A Fine Performance by the 2nd's see Thanet 3rd's defeated

After a shaky start and a couple of penalties easily slotted over by the Thanet’s fly half, the Lions started to put some determination into their game. The line out was working well & the scrummaging solid. The backs seemed confident to run the ball & only the odd stray pass prevented Deal from opening up the Thanet defence. A penalty awarded to Deal was unfortunately missed by Ian Marriott, but within 15 minutes a surging run by John Stabler at 8, opened up the Thanet defence, quick hands saw, Carl Thatcher scamper around the defence for Deal’s first unconverted score, 5-6.
The Deal forwards were now in the groove & causing all sorts of problems for the Thanet pack who were now struggling to contain them. From a penalty close to the line, a well worked maul saw John Stabler drive over for another unconverted score, 10-6. Thanet tried to break out but the Deal defence was solid, several attempts to kick into space brought counter attacks through the strong running of debut full back Ben Ebden & the elusive Jake Ward at wing. Just before half time another Deal lineout near the Thanet try line, the Lions put pressure on the Thanet defence & a wild fly hack by a defender sent the ball across the try zone for Carl Thatcher to pounce & score 15-6.
The second half saw Deal make a couple of changes & use the rolling subs rule to good effect, especially in the front row as the Thanet side had some monster forwards. The Lions pack were by now dominating this area of the game & within ten minutes of the re-start a scrum inside the Thanet 5 metre gave John Stabler his second try as he drove over from close in 20-6.
Thanet tried to pull something back but they could not breach the Deal defence & struggling to win decent ball at the break down meant they were playing most of the game on the back foot. The Lions created a couple more scoring opportunities towards the end of the second half but were prevented from scoring by some good cover tackling. The Lions should be pleased with this result, they played some good rugby & looked a well balanced side, that could cause some problems for other teams in the league in the 2nd half of the season.

Man of the match; John Stabler, for his powerful runs & work rate throughout the game.