Saffron Walden 19 - 20 Dagenham

This week Dagenham made the trip to Saffron Walden and, after a couple of disappointing weeks, managed to get their campaign back on track with a tense 20-19 win. First blood went to the hosts, an early infringement in defence leading to a penalty; Saffron Walden gratefully converted for a 3-0 lead. Dagenham responded well, with a prolonged period of possession, they slowly worked their way down-field through physical carrying by the likes of Ben Davis, Sam Clark and Mitch Sinfield. Soon they were rewarded with a kickable penalty of their own, converted by Josh Groom to bring the scores level. As the weather conditions worsened, the Dagenham scrum began to turn the screw and eke out several penalties. Eventually a scrum close to the line provided a one-on-one for captain Nat Farrell to dive over and score in the corner. Groom was unable to add the extras to leave the score at 3-8. After another period of contested territory, Dagenham received a yellow card for a defensive infringement. Saffron Walden opted to kick for posts and converted to reduce deficit. Things soon got worse for Dagenham as they received another yellow card for a high tackle. Despite the disadvantage, the Dagenham defence managed to hold out until half time.

The resolute defending continued in the second half, conceding only 3 points through another penalty; although this now took the hosts back into the lead at 9-8. Dagenham were now back to a full compliment at least and were soon on the attack. They were awarded a penalty of their own, but unfortunately the effort from Groom dropped just short. It wasn’t long before Dagenham were on the scoreboard though; a lovely piece of play saw Groom make a half-break, before offloading to Lewis Pruce. The centre found his partner Earl Gorman to race in for the try. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the hosts struck back. An excellent offload of their own managed to find the winger to dot down on the touchline, bringing the scores to 14-13. It looked as if the game might slip away from Dagenham at this point, as they received another high-tackle yellow card. This gave the hosts another opportunity with field position, and they made the most of it, crashing over from close range to extend their lead to 19-13. With only five minutes remaining, it was going to be a difficult task for Dagenham to get an opportunity to win it. However, they immediately gave themselves a chance when Conor O’Toole managed to reclaim the restart. The ball was swung wide to Farrell, who put a kick in behind the defence. Liam Power put the pressure on, and Dagenham were awarded a penalty. A quick tap was taken and the ball again passed wide, with Pruce setting the platform in the middle of the field. With the Saffron Walden defence scrambling, Josh Cook spotted the gap next to the ruck and darted through to score a try by the posts. Still with a one-point deficit, it was all down to the conversion kick of Groom; he slotted it to bring the score to 19-20 in Dagenham’s favour. There was still a minute to play, but the D’s managed to regain possession and end the game for a well-fought victory. Dagenham will feel they’re back on track and will take the momentum of this win into next week, when they host Chelmsford at Central Park.