Dunstablians downed by Newbold in home defeat

Dunstablians fell to a 41-23 defeat at home to Newbold in their Midlands Two East South clash on Saturday.

Newbold’s large pack struck early, scoring two tries in quick succession leaving Dees firmly on the back foot.

A glimmer of hope appeared from the resulting kick off as speedy winger Jordan Warner latched on to a loose ball and touched down in the corner for a try against run of play.

Newbold showed their dominance with some strong set piece play and a further score as Dunstablians were simply not at the races, with the visitors adding another try from a pushover scrum.

Dees were back on the scoresheet when they won a penalty after some great work at the breakdown from Sam Coogan, which Joe Murphy duly converted.

This galvanised the hosts as they went on to score a well worked try when Stuart Calder, Sam Coogan and Ash Warren linked up well for Warren to touch down in the corner.

However, Newbold ended the half on top as they got their bonus point try just before the break to make it 33-13.

Some strong words from coach Dave Marshall during the interval seemed to do the trick as Dunstable came out firing, managing to put some phases of play together and gaining parity in the scrums.

This was rewarded with a try when Gavin Denning received the ball out wide, skilfully chipping the ball over two oncoming defenders for captain Stuart Hall to win the foot race, kick the ball on and touchdown in the corner.

Joe Murphy narrowly missing the extras, but this momentum was short lived, as Newbold hit back with a further two scores, seeing off any chance of a Dunstablians’ victory.

Dees were now chasing a fourth try bonus point and they managed it when thanks to some strong work from the pack, the backs were able to spin the ball wide for debutant Eric Mhlangaa to cross in the corner.

Dunstablians will look to bounce back next week as they travel to bottom of the league Northampton BBOB.

Dees: Stuart Calder, Aaron White, Shaun Mangan, Matthew Knight, Raymond Carry, Robert Thorne, Ashley Warren, Sam Coogan, Stuart Hall, Joe Murphy, Jordan Warner, Scott Warren, Campbell Haig, Gavin Denning, Kevin Boland. Replacements: Alex Ayres, Eric Mhlangaa.