Match Report By Tich Preston

The visitors enjoyed an equitable share of territory and possession in a match played in wet and windy conditions, but ultimately it was the home side’s greater accuracy with the boot that decided the outcome.

The early exchanges were a scrappy affair as both sides grappled with a tacky pitch and a slippery ball. The Saints were the first to settle and had the best of the opening 10 minutes territorially but found Cleve to be organised and unyielding in defence. The visitors were grateful to full back Cavan Boyer who snuffed out a dangerous move after Cleve had ventured into the Saints 22 for the first time. The Saints early advances were now being balanced out by Cleve’s attacks and an ominous looking ‘catch and drive’ towards the try line was thwarted by a spilt ball allowing the Saints to clear their lines. The conditions meant that knock ons and dropped passes were becoming the hallmarks of the game with the Saints backrow quick to gather any loose ball.

The deadlock was finally broken after a storming run from half way by Brad Kislingbury saw the Cleve No 8 break several tackles to make good ground up to the Saints 22. An infringement allowed quick-thinking scrum half Nathan Huntley to take a tap penalty to set up winger Phil Martin to score in the right corner to put the home side 5-0 in front after 24 minutes played. Within 5 minutes the Saints struck back and good driving play by the forwards created the gap for fly half Dan Pearce to cut through to tie the scores. Cleve had weathered the Cornish storm and with the Saints again getting on the wrong side of Bristol referee Ian Hillier the visitors were pegged back in their own 22 for the final 10 minutes of the half. The defence withstood some robust Cleve attacks nullifying the home side’s driving lineouts. Two Ben Roberts penalties in the later stages of the half gave the home side an 11-5 lead at half time.

The second half was a subdued affair with fewer attacking opportunities for either side. The first 10 minutes was spent in the middle third of the pitch with no side threatening their opponents 22. Saints threatened with a couple of line outs inside the Cleve 22 but failed to cross the line for the crucial score. The league leaders’ defence proved impregnable, although one glorious chance went begging when the ball just failed to stick to hand with the path to the line open. Cleve then began to build up a head of steam but found the visitors just as resilient and organised in defence as they had been. Roberts added a third penalty to safeguard the win while the Saints were denied a well-deserved losing bonus point when full back Cavan Boyer’s 35m penalty bounced off the post. The final 10 minutes was a frustrating time for the travelling support with their team kept back in their own half by an experienced Cleve side.

Despite the disappointment of losing, the Saints’ performance has laid down a benchmark for the remaining games of the season. If the squad can add guile and patience to the levels of endeavour, determination and organisation on display at Cleve then the Saints will ease away from the bottom end of the league. Next week the Saints are at home to bottom club Clevedon, but in a league with no easy games the visitors will arrive at Tregorrick high on confidence following their victory over promotion chasing Camborne (Kick Off 2:30pm Saturday 10 January 2015).

Match Stats:

St Austell: Mason-Maxwell; Davey (Captain); Martin (Mark); Jeffs; Pearce (Adam); Grigg; Venner; Winterbottom; Ashwin; Pearce (Dan); Johns; Martin (James); Welland; Chenoweth; Boyer

Replacements: Freeman; Rowe; Barbery

St Austell:
Tries – Dan Pearce (29);
Cons –
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Cleve:
Tries – Phil Martin (24)
Cons – Ben Roberts (32, 36, 61)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: Dan Pearce (61)
Cleve: None

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Cleve: None

Referee: Ian Hillier (RRS)

Saints’ Man of the Match: Cavan Boyer – A cool display against the SW1 West top dogs in difficult conditions. The Saints young full exhibited a level of control and mature game management that defied his young age.