Hove lose on the road to Park

On Saturday, Hove travelled to Charlton Park following a frustrating defeat the week previous to Deal. Historically, meetings between Park and Hove have been tight affairs and for 70 minutes on Saturday that proved to be the same again. A number of changes to the team saw new, exciting combinations, with notably Emmerson and Whiting providing the tallest centre partnership the club has ever seen.

The day started promisingly; blue skies overhead, minimal wind, and a grassy pitch (in spite of the time of year) set the scene for some exciting rugby. Hove started strongly, and scored off one of the first set pieces of the game. A well worked line-out led to a slick backs move. Whiting popped the ball back inside to Patton who promptly passed the ball to young full-back Harry Nelson, who managed to evade a few tackles and dot down. Dugard added the extras 0-7.

Park however, came straight back and a penalty quickly cut the deficit, 3-7. It was clear that Park had turned up to play today and a number of penalties and some strong running from their forwards allowed them to score and take the lead. Hove and Park then cancelled each other out with an exchange of successful penalties. However just before half time, Park managed to score another try with some impressive passing and offloading to take a half-time lead, 20-10.

The first half had delivered some entertaining running rugby and the second half looked like it was going to provide the same. A quick miss pass put MacDonald (now aka Storer) down the wing who fed a simple pass back inside to Dugard to dot down under the posts, 20-17. Once again though, Hove couldn’t build on this and Park immediately counter-scored after a number of missed tackles allowed their player to wriggle free and drive under the posts. Hove’s defence at the start of the season had been an area of strength, however on Saturday, it was clear that they struggled to deal with some of the big ball carrying Park players who easily and consistently managed to get over the gain line. Park were now in the ascendancy, and a number of strong scrums resulted in a yellow card to Peake and a subsequent penalty try.

Not to be finished however, Hove struck back when Dugard fed a hard hitting MacDonald (Storer) who broke through the midfield and fed back to Dugard for his second of the game. Hove, then appeared to be fighting back somewhat and some quick field position provided a modicum of hope. Line-out won, the ball was fed to the backs where another nice move had set up a 3v2. However on the final pass, the Park winger successfully gambled and smartly intercepted the ball to run the length of the pitch and score.

The game noticeably flipped in that instance and with a result now seemingly out of reach, Hove were still fighting but understandably despondent, and in contrast a jubilant Park controlled the remainder of the game. Another couple of quick Park tries took the game well out of reach, final score 55-24.

Hove will be frustrated by the score, but defensively did not turn up on the day. Positively, some of the attacking play by Hove showed real promise and with a number of young players getting some games under their belt, the future for the club looks bright. Credit must be given to Park who played some great rugby, and we wish them all the best for the remainder of the season.

Next weekend Hove welcome Maidstone to the Rec, where they will be looking to get their season back on track.