22 October 2006
Medway were convincing winners in the end but it wasn't until the last quarter that they stepped up a few gears and put the result beyond doubt. Old Gravesendians, keen to put last year's drubbing behind them, put up a spirited and committed performance.
Things looked good for Medway when Jamie Chapman finished a fine passing move through the backs in the third minute.
For the following ten minutes Old Gravesendians came back strongly and enjoyed their best period of the match. Their forwards were winning ball, and they tried to spread it wide whenever they could.
Stewart gets the second
In the 12th minute the tactic worked, as Medway's defence was drawn in and OGs capitalised on an overlap on the left wing. The conversion went over from the touchline, and Medway were behind for the first time this season.
But not for long. Three minutes later another jackrabbit run from Jamie made space for Stewart to go into the corner.
Medway now dominated, but their luck was out. George Dyer rolled off a maul and pounded over, but the referee judged the ball to be held up. Then James Davies grounded the ball within inches of the line, only for the ball to be turned over and cleared.
So the sides reached half-time with Medway just three points ahead at 10 - 7.
Medway started the second half even more quickly than the first. Within seconds of the restart, Jamie pounced on a loose ball and went in under the posts. Fly-half Aman Gill notched his first points for the club with the conversion.
But OGs were still capable of a surprise. A quick tap penalty on their own 22 caught the entire Medway team asleep, and the ball was run in close to the posts for the lead to be cut to five points.
No stopping the Chunk
Medway at last woke up and started to pile on the pressure. Paul Pierce was on the point of scoring but lost the ball forward in a last-ditch tackle. Tom Bourne was next to go over in the middle of a maul but again the referee couldn't see the ball grounded through the mass of defending bodies.
The breakthrough came when Aaron Dimmick finished some slick passing through the forwards, and Gill converted.
Then Ian Findlay took the ball five metres out and bludgeoned his way to the line.
And finally Tom Barnes was rewarded for following up a long kick from Medway's goal line. The OGs clearance kick was sliced directly to him and he was able to recover from a tap tackle to reach the line. Gill again converted to make the final score 36 - 12.
