Chinnor RFC 20 pts, Old Patesians 10pts; Home game February 16; Match report:
CHINNOR made hard work in overcoming an average team. The kick-off being brought to 1.15pm hardly helped their cause as they took the field with just a smattering of spectators present. Kingsey Road resembled the Marie Celeste; it was that quiet.
Chinnor took the lead in the seventh minute, when Ben Hewitt entered the line at pace, to break through the Patesian and score unopposed. A fine conversion by Cathcart and it appeared that Chinnor were on their way. Two massive penalties from the reliable boot of Cathcart increased their lead, although in knocking over his second kick he strained a thigh muscle, which effectively ruled him out of the rest for the game. Chinnor were finding it difficult to inject any cohesive pattern to their game, with sloppy handling and a litany of handling errors being the order of the day. They did however add to their lead in the 35th minute with skipper, Matt Hutchins, going over from a rolling maul. A fine touchline conversion from Ben Hewitt, taking over the kicking duties from the injured Cathcart gave Chinnor a 20 point cushion at the interval.
The second half, from a Chinnor perspective, became increasingly more frustrating. Patesians, who were now playing with a lot of spirit, with their No.6 Gareth Betteridge and fly-half Adam Seager showing well, got a sniff that their cause was not a lost one. Tries by Mathew Shayle and Andrew Tew were well deserved and had Seager been less wayward with his kicking (he missed a penalty in front of the posts), the game could have got quite tense in the closing stages.
With points difference now looking to become an increasingly important feature in the promotion race with five games remaining, Chinnor will look on this result as a chance gone begging. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that they could have been more focused on the task at hand.