Hawks unable to recover from first half setback

FOR the second week in a row, Henley Hawks left themselves with a mountain to climb, and despite a much-improved showing in the second half, fell short in a 31-22 loss to current league leaders Old Albanian last Saturday.

It has undoubtedly been a tricky run of fixtures for Luke Allen’s side to start the season, in what is the most competitive National Division 2 East for many years, and despite their performance in the second half, Henley will be frustrated to have left The Woolams empty-handed when their display warranted at least two bonus points for their efforts.

The home side came out of the blocks quickly and were the first on the scoresheet when centre Stephen Hihetah managed to fend off some poor tackles to cross the whitewash. Ex-Hawk Elliot McPhun converted and it was 7-0 with five minutes gone.

The Hawks slowly got a foothold in the game and with George Wood at his rampaging best, were making good ground through midfield. A straightforward Will Baildon penalty got Henley on the scoreboard at 7-3, and it looked as if the Hawks were up for the challenge in front of them.

However, as with the Dorking game the previous weekend, Henley were blown away by a three-try salvo within a 15-minute period. First, Alex Noot was quickest to gather a kick through from Hihetah, following another fine break from the elusive centre to dot down. This was quickly followed by a third score from openside flanker Ben Alexander, who powered his way over from close range five minutes later. Both tries were converted by McPhun and the home side had put daylight on the scoreboard with a 21-3 lead on the half-hour mark.

The Hawks came close to their first try of the game when patient build-up play saw Liam Goodison fashion an opening to cross the line, but frustratingly for Henley, was deemed to have been held up by the referee.

The Hawks were struggling to contend with the strong gusts that made the contest a little fragmented, and fell further behind a few minutes before the interval when another searing break from Hihetah saw Noot over in the corner for his second of the game. McPhun was off-target with the extras, but Old Albanian had a commanding 26-3 lead.

There was a ray of light for Henley just before the half-time whistle when a fine break from replacement prop Moses Fakatou saw the Hawks into the Old Albanian half, and a pass from Baildon saw Ollie Snook ghost his way through the home side’s defence to dot down out wide. Baildon was narrowly wide with his conversion, but the Hawks had narrowed the gap to 26-8 at the interval.

The Hawks coaching team had some hard words to say during the break, and it certainly had the desired effect as Henley were a completely different side in the second period.

More direct and playing with a different intensity from the first half, the Hawks patiently began to re-establish themselves in the contest. They were rewarded on 53 minutes when captain Spencer Hayhow peeled off the back of a driving maul to dot down. Baildon converted and at 26-15, Henley had carved an opening.

That opening very much became game on five minutes later when another carry from Hayhow gave Henley the ball deep within the home side’s 22. Recycling the ball well, Scott White was the man to crash over out wide for the Hawks’ third try of the afternoon, and with Baildon’s touchline conversion in the swirling breeze, the score was back to 26-22 heading into the last 20 minutes.

The game became an arm wrestle with neither side giving an inch but with a dominant scrum, the home side slowly clawed their way back into the contest and were rewarded with Josh Skelcey’s acrobatic finish in the corner with 10 minutes remaining. McPhun missed the conversion but more importantly, Old Albanian were two scores clear at 31-22.

Henley weren’t finished yet, and pushed hard to come away with at least a couple of bonus points for their work rate. Despite having the ball within the hosts’ 22 for much of the final minutes, they couldn’t quite create an opening they deserved.

Baildon was held up over the line following a fine break before being denied again moments later when a powerful driving maul was also deemed not have been grounded.

Old Albanian’s stoic rearguard effort to close out the contest without further alarm saw Henley come away with nothing to show for their efforts.

Henley Hawks: 15 Toby Howe, 14 George Wood, 13 Leo Webb, 12 Ollie Snook, 11 Lailand Gordon, 10 Will Baildon, 9 Oskar White, 1 Kadeem Collins, 2 Spencer Hayhow, 3 Louis Bailey, 4 Ben Elsey, 5 Sam Lunnon, 6 Liam Goodison, 7 Roan Noone, 8 Jake Rawcliffe. Replacements: 16 Nelly Kinniburgh, 17 Moses Fakatou, 18 Scott White, 19 Sam Allen, 20 Max Titchener.