This time they were making their first visit to Water Orton on the outskirts of Birmingham to play the return fixture against Old Saltleians.
When Old Saltleians, usually known as 'Salts', played at Gosforth Fields Dronfield, earlier in the season ,Dronfield won by 43-12 but this season in Midlands Regional Two North there have been a considerable number of unexpected victories.
Salts themselves surprisingly beating both Matlock and Newark and also coming very close to beating third place West Bridgeford at home. It was therefore clear that nothing could be taken for granted.
Dronfield were fully aware that they needed to win this game to maintain the league leadership.Dronfield were forced to move the positions of some of their players with two team members playing out of position in the centre of the backline . They also gave a club debut to winger Pierre Sewell and James Marshall made a welcome return after a long period of absence.
Dronfield knew from the start that Salts sizable pack would try to dominant and limit Dronfield attacking opportunitiesFrom the intiial Salts kick-off, the high ball was well taken by Stan Hoare and moved through hands. Dronfield found themselves in their opponents 22 but a knock on (one of many in the game) led to the first scrum. From this initial scrum it became obvious that the home side would use their far heavier pack to their advantage in a scrum situationAfter only five minutes Dronfield took the lead.
The ball came to debutant Pierre Sewell in his home half and with very little room to work with, showing good sprinting ,power and an ability to side-step scored an excellent try, which with Jake Steade's conversion gave the visitors a 7-0 early lead.
As expected when in possession Salts tactics relied heavily on their forwards attempting to drive Dronfield back. and from a maul were awarded a penalty for what to most people appeared to be their own infringement! A successful kick meant the score was now 7-3 to Dronfield.For the next period of play , although they had the majority of the ball, Dronfield were guilty of not attempting to play their normal flowing game .
This was due in part to the home sides spoiling tactics and also to a lack of penetration in their midfield play. There was no flow to the game, with an apparent need for the Salts physio constantly attend to a player and the referee pausing play for discussions and a long time required over initial scrum formation. Salt's tactics of breaking up Dronfield's continuity paid dividends when they latched upon a Dronfield mistake to score a converted try and lead 10-7.
This lead was not to last for long as on one of the few occasions in the first half Dronfield played to their strengths . Quick ball and well timed passes found space out wide away from the home side's forwards and Jake Steade found a gap to score a try whch he then converted.
Dronfield now led 14-10 and a successful penalty soon after increased this lead to 17-10. From this point onwards the game became far more disjointed and the abrasive home pack were guilty of cynical play on more than one occasion Penalties to both sides were awarded at frequent intervals often without any explanation given by the referee.
The scoreline now read 20-19 to DronfieldAs we entered the final quarter of the game breaks in play became more frequent which suited the home side in that their heavier pack had time to catch their breath. Dronfield needed another score to provide a cushion and it was Joe Duffy who was on hand to charge down an attempted Salts clearance, then gain control of the ball and score a much need try for Dronfield. Although the conversion was unsuccessful Dronfield now led 25-19.
This score seemed to frustrate the home side and some of their players lost self-control This led to anothe yellow card ( the third in the game for Salts) and when the referee decision was challenged once more it became a red. The game ended with Salts having fourteen players.
This game had certainly not been one for the purist. Dronfield came away with a win on a day they had not excelled They unfortunately did not score the fourth try they needed for a bonus point. They now have two weeks before they meet Melbourne at home and must find a far better approach to playing a side heavily dependent on forward domination.
