Park House 13 FRFC 12

It’s fair to say that, in recent seasons, there has been a fair bit of animosity between these 2 teams and matches between them have been “no holds barred” affairs. But what also must be said is that the south Londoners are warm and welcoming hosts. Park House is a club with a long history going back into the 19th century. They have strong traditions and, like Folkestone, their players are true amateurs and play for the love of the game and their club. Before the match their supporters told me that the club has already been relegated to Kent 1 and they’ll be a sad loss but they see it as their chance to regroup and let’s hope we see them back in London 3 soon.
On the pitch they are hard as nails and off it they are gentlemen who enjoy a bit of banter.
This was a meaningless end of season fixture with both teams playing for nothing more than pride. That pride was easy to see as both teams went hard at each other. Park House were first on the attack and they spent 10 minutes in the Folkestone 22 but they couldn’t pierce the Stones defence. Eventually Folkestone broke out and looked dangerous with Brad Pearson looking especially dangerous and full of running. The game went back and fore until the 19th minute when a bulldozing tackle by Jon Morton forced Park House to turn over the ball. Elliott Jones was quickly onto the loose ball and he powered up the centre of the pitch. On the left wing Richard Dagger tracked him all the way and made it easy for Jones to offload the ball and Dagger was in for his first 1st XV try. A fine present for his father, Andy Dagger, in his penultimate game as club chairman. 0-5.
Heavy rain continued to pour down as the second half began and this time it was Folkestone attacking. Chris Petley made a strong run into the heart of the defence before setting up Seyhan Fell coming from his deep position. He found Pearson with a fine pass and the youngster made no mistake going over for the try. He added the conversion. 0-12.
12 points down with 20 minutes to go and the rain pouring down would have broken some teams but Park House are a proud group and they hurled themselves into the attack scoring 2 tries neither converted to get themselves back into the game. 10-12.
If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that Folkestone have participated in many matches this season where the scores have been tight affairs. In this game going into the final minutes it looked to me that the Stones had done just about enough to hang on to victory until the home team were awarded a penalty. The referee told the Park House skipper there was no time for a line-out so the choice was a tap penalty and a drive for the try-line or a kick for goal. The kick was from 40 metres out and the skipper put his trust in his kicker. Many of the Stones support (me included) breathed a sigh of relief thinking there was no chance he would score. The rain and the wind were driving into the kicker’s face but he hit a beauty and the home support roared the ball on as it sailed over the bar and between the posts. It was a sensational end to the match. I thought Folkestone had done enough to win but you have to applaud the home team for their spirited fighback and that fantastic last kick of the game which gave them a 13-12 victory.
Man of the Match for Folkestone you ask. The gingers, Tom Carvill and Chris Petley produced their usual high quality performances and Jon Morton always looked dangerous as he put in some bone shattering tackles which echoed all round the park. Elliott Jones made his 1st XV debut on the wing and because of injuries in the squad he has moved into the centre and done very well. He’s a strong youngster good in the tackle and good with the ball in his hand. Brad Pearson has real pace and gets better and better always playing well. But for me and it’s also a reflection on his whole season it goes to Tim Wood. He does his work quietly with no fuss but very efficiently. He is superb in the lineout where he combines well with Will Massey. After a terrific pre-season the youngster battled his way into the 1st XV and has been an ever-present all season making more 1st XV appearances than anybody else.
Squad:
W Massey, M Murray, T Carvill, A Bloomfield, T Snare, T Wood, B Flatman, C Petley, R Bowen, M Gardner, S Evans, J Morton, R Dagger, E Jones, L Dublino, B Pearson, D Dixon, S Fell