Another win on the road for Cinderford

OTLEY RFC 21 – 25 CINDERFORD RFC

CINDERFORD number eight Mike Panoho says strong defence was the key to Saturday’s victory in Otley.

“We had to defend for long periods and it drains you, but we did it well,” he said.
Click here for more

“We probably could have stuck to our structure a bit better and I don’t think we got the ball wide enough, but the side is really coming together.

“Otley were a good team and attacked a lot.”

Cinderford had to survive a late onslaught to record their fourth away win of the season.

Paul Knight scored Cinderford’s only try of the first-half, with Kiwi fly-half Matt James kicking a penalty.

Ben Hough replied with two penalties for the home side to cut Cinderford’s lead at the interval to 8-6.

Otley seized the initiative early in the second period when James White touched down for an unconverted score, but the visitors struck back with tries from Rob Winchle and Paul Boston.

Winger Winchle got on the end of a cross-field kick, while Boston benefited from some weak midfield tackling.

James converted both tries and added a penalty to make it 25-11.

Back came Otley, however, with Hough landing his third penalty and converting his own touchdown to set up a tense finish.

Cinderford’s defence was put under huge pressure, but they were up to the task.

Panoho added: “There’s a lot more competition for places now and there are at least two players fighting for every position.

“People like Stef Hawley, Paul Boston and Kyle Palm have come into the side and done really well, while Matt James and Paul Knight are controlling games for us and giving us more control.”

Cinderford: Stefan Hawley, Rob Winchle, Paul Boston, Dewi Scourfield (rep Tito Elisara 77), Kyle Palm, Matt James, Paul Knight (capt), Joe Smart (rep Jake Meadows 53), Adrian Duncan, Andy Deacon, Dave Bufton (rep Chris Jones 61), Ed King, Will Foden, Chris McNeil, Mike Panoho. Reps not used: Lee Fortey, Danny Pointon. Attendance: 472

CINDERFORD United won 33-8 against Coney Hill II in the Merit Table with tries from Alan Bryan, Tim Stevenson, Danny Trigg and Nevaro Codlin (2). Stevenson kicked four conversions.

Source: thisisgloucestershire