Late tries snatch victory

Guernsey 22, Old Emanuel 18

NEVER mind the quality, feel the entertainment. Faced with the challenge of scoring two tries in the closing 10 minutes to preserve their unbeaten record in London Four South-West, Guernsey somehow did it with seconds to spare.

As Matt Morgan crashed through two tackles and went over in the final move of the game, a massive roar from the 400-plus crowd in the Garenne Stand signalled Guernsey had, somehow, scraped home.

That they did was nothing short of a miracle considering the way they played.

'I don't think we really deserved to win,' admitted a mightily-relieved Guernsey coach, Rob Box.

'We were outplayed today. They were a strong side; they certainly weren't that strong at home.'

Morgan, one minute bad boy, the next hero, hailed the character of the side.

On his last-gasp try: 'I thought, ?There is no way I'm passing?. '

It's just as well he didn't. Given the team's form throughout virtually the entire 80 minutes, had he done so, there was every chance the ball would have slipped through someone's hands and the chance would have been lost.

It was just one of those days for Box's men who were frequently frustrated not only by the unexpected strength of the visitors, but their own deficiencies and the refereeing of UK official Richard Chatwin.

Perhaps it was his embarrassing first-minute stumble and subsequent ridicule by the crowd which irked the man in charge, but his over-fussy whistling, most of the time penalising Guernsey, spoiled the game and enraged the home support.

More than one wag in the crowd suggested that his red shirt meant that he had come over from Jersey to wreck Guernsey's day.

Box was, at times, visibly infuriated by the man in the middle. But come the relief of victory, he was more tactful.

'The ref just didn't allow either team to play. He was stopping the game all the time. I'm not saying he was bad, as the ones he gave against us were penalties.'

Morgan, who was yellow-carded by Mr Chatwin just before the break for looking after one of his colleagues in a more physical fashion than he might, was diplomatic, too: 'It would be easy to blame him, but in truth we didn't play well.'

Perhaps the Welshman knew he was lucky to stay on the pitch, because surely if the officials had seen him rain punches on an opponent in a mass brawl in front of the stand 10 minute from the end, he would have gone and there might have been no one to save Guernsey.

Two did go. Guernsey front-rower Lawrence Hill-Tout was steered to the treatment room with a nasty cut above his left eye.

Old Emanuel's number eight and captain, Jos Smallman, whose size was nothing like his surname, soon followed, having been spotted stamping on Hill-Tout, whose second departure of the afternoon left Guernsey with no front row for the remaining minutes.

Guernsey, though, powered forward in a desperate salvage attempt.

The 40 minutes were on the clock when replacement Jim Rowe went over and Stuart Lloyd-Jones' drop-kick conversion narrowed the deficit to 17-18.

Four-and-a-half minutes later, fullback Jim Elliott kept the ball in play wide on the left. Moments later, further upfield, Morgan was fed 15 yards out with the line in sight. Nobody was going to stop him and as he crashed over Guernsey had won and preserved their four-point lead at the top.

It was a fantastic, memorable end to what was largely a drab affair for which the big crowd had not been prepared. A home game normally means tries - lots of them. Guernsey had the stiff wind at their backs for the first period and thoroughly wasted it with indecisive play from their backs and a degree of complacency.

Buchanan had already missed three penalties when the visitors went ahead with a stoppage-time try, Ellis Pullinger being allowed to complete a 30-yard diagonal run into the distant corner.

By now Morgan was in the sin bin and it was eight minutes into the second half before he could return.

Almost immediately Lloyd-Jones put over a penalty from in front of the posts to make it 5-3.

But before long Buchanan finally got the posts in his sights and restored Old Emanuel's lead.

The Guernsey pack took Morgan over the line for a pushover try and Lloyd-Jones converted for the lead, but it did not last.

Within five minutes, Buchanan had kicked a 40-yard penalty and a minute later Guernsey waited for a knock-on call and Parley raced away unchallenged for a try which was converted.

At 18-10 down, it looked game up for Guernsey. Then came the drama.