Cinderford staged a remarkable recovery after conceding three tries in the early stages, to claim a bonus point victory over Plymouth Albion in a classic National League One encounter.
The visitors were much the stronger side in the opening quarter and a dominant driving maul soon had Harry Wilkinson over the line, followed by a successful conversion from Philip Jones. Angus Hodges grabbed a second as he danced through the Cinderford defence, again converted by Jones. Cinderford struggled as Albion continued to have all the momentum, Henry Clement went over the line leaving the visitors with a 0-21 lead.
Cinderford finally found some energy as they began to take charge of the set plays, Harry Hone received a clever inside pass and charged over the line, giving Cinderford a boost of hope. Mike Austin converted for another two points. Nathan Taylor worked his usual magic at the back of a driving maul to snatch the next try for the home team, leaving the half time score at 12-21.
Shortly after the re-start Taylor made a strong carry and popped the ball to Austin who fought his way through Albion hands to make it over the line, closing the gap in the scores as he also slotted the conversion. Austin then took the ball blind from a strong home maul and handed a long pass to Will Baldwin who sprinted clear to the line, again with a clear conversion.
Albion indiscipline led to an extra three points with an Austin penalty for Cinderford, however Plymouth soon re-took the lead as Jake Clemson found a space and Jones landed another conversion.
Cinderford soon returned to top form though as Baldwin scored his second, then more pressure took its toll on the visitors as man of the match Austin secured possession and raced clear to claim his second try, before perfectly slotting the final conversion to give him a personal tally of 21 points.
Cinderford; George Gladding, Will Baldwin, James Forrester, George Boulton, Will Hendy, Mike Wilcox, Mike Austin, George Porter, Nathan Taylor, Shaun Knight, Tyler Jerrum, Jack Shields, Matt Lane, Declan Fissenden, Harry Hone (Capt.)
Replacements; Tim Brockett, Joe Mullis, Dan Hodge, Aaron Ryan, Mason Tonks.