Tigers whimper in Thetford lesson

Eastern Counties Division Two Thetford 22 Ely 6 THE Tigers title challenge was dealt a blow at Thetford on Saturday. A penalty, then a try in the corner, gave the hosts an 8-0 lead but an Ed Fahy penalty kick made it 8-3 at the break. Ely started the se

Eastern Counties Division Two

Thetford 22 Ely 6

THE Tigers' title challenge was dealt a blow at Thetford on Saturday.

A penalty, then a try in the corner, gave the hosts an 8-0 lead but an Ed Fahy penalty kick made it 8-3 at the break.

Ely started the second half well, winning a line-out 10 metres from the Thetford line and setting up a well-controlled drive, but they rolled towards the side-line and Thetford drove them out of play.

The miss was to prove crucial, as Ely struggled to assert themselves.

Even when Thetford had a man sin-binned for a second late tackle that injured Sam Sanders-Hewett, they still continued to dominate play.

Fahy kicked a penalty to reduce the lead to 8-6 with eight minutes left.

Ely rushed into attack and Graham Parr was tripped by a despairing hand when he looked clear, and Thetford scored a try on the counter-attack with just two minutes left, and then again on the final whistle.

The result means that Ely win the league if they win every remaining match, but if they drop points, they will need teams below them to slip up.