Chapel travelled to relegation candidates Sefton on Saturday. Despite being at opposite ends of the table, Sefton were a different prospect at home.
Sefton kicked off and instantly put pressure on Chapel. The away side were struggling to find any rhythm and were coughing up possession on a regular basis. Sefton capitalised on this and opened the scoring. The boys in blue and gold tried to take control of the game but we're committing some uncharacteristic mistakes. Sefton doubled their lead and shocked chapel. Sefton were the better side and deserved their lead. A rare period of possession allowed centre Jim Moss to break and score under the posts. Despite this, the home side responded and were able to score their third before half time.
The hot weather was having a bigger effect on Chapel. Coach Mike Cottam again issued his instructions and made a few changes, looking to take control of the game.
Chapel simplified their game and looked more focussed in the second half. The Blue and Gold were starting to notch up the phases with big ball carrier Dave Steer moving into the centres and prop Ed Chappell coming on to improve the physicality. The accuracy was not there though and Sefton were able to score their 4th try of the afternoon, putting them 27-5 up. Finally, Chapel responded with match captain Conor Gavin getting his instructions across. He was to be the next on the score sheet after a break from full back Joe Maddock. Chapel were trying to get back into the game but the accuracy was still letting them down, despite the effort. A planned lineout move was given to fly half Andy Davies, who released centre Dave Steer crashing back inside, who broke a tackle before offloading to hooker Dom Moss who jogged over the line from 5 yards out. Sefton’s poor discipline was giving Chapel the chance to kick penalties to the corner. The lineout was structured but wasn't proving to be effective. Scrum half Harry Dyson saw that the Chapel pack wasn't going to drive through on this occasion and opted to spin the ball out wide, some neat hands released Jim Moss for his second try of the game. The score now stood at 27-25. With 10 minutes left, the game was still wide open and both teams were worthy of the result at this point. Chapel kept up the pressure and maintained the majority of possession. A charge down by second row Mark McEnaney luckily bounced up into the grateful arms of flanker Matt Partington who powered over from 3 yards to seal the victory. Final Score 27-32.
Not the greatest game for Chapel, an uncharacteristically flat performance. However, the away side showed their mentality and quality to come back from 3 tries down to win the game. To play so badly and still win shows why Chapel have performed so well this season. A fantastic effort by all the lads who have pulled on a shirt this season, finishing 4th in their first season in this league is something to be very proud of.
Man of the Match went to Joe Maddock who was positive with the ball in hand and threatened Sefton's defence every time he got it.