Play Off Round 1 - Gravesend 38 - Horsham 17

Gravesend progressed in the Regional 2 South East play-offs courtesy of another excellent performance on Saturday.  After humbling the same opponents last week Horsham proved to be a much tougher opposition this time out.   

Any nerves the home side may have had were quickly expelled when in the first minute scrum-half Matt Brady darted down the blind side to set up Andrew Cooke to score under the posts. 

Horsham responded 5 minutes later but Gravesend did not have to wait long until Josh Barnes scored a penalty.   Andrew Cooke then doubled his account for the day to give Gravesend a 17-5 lead.  Horsham responded again before top try score Ben Hope added to this seasons tally.   As before Horsham came back into the game reducing the deficit to 24-17 at half time. 

Clearly buoyed by the score before half-time Horsham came out to put pressure on the Gravesend line.  This was not helped when Les Falefatu was on the receiving end of a yellow card early in the second half.  Despite this some big tackles and strong running by Man of the Match Matt Bruce and the other 13 men on the pitch prevented Horsham taking advantage of their extra man to keep the score down.

Indeed when Horsham themselves were reduce to 14 Gravesend made an immediate impact with big Les Falefatu scoring from close range and when Zac Filmer ran in under the posts the game was effectively over at 38-17. 

Gravesend contained a Horsham side with a big defensive display and when presented with the opportunity took advantage with some fine backs play to see them progress. 

With a surprise in the other play off Gravesend now entertain Old Colfeians who overturned a 23 point league deficit in the regular season to win their match 39-33 after scoring in the final play. 

With one win each this season this promises to be a tight affair with the match taking place at Rectory Field on Saturday 25th April at 3pm. 

Match report - Mark Bruce

Photos - @JP72Photography