Near-miss at East Grinstead
THE Christmas table will show Guernsey still bottom of the National Three London & SE Table, but the Blair Campbell led side gave fourth-placed East Grinstead a big scare before finally losing out 23-16 at Saint Hill on Saturday afternoon.
After mounting early pressure the self-styled 'G-Force' went 7-0 ahead through a James Faaatuatu try converted by Scott Meakin.
Sam Whitehead reduced the deficit with a penalty but he limped off soon afterwards with a recurrence of his knee injury.
But Guernsey, who dominated territory throughout, then moved 8-7 ahead with a Matt Hema try which unluckily did not earn the extras with Glen Walters' kick striking the post.
A converted Tony Borrow try gave G-Force a 14-8 interval advantage, which was extended through another Meakin penalty.
Walters had their chances and missed a couple of penalty attempts, but they got right back into it when a catch and drive move resulted in Richard Hile going over.
Walters' kick struck the cross bar this time and fell out rather than over.
At 16-17 and a temporary one-man advantage, Guernsey were in with a chance of a rare away win.
They pressed hard for a third try, but the only further scores were two Meakin penalties.
It was a strong performance from the visitors and one that bodes well for the league resumption in the new year, starting with a home game against Chichester on 3 January.
