FRIENDLY Stowmarket 8 Ely 0 THE Ely spirit was present in a difficult away game for a new-look Tigers first team. Unavailability and last-minute call-offs brought a changed team, with the back-line most significantly hit. Regular full-back Carl Ward sta

FRIENDLY

Stowmarket 8 Ely 0

THE Ely spirit was present in a difficult away game for a new-look Tigers first team.

Unavailability and last-minute call-offs brought a changed team, with the back-line most significantly hit.

Regular full-back Carl Ward started at fly-half and as captain for the day, Andy Hugo and Kieran Kennett played as centres and the promising Joel Scott-Paul made his first-team debut on the wing.

The pitch had turned very muddy so it was a game ground out in the forwards.

Ely started well and forced the play into the Stowmarket half for about 25 minutes.

But Stowmarket's defence held and they gradually forced their way back into the game.

An infringement at a breakdown cost Ely a penalty in front of the posts and this allowed the hosts to go 3-0 up, midway through the second half.

The injured Carl Ward was replaced by newcomer Greg Hill, who went to outside-centre, and Kieran Kennett moved to fly-half.

As the pitch degenerated further so did the handling, and a charged-down kick led to a Stowmarket winger going over in the corner.

Ely made several raids deep into the opposition half but failed to score.

Chris Day toiled away all day in the front row with a leg injury and Scott-Paul had an impressive debut.