Our Match Report this week is by the every present Rick Howe.

For the second time in three weeks ,Crowborough time travelled to the furthest reaches of the East Kent Galaxy for their fixture against Thanet Wanderers. Both sides were keen to turn their season’s around having similar and unenviable records, of having lost 4 and won just the one match.
It must be the sea air, but they breed then big on the East coast , as Crowborough can testify after their encounter recently at Deal. Thanet were no different, with a pack that were to contest all aspects of possession, and a set of backs, which if not schooled in the finer arts of handling and passing, certainly put pressure on defences with their strong direct and extremely robust running.
With the M2 again causing mayhem, Crowborough were unable to field a full side at KO, but that did not prevent ‘Boro from attacking from the outset and putting pressure on the home side forcing them to stray into an early off-side position, which Jared Hermann punished to settle the Sussex boys. 0-3
Much of the ‘Boro possession was pressured, but Ed Croft and Jared Hermann got the line moving by quickly slinging “ no look” passes wide, cutting out the opposition back row and keeping the TW defence honest. From one such piece of possession, a kick towards the right touchline deep in the TW half found debutant Joel Forward chasing a lost cause ,when the ball bounced unkindly for the TW defender allowing Joel Forward to tap the errant ball infield to Ed Croft, who, evading two cover tackles crossed over for the score which went unconverted. 0-8
Moments later, the scoreboard was ticking over again as Boro added a further 7 points through the marauding Rowan Bell, who interchanging with Joel Forward, put a chip down the middle of the park. Chasing his own kick he managed to get a secondary toe poke to the ball and chased it over the line for a Hermann converted try. 0-15
Crowborough were on a roll, but TW were their own worst enemy. Securing much of the 50-50 ball they consistently misdirected passes or dropped the ball when in scoring positions. The outcome could have been so different if they had tidied up that part of their game.
As if on cue TW were over the line and narrowing the deficit from a well controlled forward maul that was converted. 7-15
With Thanet seemingly getting their act together it was imperative that ‘Boro kept the pressure on and that came from Joel Forward who hanging out on the right wing ,latched onto a Bell pass crossing over in the corner. The kick slid to the right of the post. 7-20
After the referee called the two captains together for a joint warning to all 30 players, against the use of leading with the elbow, Thanet seemed rejuvenated, and scored three times, either side of half time taking the lead for the first time at 26-20.
This is an all too familiar story for the visitors, relaxing when they should be applying pressure.
Two penalties for Jared Hermann levelled the score with now all to play for and the clock running down.26-26
The next thirty seconds was a blur, as Thanet kicked off chasing en masse, to disrupt the receiver. The ball was quickly set up ,recycled and kicked to clear. The kick was charged down but recovered, with the attack developing down the left wing. As the cover came in, a cross field chip found Ed Croft in centre field who scooped up the ball and raced to the line scoring between the posts for Hermann to convert. 26-33.
With the home side only needing a converted score to draw, this was the time for serious game management , and to play the remaining three minutes deep in the TW half. This seemed easier said than done, as TW camped in the ‘Boro 22, and only the robust defence, which had characterised most of Crowborough’s play, prevented the try. Clearing their line ‘Boro had the opportunity to extend the margin with a well struck penalty 26-36 with the travelling faithful holding their collective breath for the final seconds as once more they were back in their own 22. From the scrum Ed Croft punted into touch to bring the game to an end.26-36 and awarding ‘Boro a much needed 5 points.
After last week’s varying results it was difficult to assess the varying strengths of the sides in this league. The only certainty was that it was a most competitive division, with the “haves” dominating the top, and the “have nots” propping up the bottom, as the gap widened. With this week’s results the picture is much less clear with the sides appearing much closer in ability than previous results tended to indicate.
With the league suspended for he cup weekend, there is time for the the many Crowborough walking wounded to get back in the saddle and make themselves available for their next league fixture at Park House.