De Cymru & The Marches 2 Gwent 3

Wotton-under-Edge 2nds (A) 2

THE ENGLAND rugby side travelled to Cardiff to play Wales in the Six Nations on Saturday but, for Wotton seconds, it was a slightly shorter trip over the Severn Bridge on the weekend as they paid a visit to Cwmbran Stadium to play Gwent in the De Cymru and Marches Two League.

But, while Wotton arrived in good spirits from their last two great performances, they did not come away with the points.

Gwent applied pressure from the start which, combined with a refurbished pitch which was exceptionally bouncy, caught Wotton off guard.

This disrupted the careful passing play that Wotton had demonstrated over the last couple of fixtures.

That aside, initially Wotton held on to the ball well making some good progress into the opposition territory.

Unfortunately, the Gwent forwards intercepted some poor passes from the Wotton defence and managed to convert a couple to give themselves a 2-0 lead by half time.

After half time, Wotton came back fighting strongly.

Pressure high up the pitch in Gwent territory lead to a turnover.

Sam Wilcox managed to find Archie Cropper, allowing him to unleash his trademark reverse stick shot.

This closed the gap to 2-1. Gwent continued with their direct long ball game and managed to find their forwards near the Wotton 23.

An unfortunate deflection off a Wotton defender saw a wide shot go past Wotton’s keeper, stretching the Gwent lead out to 3-1.

Wotton continued to battle and were rewarded with another Cropper zinger, assisted by a good pass from captain Neil Forsyth.

Despite Wotton’s best efforts – and excellent performances by Cropper and Hayden Brewer, the youngest players on the pitch – they were unable to secure a third goal and the away point they had crossed the bridge for.