Strange decisions see Olney edge to narrow Dunstablians win

A tight game saw Dunstablians go down to a 15-5 defeat at local rivals Olney in Midlands Two East South on Saturday.

With a strong breeze behind them Dees pinned Olney in their half in the early stages as they put them under pressure on their 22-metre line.

Joe Murphy’s tackle in midfield saw the attacking player lose control of the ball and the hack through resulted in Jordan Warner winning the foot race to touch down in the corner for an unconverted try as Dees led 5-0.

Both sides struggled to get to grips with the conditions and maintain any possession of the ball.

Olney though managed to force a number of penalties as the Dees were on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle.

As Olney moved up the pitch they opted for the kick in front of the posts as their fly-half duly reduced the arrears with his penalty.

Further pressure forced Dees side to defend deep in their own 22 and, after a number of phases, a knock-on saw Olney win a scrum.

A well-timed move in the midfield saw the Olney centre break through and score a converted try under the posts with the last play of the first half as the host led 10-5 at the break.

The second half started slowly, with Olney looking to kick deep and pin Dees back in their own half.

A number of strange decisions from the referee confused both sets of players and disrupted the flow in the game, while Simon George was sin-binned in another bizarre decision as he ran into a retreating prop as he chased a kick through by the home side.

With the numerical advantage, Olney made it count and scored another unconverted try in the corner with 25 minutes left to play.

The remainder of the half was dominated by the away side, but two extended stoppages caused further disruption.

A broken leg to an Olney player meant the game had to be moved across to the next pitch, while minutes after moving, a similar injury was sustained by another Olney player.

Despite dominating possession, Dees failed to convert their pressure into points as the ball was turned over illegally by the defending players.

After a fourth penalty in Olney’s 22, a home player was finally sin-binned, but the hosts defended well in the final minutes as, despite throwing everything at them to get the much needed score Dunstablians were able to find a way through as Olney held firm to claim a 15-5 victory.

This week Dunstablians are at home against Northampton BBOB.