Laidlaw gives Rosslyn Park thrilling victory (From Surrey Comet)

Laidlaw gives Rosslyn Park thrilling victory

9:55am Monday 19th December 2011 in Rosslyn Park By Charlie Addiman

Ross Laidlaw's late penalty gave Rosslyn Park a nailbiting 23-22 win in their top-of-the-table clash at Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday.

A lack of a bonus point meant it was not enough to elevate them to Christmas leaders of National One though and sees them remain a point behind their opponents and actually slip to third after Jersey's bonus point win over Blackheath saw them leapfrog Jan Bonney's side.

A crowd of more than twice Ealing’s average watched a match every bit as nail-biting as one might expect of a local derby between the first and second clubs.

Park well deserved their victory, scoring three tries to one, but had to fight to the last second of the match to secure it.

Two magnificent defences restricted the scoring chances and it was probably Park’s extra nous up front, securing their first two tries, that made the crucial difference.

With less than a minute played Park won a penalty on half way. Laidlaw hoofed it into the 22 and Park went over with the catch and drive.

The referee was unconvinced that the ball had been fairly grounded, but was playing advantage to Park after an Ealing forward had been offside.

Laidlaw returned the ball to touch and there could be no doubts this time as Mark Lock went over for 5-0. Laidlaw’s conversion attempt from out wide only narrowly missed.

Ealing went straight back and this time it was Park who were offside and fly half Ben Ward kicked the penalty for 5-3 on six minutes. Clearly this was going to be a real battle.

Park had an edge in the forwards, but Ealing always looked dangerous ball in hand.

The visitors defended well until a missed tackle on the Park left allowed a clear run and when the ball was passed inside to full-back Neil Hallett he made no mistake against his former club, ghosting in by the posts. Ward converted to give Ealing a 10-5 lead on 13 minutes.

The pendulum swung back Park’s way when they forced another penalty, Laidlaw spurned a kickable chance to put the ball into touch inside the Ealing 22.

Another massive attack saw scrum half Mike Baxter eventually get over well to the left of the posts to tie the scores at 10-10 on 17 minutes.

Again Ealing replied with a concerted attack. Park were caught offside and the penalty hoofed to the corner to maintain the pressure, but the Park defence was solid and they were able to play themselves out of trouble.

The battle continued in midfield until Miles Mantella received the ball out wide and sprinted past defenders to score by the posts, Laidlaw converted to put Park ahead by 17-10 at 33 minutes.

Park held an advantage in terms of possession and territory, but Ealing were looking to throw the ball around at every opportunity and always looked dangerous.

Just as it looked as if Park would hold onto their seven-point lead to the interval some good play by Ealing made space for Ward to kick a perfectly struck drop goal to bring his side within four points with the last play of the first half, deep into generous added time.

Park made a strong start after the interval and Ealing had to defend well, but when Ealing eventually countered they were awarded a penalty and Hallett coolly slotted over a long kick to bring his side within a point and ratchet up the tension even further.

The visitors now had a clear edge in playing terms, but it was tense stuff with both sides aware that any error could be fatal.

Some sterling work by the Park back row prised the ball away from Ealing possession and a hack-on upfield induced an error leading to a scrum on the Ealing 22.

The visitors were stronger in the set piece and won a penalty for Laidlaw to take the lead back to 20-16.

Within a minute it was Park penalised at the scrum and up strode Ward to peg it back to 20-19.

However, Park were now very much dominating exchanges with Ealing forced to defend.

The visitors camped on the Ealing line, drive after drive absorbed by desperate – but brilliant – defence.

The try to bring the bonus point that could take Park to the top looked inevitable. But when Park tried to spread the ball to try yet another angle they lost control of it.

They soon won it back and returned to all out attack, this time winning a difficult penalty.

Laidlaw was asked to kick for the three points but in difficult conditions his kick went narrowly wide and Park had nothing to show for a prolonged period of intense pressure; Ealing looked mightily relieved.

Park returned to the attack, but with less than 10 minutes to go an Ealing clearance led to a break and the visitors were penalised close to their own 22. Ward kicked his side ahead, perhaps against the run of the play but they all count for the same.

With not long left to save a game they looked to have deservedly won, Park returned to the attack and got their just desserts with a penalty close to full time.

By Laidlaw’s standards it was not the most difficult, but with apparently the outcome of the whole match resting on his shoulders it was a masterful effort to restore the lead to 23-22 with hardly any time left.

There were still unforeseen dramas to be played out. Ealing belted a long ball deep into Park territory, but the attempt to return it with interest was badly sliced, conceding a throw deep in Park territory.

Ealing threw the ball around desperately probing for an opportunity for a drop goal, but having exhausted all possibilities had to settle for a less-than-half chance and the ball went nowhere near the posts.

Still play was allowed to continue. Park pressed upfield from the restart and an Ealing knock-on gave them a scrum.

The referee indicated that this was the last play, so when scrum half Graham Barr received the ball back from the rear of the scrum, instead of risking his kick being charged down he kicked towards his own end.

He could only look in horror as he failed to find touch! But an alert defender managed to save his blushes and hack it out of play before the Ealing winger could pounce, and Park could celebrate a deserved victory.

Park: Edwards; Gower, Shabbo (Unseld), Robinson, Mantella; Laidlaw; Baxter (Barr);Ovens, Richmond, Ward; Lloyd-Jones, Anderson; Trayfoot, Campbell, Lock.

Subs not used: Huggett, Barrett, Rowland.

Park scorers: Lock (T), Baxter (T), Mantella (T), Laidlaw (2P, C).