A Tale of Two Grounds

With the previous encounter between these two teams ending in a draw after being cut short just as Finsbury Park were making a comeback, the Fins were eager to right these previous wrongs. The entire team arrived fresh and ready to play within 30 minutes of the 12:45pm meet time, a new record in the 2s I assure you! The shirts even arrived 1 hour before kick-off, meaning the team only had to suffer Robert Simpson ’s infamous shirtless warm-up routine briefly. The weather was looking good, we were looking slick in our run throughs, and Enfield had barely even started warming up. The day could not be more different than that previous encounter! Alas, Fortress Downhills had other ideas. With the defeat of Hendon the previous weekend by the 1s and the early March rainfall throughout the week, parts of the pitch had become decidedly swamp-like and deemed unplayable. With 20 minutes to kick off the match was moved to Enfield. Everyone, still fully taped and kitted, piled into cars and raced towards the Enfield pitches. An hour later the game was underway.

First Half
All the excitement of a last minute pitch change did not seem to bother Finsbury Park as we started the game off strong, camping out deep in the opposition half. Strong carries from the forwards punched holes in the opposition defensive line, ensuring quick ball for Shin Ando to distribute to John Portsmouth, unlocking our pacey back line. We continued our phases with strong carries from the second row engine room that is Anthony Gait and Rob Simpson. It seems that as long as Rob catches the ball, he is a hard man to put down, bumping off Enfield defenders at will. Whenever Enfield did manage to get their hands on the ball, they would try escaping the Fins’ onslaught through long kicks to relieve pressure. These were fielded excellently by our back three with both Richard Handley and Tom Barnstable pinning them back deep in their own half with some exceptional kicks. With 15 minutes gone, quick play off of a lineout saw John Portsmouth in space who proceeded to carve through the defensive line to dot down under the posts. Barney added the extras and the Fins were 7-0 up. An excellent take from the kick off and several phases later saw Finsbury Park back in the opposition half and hungry for more. Clearly the opposition scrum half could tell that there was no legal way of stopping this assault and decided to take matters into his own hands with an illegal tip tackle and shoulder charge. The ref had seen enough and gave him a straight red card, then spent the next 10 minutes trying to calm down the aggrieved scrum half and his captain. John Portsmouth kicked for touch and the game was restarted with a lineout in the opposition 22. A strong take from Graham Rutherford in the lineout gave Finsbury quick ball which we then worked to the other side of the pitch. A quick change in direction saw Luke Williams take the ball at speed, ploughing through Enfield defenders like a Welshman through….hmm maybe I’ll leave that one. The barn storming run ended with a try which was easily converted by Barney. 25 minutes gone and the Fins were 14-0 up and still going strong! Another kick off received, another push into the opposition half, and another penalty. This time 10 meters out from the try line. “Take the points, mate! Go for a kick!” came the cry from our side-line Captain/Manager Nick Tewson. The on-field captain and players had a brief meeting to discuss the options, decided “fuck that” quick tap and go, Morse ball. Morse proceeded to bust through defenders, charging over the line, he was free and clear! But then dropped the ball having already done all the hard work. Clearly 4-try-Chaz hadn’t passed on the message that it was acceptable for the front row to score tries now. Enfield managed to clear their lines after a strong scrum which saw them back up to half way. Some brutal exchanges later saw us with a kickable penalty at the end of the half. To Nick’s relief we decided to take the points this time. An excellent kick from Barney saw us 17-0 ahead at the half

Second Half
17-0 up at half time put us in a much different position than our previous encounter with Enfield. And with the opposition not managing any time in our 22, we were admittedly a bit too confident with our lead. This confidence was quickly checked with the opposition starting the half strongly, attacking our try line for the first time in the entire game. To a man, Finsbury Park were putting in strong hits throughout the field, keeping the opposition at bay throughout wave after wave of attack and briefly managing to escape the blitz unscathed. However, a clean sheet win was not to be. A quick tap and go penalty from 10 meters out was cut short. The ball was rumbled up by their large pack, pick and go at a time. Until finally they reached the post and pushed the ball against it for a try. 17-7, was the tide turning? The rest of the half was an arm-wrestle of endless scrums and resets with nothing interesting to write about to be honest. Enfield got the ball out to one of their rather large and quick wingers who managed to score in the corner bringing the game to 17-12 in the final 10 minutes. The Fins managed to channel their inner Jose Mourinho and park the bus, keeping Enfield pinned back in their half until the final whistle. Full time 17-12 victory to Finsbury Park! Job done, onto the next one!

MOTM: John Portsmouth
DOTD: Stephen Morse

Special mention to our new baby faced hooker, supplied by Fred Bromley, who only just managed to stay on the right side of the ref!