Folkestone were again 14 points down after 10 minutes as Haywards Heath ran in tries.

FOLKESTONE 1st XV 7 HAYWARDS HEATH 1st XV 31
Saturday 18th February 2017 London 3SE Report by Alan Schofield
Before this game, Folkestone were 23 points ahead of their nearest challengers to their position and 9 points away from the leaders in the league table - and so it was with some promotion prospects in mind they took to the field against close rivals Haywards Heath.
With the pitch looking in superb condition, ideal weather for rugby with little wind and a large crowd everything was suited for a fast open game, fairly played and a close result. Sadly we had little of that, instead we had a game with 31 penalties in total, Heath conceding 20 of these and, in addition, dropped passes, forward passes knock-on's - every type of stoppage that the law makers could imagine. To add to the frustrations much of the second half of the game was played in a cold, thick mist that even the full floodlights could not pierce. The final score may well have flattered Haywards Heath, but nevertheless was an empathic loss for the home side.
It was thought that the days of Folkestone conceding a very early lead, (as they did in the first 10 games of the season) were well over but they found themselves 0 – 14 down after only 10 minutes of play. Heath took early possession and territory by well placed kicks and they caught Folkestone unprepared for a quick move on the right which saw their fast winger run through to score. This was followed by two missed tackles centre-field, (although Jordan Godden seemed to be blocked out from covering the move), and another straightforward try under the posts. 0-14.
The tenor of game was now set for the following 30 minutes as Folkestone tried and tried again to regain the initiative but Heath thwarted this committing eight successive penalties, mostly for illegally stopping play. Eventually the referee tired and gave them a yellow card but the tactic worked as The Stones were unable to take any positive advantage, for when kicking penalties to gain touchline territory they were often beaten to ball in the ensuing line out by a 6’7” jumper.
More penalty kicks took Folkestone close and Mat Roots and Steve Doughty led a moving maul up to and over the line with John Eustace looking to have scored but prevented from grounding the ball. Frustration set in as passes went astray and kicks were sliced, and the first half ended with Seyhan Fell missing an easy penalty kick close to, and directly in front of the posts and Folkestone having had an appreciable time in attack with nothing to show from it.
The second half started with a huge welcome back for Chris Petley after his six month far-eastern adventures - he relieved Sam Beech whose tackle count was probably the highest of all – and a couple of minutes later James Archer substituted Bob Porter in the front row. Two more penalties saw Folkestone take a line out 5 metres from the line. Chris Petley took it cleanly and Lewis Howland made a determined effort before releasing the ball to his forwards and Cameron Dallas saw a gap and used his litheness and strength to dive over with hands grasping his shirt. Seyhan Fell easily converted and The Stones were back in contention at 7 – 14.
But as the thick mists shrouded the pitch and the temperature dropped – so did the concentration levels of the Folkestone tacklers. Heath were always ready to use long kicks as a tactic – normally The Stones can cope well with this type of play, but Heath were very quick to follow up and gain yardage. Tackles were missed centre field and Heath ran over two tries within minutes both from defensive errors – and a third before an hour of play put the game out of reach for the home side. 7 – 26.
Josh Holt, on the right wing had a clear field in front of him but was brought back for a forward pass and from attacking positons gained from the ever mounting penalty count that Heath were seemingly happy to concede, Jona Manu and James Mead had efforts thwarted whilst the forwards, in spite of the weight and power of Mat Roots and Ben Stringer, could not break through a very strong and experienced defence.
It was ironical that after an extensive period of unproductive attacks by Folkestone in the final ten minutes Heath broke loose in the last minute of the game and quick inter-passing took them 80 metres up field and a depleted Folkestone defence, with Seyhan Fell sustaining a thigh injury being replaced by Bob Porter, couldn’t prevent a last minute try to take the final score to 7 – 31.
The defeat did not alter anything in the league table, Folkestone still having a considerable margin of points to their advantage, but they will rue this defeat as a turning point in their quite successful season to date.
Team: Mat Roots, Steve Doughty, Bob Porter; Ben Stringer, Cameron Dallas; Sam Beech, Jordan Godden, John Eustace, Lewis Howland, James Lunnun; James Mead, Jona Manu, Jon Morton, Josh Holt; Seyhan Fell.
Subs: James Archer, Joby Crystal, Chris Petley
Scorers: Cameron Dallas 5; Seyhan Fell 2.