Ely Tigers Moving On Up as they Defeat Thetford

Ely held on for a win at home against Thetford, to bring them up to third in the table.

Within the first minute of the game the Tigers had scored a try. A failed clearance kick by the opposition was pounced on by Matt McCarthy. He sprinted through the opposition defence, took the last defender out and offloaded to Jacob Muncey in tail who touched down between the posts for a converted try. Ely continued the run riot with a try from Nathan Brooks, a rampaging run saw him touch down in the corner. Man of the match Tom Elliot then pounced on a perfectly weighted grubber kick, from Ash Clark, and dotted down for a converted try. A moment later Ely were still in the opposition twenty-two but lost the ball, Thetford then attempted to run it out and failed when John Dibb ripped the ball back and dotted down under the posts. Soon after Ryan Clark found space down the wing and popped the ball to Elliot who ran in for his second. Thetford then fought back and gained a scrum on the Tigers five-metre line. They drove the ball over the line and were awarded a penalty try as Ely tried to break from the scrum early.
In the second half Ely had to fight to keep up, Thetford wanted the win. In a similar instance to the draw against Stowmarket, Thetford scored four unanswered tries as Ely seemed to go to sleep. Mitch Kennett was able to put the game at rest after he went over from close range, the final score – 42-31.
Photo credit: Steve Wells