1st XV see off rivals Amber Valley

Chesterfield Panthers 24 Amber Valley 3
Chesterfield were forced to field a much changed back line due to personnel missing and a few injuries picked up in last weeks fixture. Captain Paul Jones was keen to stress to his players not to get complacent after beating Amber Valley convincingly earlier in the season and made the point that Valley would be looking to get on up on their derby rivals. O’Neill had to step into fly half after playing open side the previous week. Jordan Grayson was wearing the 9 shirt and Nick Fenton came into inside center replacing injured skipper Chris Ward.

Valley kicked off the game and played with some conviction but Panthers fronted up with some aggressive defence. With big hits coming in from Robert Davison and Luke Holt, it was clear to see Panthers were not going to take a backwards step. However, they were caught off side and Valley kicked the 3 points. Panthers responded positively by playing some ambitions rugby, moving the ball through the hands and getting their offloading game going. It wasn’t too long before Panthers were on the charge and with some slick hands in the backs and Fenton went over in the corner. O’Neill pulled the conversion wide but it seemed Chesterfield were into their stride. As the first half went on errors cost Chesterfield opportunities as they tried to force things a little. With a sticky pitch under foot and the fact Valley were trying to mix things up in the loose didn’t help matters. A serious injury to one of the Valley players stopped play, forcing the game to be moved onto another pitch. Chesterfield picked up where they had left off with a scrum in Valley’s 22. Luke Holt picked up from the base and made some tidy yards. O’Neill was getting the backs going putting Fenton and Bunting into space with the latter keen to take on the opposition physically and bouncing many Valley players to the floor showing impressive strength.

Half-time brought mixed feelings in the Panthers camp as they knew they were working hard but were frustrated with the missed opportunities feeling that the home team should already have been put away.

In the second half the Panthers pack started to get the upper hand on the Valley forwards with some powerful and well organised mauling. The backs started to open up with O’Neill flicking the ball out behind the centers to Grayson coming into the line from full-back. Mistakes continued to hinder their game but Panthers kept their patience and moments later Luke Holt picked up from the base of the scrum five meters out and forced his way over the line. Grayson added the two from a tricky angle. Valley managed to hit back with some sustained possession but Panthers defence stood strong with hard-hitting tackles coming in from 1 to 15. Halfway though the second half the panthers pack forced a penalty and O’Neill kicked to the corner as Chesterfield decided to up the stakes and go for the jugular. Winning their own line out five meters out, Panthers set up the maul which proved too strong for Valley with Paul Jones crashing over. Ali Sherlock came on at 10 with O’Neill moving to 12 and moments later Sherlock brought winger Wood into the line and with some naughty feet crossed the line for his first try in a Chesterfield shirt.

With the five league points in the bag and Chesterfield moving up to second in the league it was hard for the players and coaching staff not to feel positive. Regardless, Sherlock made the point that Panthers didn’t play to their best and there is still a lot more to come from this ambitious group of players.

Coach Sherlock selected Liam O'Neill as man of the match for his display at 10 considering it was his first ever appearance at fly-half.

Tries:
Nick Fenton
Luke Holt
Paul Jones
Barry Wood

Cons:
Glenn Grayson
Ali Sherlock

Squad: Paul Jones (c), Robert Davison, Steve Allen, Jamie Barnett, Alex Allen, Chris Brailsford, Grant Teagle, Luke Holt, Jordan Grayson, Liam O’Neill, Ben Bunting, Nick Fenton, Tye Rose, Barry Wood, Glenn Grayson, Ali Sherlock