HARLOW 75

CLACTON 17

London League division three north-east

CLACTON’S final league match of the season finished the way most have this season – in defeat.

With just three wins from 22 fixtures, it has been a long, hard campaign and all their players will now be looking to take a well-earned rest.

It is almost a year since Clacton clinched promotion with a play-off win at Newmarket.

Comparing the side that played in that fixture, and that which played on Saturday, makes interesting reading. Just four players – Jake Buxey, Simon Anderson, Lee Turner and Aaron Redpath – played in both games and this is probably the root cause of the subsequent relegation.

The morning rain-band had given way to bright sunshine and it was Harlow who secured the ball from the kick-off on Saturday.

Clacton were unable to win it back, so it was no surprise when the home side opened their try account after seven minutes.

Undeterred, the Seasiders managed to win the ball from the re-start and spent several minutes almost camped on the Harlow five-metre line.

However, despite the crashing attempts of Anderson, Jacob Lee and Richard Blanes, they were unable to penetrate the Harlow line and the ball was eventually cleared.

It was on 25 minutes that Buxey forced his way over the line for a Clacton try, but this was like waking the fourth-place giant up and two home tries in the next four minutes put them firmly in the driving seat at 21-5.

Four minutes before the break, Clacton lost the ball inside the Harlow 22 and could only watch the breakaway as the home forwards walked the ball over the visiting line with the last play of the first half.

Starting the second half with a 35-5 deficit, the Seasiders lost Redpath to an injury within four minutes and Alan Lee appeared as substitute.

It was something of a nostalgic return for the veteran, who spent many of his formative years at the Harlow club before giving sterling work at Clacton.

However, the hosts’ forwards were not in a very generous mood, rumbling their sixth try within a minute of him coming on.

Still Clacton refused to lie down and two tries enabled them to enjoy their best period.

First, Buxey capitalised on some good work by his pack to breakaway under the posts, allowing Elliott Shuttleworth to add the extras.

Then a quick tap-penalty by Tyler Fitzpatrick saw Tom Cox go over in the right-hand corner to score his first senior try.

Clacton were now winning the second-half try count by two to one, but that was as good as it got.

A seventh Harlow try was scored on the hour-mark and it was quickly followed by an eighth.

Three more in the closing 15 minutes secured a comprehensive 75-17 scoreline and brought the curtain down on a tough year.

The side now have to concentrate their efforts on the Essex League in September