Last Updated: Thursday, 08 November 2007

Hammers Topple Kilburn

By Grant Zany Fiddle

Last Updated: 10:52am BST 28/10/2007

Kilburn Cosmos 2^nds XV (8) 13 - Hammersmith & Fulham 4^th XV (5) 22

Hammersmith & Fulham 4ths bounced back from their agonizing defeat against the Black Baa’s the previous week with an assured and moral boosting victory against a stubborn Kilburn side.  Being a grey and damp afternoon in north London it was surprising to see the willingness of players from both sides to throw the ball around. There were at times some marvellous phases of play from the visitors with the Hammers line out and mauling in particular causing Kilburn problems all afternoon. Unfortunately the victory came at a price with Nick Meuli leaving the field after 60mins after dislocating his collarbone in a crunching tackle.

A nervous opening few minutes saw possession exchange back and forth between teams with neither side asserting themselves or making good use of any possession that came their way. It was Kilburn who eventually decided to end the phoney war and upped the pace to punch their way deep into the Hammers half. A careless penalty for hands in the ruck allowed Kilburn to have their first crack at goal. The subsequent finely struck penalty nudged the home side into a 3 point lead.

The early Kilburn score seemed to galvanise the Hammers into life as they attacked Kilburn from the restart, with good forward pressure forcing a Hammers throw on the home side 22. Several forays close to the Kilburn line were held up short before another well taken lineout set up the drive and for Evans to burrow over for the score.

With the Hammers forwards establishing a solid platform up front, with Andy Scott in particular making his presence felt in the contact area, the backs were given plenty of opportunities to run with the ball. This they did through Keen, Shaikh and Lilley who all combined well to make a number of probing runs deep into Kilburn territory. The Hammers at this stage could to be accused of being a little bit cavalier with their running and handling as an intercept by Kilburn saw their centre race 50 meters up field before being felled just short of the Hammers line, good support by Kilburn saw them recycle quickly and register their first try against the Hammers who were still trying to establish a defence line. The conversion went wide.

To the Hammers frustration they entered the break 8 – 5 down with many of their players wondering how they were behind after benefiting from the majority of possession and arguably producing the more fluid rugby.

Still somewhat stung by the late first half Kilburn try against the run of play the Hammers responded almost immediately after the break through debutant Shaikh, Keen added the extras to give the visitors a not very comfortable lead.

Although the Hammers were pressured in the scrum they continued to dominate the lineout with Evans and Hamilton in particular combining effectively to secure all of the Hammers own throws and prove a constant nuisance all game to Kilburn’s own lineout.

But despite all this good work there was a case of deja vu as another sweeping Hammers back line move was intercepted again. Although the oppountist Kilburn player did not make the same yards down field as his colleague had before the break it was enough to change the momentum of play as Kilburn harassed and fought their way up field that resulted in their second touch down and their retaking of the lead.

The next 15 minutes was a disjointed affair with both sides spurning scoring opportunities, despite the Hammers constantly looking the more threatening, this was no consolation as they often left the Kilburn 22 with no points to show for their industry. The deadlock was broken by the Hammers who had this stage had refocused and added some venom to their game play. Several phases of tightly worked play with the forwards and backs combining well culminated in debutant Samaha crashing over of for the decisive score. With Keen adding the extras Hammers found themselves with a slender four point cushion.

Although the Hammers were certainly not home and dry that third score seemed to sap the focus from the Kilburn side as they became a lot more clumsy in their play as unforced errors started to creep into their game. Although still struggling for parity in the scrum the Hammers were at this stage dictating the flow of the game with ever increasing confidence with their back row especially bossing the breakdown area. It was this aggressive tackling attitude though that saw Nick Meuli injured as he slammed into his opposite number defending a rare Kilburn break. Swingland was drafted in to provide cover.

It was Keen again who put the game beyond doubt, diving over left of the posts after a sustained period of pressure that saw the Hammers forwards rumble up field through several pick and drives before being just held short on the Kilburn line. Bertie Chiltern spun the ball wide and quick hands saw Keen exploit the gap in the stretched Kilburn defence.

Playing for pride and a final say on proceedings Kilburn tore into the Hammers from the restart, winning the ball they opted to chip and chase to the corner. That proved to be Kilburn’s final role of the dice as Swingland gathered the potentially dangerous loose ball meters from the Hammers line. With three Kilburn players bearing down on him and with an almost lethargic ease he launched a huge clearance kick downfield with pinpoint accuracy to the dismay of Kilburn as they watched ball neatly skip in to touch ten meters from their own try line. Another stolen lineout by the Hammers proved to be the last play of the game.

Tries: Evans, Shaikh, Samaha, Keen

Cons: Keen

Scoring Sequence: 3 – 0, 3 – 5, 8 – 5, 8 – 10, 13 – 10, 13 – 15, 13 – 17, 13 - 22

Team: Woodward, Evans, McMeekin, Hamilton, K Shaikh, Cruikshank, Lecouteur, Scott, Chilton, Lilley, Franklin, M Shaikh, Keen, Meuli, Jones

Replacements:Fitzgerald, Swingland, Samaha

Referee: Lyndon Walters

Attendance: 7 (plus one dog)

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