Esher 50-33 Mowden Park

Mowden Park travelled to Molesey Road on the back of a narrow defeat against league champions Hartpury College. Esher meanwhile, came into the game following a convincing 65-19 victory over Old Albanians. Early on it looked as though the home side were in the mood to continue their high scoring form. Two tries in the first 10 minutes saw Esher take a 12-0 lead, as first Seccombe and then James crossed for the home side. Mowden struggled to get a foothold in the game and coughed up possession through a series of handling errors. Esher extended their lead on 18 minutes through a individual try from scrum half Calum Waters. Things got worse 8 minutes later when Waters crossed for his second, and Mowden found themselves on the wrong end of a 26-0 scoreline.

A few breaks from Shaun Mccartney gave DMP some hope of a comeback, but a stolen lineout handed Esher their 5th try through winger Spencer Sutherland. Mowden Park responded with sustained pressure on the Esher line on the eve of half time. A series of penalties against the home side resulted in a yellow card for winger Sutherland on 40 minutes, but DMP couldn’t capitalise on the extra man before half time oranges. The away side trailed by 33 points, but faced 10 minutes against 14 men at the start of the second period.

Half Time – Esher 33-0 Mowden Park

The second half got underway and DMP were instantly on the front foot. A sharp break from Callum Mackenzie took play into the Esher half, before he released winger Shaun Mccartney who raced away to score in the corner. Garry Law slotted the touchline conversion to bring the score back to 33-7, and it didn’t take long for the visitors to narrow the gap further. Another break from Callum Mackenzie carried DMP up to the opposition 22, before play was slowed down illegally by the home side. A tap and go from the resulting penalty saw Dave Fisher power through a number of would-be tacklers on the way to the try line. Once again, Garry Law was successful from the tee and the gap was closed to 33-14 with just 6 minutes played of the second half.

Shortly after the restart, Esher won a penalty which was successfully converted to extend their lead to 36-14. Things got better for the home side as a potential overlap for DMP was halted by a Tom James interception, who raced away under the posts giving Esher a 43-14 lead. Hopes of a Mowden Park comeback were kept alive through more attacking play. Breaks from Chris Auld and Garry Law gave the visitors front foot ball, before Jack Payne broke a few tackles and barged over for a third DMP try. Law added the extras and the score was now 43-21. The home side looked rattled and Garry Law exploited a hole in midfield to break from his own 22 into the Esher half. Esher knocked on when a DMP try looked certain, but more slick handling gave Mowden their 4th try and a bonus point. A loop move between Law and Bragman sliced open the Esher defence, before Mccartney finished strongly for his second try in the right corner. This time Law’s conversion drifted just wide, 43-26 with 20 minutes remaining.

Any hopes of a signature DMP comeback were seemingly halted by a try from Esher full back Lloyd Davis on 65 minutes, taking the score to 50-26. Mowden finished strongly however, and had the best of the last 15 minutes. Repeated infringements from the home side and sustained DMP pressure were rewarded when Josh Bragman touched down in the corner. Law’s conversion took the scores to 50-33, which is how it finished.

Full Time – Esher 50-33 Mowden Park

Mowden Park went away with a just a try bonus point, but can take heart from winning the second half 33-17. They will be hoping to carry that second half performance into their next game at home to Fylde on Saturday 8th April. We hope to see you there.

A huge thank you to all of the Mowden Family who made the journey down to South-East London for your continued support.