Skittrall avoids the attention of the Barnet defense with Larman in close support
Barnet 0 Hitchin 38
Hitchin young guns opening league match of the season saw them put local rivals Barnet to the sword, scoring six unanswered tries. The scoring started within 2 minutes of the start of the match. Hitchin drove Barnet back to their own 5 metre line. A free kick was awarded for a crooked feed at the scrum. Scrum half Carwyn Morgan quickly tapped the ball and fed Jim Panter, Panter drew the defensive line and put Jack Peachey into space to cruise over untouched. Five minutes later a series of midfield rucks eventually saw the ball fed out to Peachey and, with the slightest of shimmies, he was once again clear through the defensive line to score his second of the day. The Hitchin pressure was beginning to be somewhat relentless and with barely 13 minutes of the game gone Hitchin were scoring again. This time a poor clearance kick from Barnet was fielded by winger Chris Betts. Betts immeadiately ran the ball back at the Barnet line. Some dazzling footwork in front of his opposite number resulted in the Barnet winger literally falling over, somewhat confused, and Betts crossed the line. First phase ball was in constant supply from the hard working forwards and when lineout ball was moved along the line a simply training pitch switch move from Dale Baines put Lewis Skittrall clean through for his first of the game. On the stroke of halftime, ever the poacher, Morgan snatched the ball from the base of a Barnet scrum. An outrageous side step wrong footed most of the Barnet defence and left Skittrall with a clear, if somewhat long, run in for his second try of the game. As the halftime whistle went Hitchin had amassed a first half lead of 33 - 0.
Although Hitchin had enjoyed a slight breeze advantage in the first half it was clear that they had taken their foot of the gas in the second half. Barnet finally started to take some part in the match and began to string some sort of continuity together. But with their attacking options seemingly limited to the fringes of the breakdown area they never really looked like scoring. Even when Hitchin had 2 players sin binned in the second half Barnet scoring opportunities were few and far between.
As Hitchin began to re-assert themselves on the game it was another quickly taken free kick from Morgan that started the final scoring move. As he burst up field he fed the ball to new boy Marlon Banton. Banton miraculously gathered the ball from off his toes and with only his opposite number and the full back to beat speed was always going to be the winner, and Banton has more than his far share. As he flew over the line for his first senior try the game was as good as over, despite there being 20 minutes left on the clock.
Following the match coach David Marshall was realistically please with his sides performance. "The team played very well given the standard of opposition. We took our chances well and our first half performance was very promising. That being said we have to perhaps recognise that Barnet were somewhat under strength today and we will have much tougher tests to come, the first of which will be our home fixture next week against Datchworth. I am not sure that Mark Pittaccio's (Datchworth head coach) side will allow us as much space as we enjoyed today and so we have plenty to work on this week."
Team Dave Archer, William Corrigan, Garry Baker, Nick Panton, Ryan Arbon, Simon Banner, Graham King, Jim Panter, Carwyn Morgan, Jack Peachey, Marlon Banton, Dale Baines, Lewis Skittrall, Chris Betts, James Larman
Subs Richard Stidolph, Joe Benucci, Patrick Hurst
Scores T: Jack Peachey (2), Lewis Skittrall (2), Chris Betts (1), Marlon Banton (1)
C: Jack Peachey (4)