
Minehead Barbarians III 55 - 5 Wellington III
Taunton III HWO Burnham on S II
Tor III AWO North Petherton II
Wells III 36 - 17 Midsomer Norton IVOn Saturday Petherton will be at home against Combe Down, a side who have improved greatly since christmas after a slow start to the season. The Second team will also be in action at home against Wells Thirds, with both matches kicking off at 2:30pm.