"The Best Match Finsbury Ever Played"

Finsbury Park fans and players travelled down to Hackney Marshes en masse for the only London Double Header that anyone cares about, as the 1st and 2nd teams lined up side by side to continue the club’s winning form. Standing in their way were Tabard, who strong start to the season made them a formidable opposition.
The team came flying out of the gates and scored early, a brilliant set play off the scrum finished in the corner by Gus. Lloyd added the extras, and is wasn’t long before Finsbury Park struck again, with Ed Morden finding the edge of the Tabard defence before braking a couple of tackles to score.
Park continued to dominate upfront, with a Springbok-esque scrum pushing Tabard back at every opportunity. However some overoptimistic offloads meant that line breaks were not converted, and some frustrating offside penalties halted momentum and meant that Park went in to halftime only 12-0 up.
To their credit Tabard came out strong in the second half and piled the pressure on in the opening exchanges, pinning us back into our 22. However Finsbury Park were able to weather the storm with some fantastic defensive pressure, and when the opportunity came to Gus managed to cut back inside and weaved his way to the line for a brilliant solo try.
Tabard continued to threaten to get back into the game, and broke the line from a kick return. Luckily Alex Moran was on hand to brilliantly halt the attack with a swift judo chop to the winger’s neck. Somehow the referee mistook this inspired defensive move for a high tackle and produced a yellow card, leaving Park down to 14 men.
Tabard capitalised immediately, and although their initial line break was stopped just short by Gus and Rory, they managed to drive over the next phase and reduce the lead to 19-5.
This score reenergised the boys and Park managed to keep hold of the ball and push Tabard back into their own 22, a devastating lineout maul the highlight of some great forward play.
With the clock ticking down and darkness drawing in Fins were desperately searching for the bonus point try, and the team found themselves with a penalty 10 m from the Tabard line in the dying minutes. Captain Evan opted for the scrum, backing the pack to dominate as they had all game, and his faith was rewarded as Tabard conceded a series of scrum penalties.
The pushover try however remained elusive, and the backs conspired to butcher every free play provided. That was until, with the clock in the red, Lloyd managed to somehow hold off three tacklers and dot down in the corner. The thousands of fans on the touchline (I assume) went wild and the team were able celebrate the bonus point win that keeps the drive for promotion alive.
A fittingly dramatic end to “the best match Finsbury Park have ever played” (Gwillam, E. 2019). The team will hope to carry this momentum into the critical next few games which will go a long way in deciding how the season plays out.