Claverdon put in determined display against league leaders Manor Park

Claverdon 16-22 Manor Park

Counties Two Midlands West (South)

CLAVERDON may have lost to league leaders Manor Park on their annual ladies VPs day on Saturday but it was certainly a performance to be proud of.

The visitors started strongly and relied heavily on their sizeable forward pack.

A relentless bombardment of forward carries paid off and the league leaders took the first points of the afternoon.

The Claverdon support continued to stay muted after another well-worked try from the away side took them into an early 10-0 lead.

After continued pressure, a driving maul gave Manor Park an opportunity to extend their lead yet again.

A conversion took the score to 17-0 and showed little resolve for Claverdon.

The Lions reduced the deficit thanks to centre Sam Turrell’s right boot and two successful penalties in the first half meant that hope was still there for the following 40 minutes.

Claverdon struck first in the second half as a charged down kick from James Williams gave the Lions an easy seven points to once again reduce the deficit.

However, the celebrations were short-lived as a simple yet effective move from Manor Park allowed them to gain seven points of their own to extend the score to 22-13.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Claverdon dug deep.

Endless phases in the opposition 22 allowed Will Jackson to step into a pocket, call for the ball and nudge the ball over the bar to take three points.

With momentum firmly with the home side, while knowing a converted try would give them the win, the Lions pressed on and gave their all.

However, the solid Manor Park defence showed ruthless determination not to buckle and the final whistle certainly came as a huge relief for the away side.

Claverdon travel to Tenbury on Saturday.