Match Report Vs Ivybridge 2's 32 - 50

It was an odd feeling post match for the losing home team on Saturday. To score 32 points at home but still be on the losing side was a tough pill to swallow, especially when only trailing by a point with roughly ten minutes left to play. Then again if you ship out 50 points at home you don’t really deserve to win and that message will be the one drilled into Salcombe’s players during the coming weeks. If the Crabs aspire to win more matches this season and improve on last year's league position then matches such as this must live long in the memory and serve as a benchmark for future displays as to what is required to truly challenge at the top of the table.
 
None of this is to say Salcombe played badly, far from it, the performance across the board was a huge improvement in tempo, discipline and aggression from the previous week against a team who routinely have 50 players at training and on this evidence will hurt many teams during the course of the season. The crowd in particular will have been treated to a wildly entertaining match that had everything you can want from grassroots sport, all in the glorious sunshine.

When Salcombe fired they really fired on all cylinders crafting 5 excellent tries each in facets of the game, Graham McNicholl got the Crabs first following a flowing move with fast hand to finish well in the corner, Jay Hannon got the second after driving maul of a dominant line out. Dan Hepburn got on the scoresheet next from close range after some aggressive phase play under the posts, McNicholl got his second after a frenetic counter attack and a mix up by the Ivy back three on their own goal line. Lastly debutant full back Eddie Willows latched onto a break from his own half by Man of the Match Jordan Anderton to beat the last few defenders to the line. All these tried were sadly interspersed between moments of weak defence belittling the more positive elements of the Crabs display.
 
Unfortunately the lasting memory of this fixture will be he thought of “what if”, what if certain decisions were made differently, what if certain things had been spotted, what if fitness levels were such that matching the opposition’s pace for more than 70 minutes was not just out of reach. Salcombe will take what they can from the positives in defeat, and there are several, but more is learned in defeat and that being the case the lessons will be clear.
 
Thank you to the volunteers who provided the food and assisted with the match, the referee, the visiting Ivybridge second team and of course all the supporters who made their voices heard throughout. The Crabs travel to old friends Old Technicians next week with a big point to prove, Old Tech’s find themselves coming off the back of a big win and Weston Mill is always a tough place to play so will need to lick wounds, train intensely and come into the game with an attitude of ascendency and fervid appetite to consign this result to the  history books.