Albion make most of generosity of the hosts

■By JOHN ALLANSON

Bishop’s St ……. 20pts

Tries: Kiff 41, Biard 45

Conversions: Cooke 42, 46

Penalties: Cooke 19, 31

Plymouth Alb ..39pts

Tries: Penalty 7, Oulton 22, Cornish 40, Clemson 54, Legg 63

Conversions: Putt 23, 41, 55

Penalties: Putt 25, 34

‘THIS was a first half to forget for us’, summed up Stortford head coach Tom Coleman, when he said his side made far too many errors and gave Plymouth a big foothold in the contest to emerge victorious.

On the day, they were better in every aspect of the game.

Home mistakes piled up early on, and the hard-running visitors eventually took full advantage with three tries and two penalty goals in the first half.

The first score after seven minutes was a penalty try to Plymouth, with Fraizer Kiff leaping high and knocking on a possible scoring pass and receiving a yellow card.

Stortford countered, but settled for a penalty to Mike Cooke after 19 minutes, although this was almost immediately followed by a second try to Albion, with Jack Oulton sniping over from the base of a ruck, after an attacking line-out.

Tom Putt converted and added three points from the tee three minutes later, when an under-pressure Stortford lost their own defensive line-out and were penalised at a breakdown.

Cooke slotted his second three-pointer for a breakdown offence after 31 minutes, with Putt matching the feat five minutes later. Plymouth ended the half on a high with a third try, scored by Shea Cornish after slick handling capitalised on a missed first-up tackle by Stortford.

All action: Bishop’s Stortford’s scrum-half Charlie Briers makes a break

PICTURES: Vikki Lince

The home side came out fast in the second half, with Kiff rounding off early pressure after good work by Charlie Briers, and Austin Pope and Jack Biard scoring excellent solo tries after 41 and 45 minutes respectively.

Cooke converted both, but momentum was lost through a soft offside penalty, and a poor handling error brought Plymouth back into the game.

They took full advantage, punishing poor defensive organisation close to a breakdown for another converted try to Jake Clemson, finishing off a series of hard Plymouth drives, with player after player making ground.

The scoring was rounded off by an unconverted Harrison Legg try after 63 minutes, tidying up a loose ball flung inside, as a teammate was tackled towards touch, with the home defence stretched once more.

Stortford showed character at the end, battling hard to prevent any further score, after Dan Powell was red-carded.

Charge: Plymouth Albion on the attack

Victorious coach Ryan Lamb admitted after the game that he was pleased with his side’s first-half control, but particularly with the way they retook control after Stortford’s two quick-fire tries, with the bench performing very well.