LATCHFORD Albion tore up the form book with a stunning victory over the previously undefeated Thatto Heath at the Asics Victoria Park Arena.
Coach Lee Smith was ecstatic with the victory and said: “Today was a massive achievement from everyone involved at the club and I am a very happy man.
“It was a great performance, quite possibly one of our finest yet. We played with confidence, a confidence built on applying our game plan. I challenged the players to play the game on their terms and they went out and fully controlled the game which was quite possibly one of the toughest tests we will face this season.
“The challenge now is to up our commitment levels so we can consistently perform like we have today. We have just inflicted the first defeat of the season to a a very good Thatto side but we now need to back this up with a similar performance against Haresfinch this weekend and build some consistency for the rest of the season ”
The game itself was an enthralling encounter where the result was in the balance until the final whistle.
It was the visitors who took the early initiative and they registered two tries in the opening exchanges to open up a 10 point lead.
Latchford’s response was positive with second row Chris Brown marking his home debut with a try following a great cut out pass from Phil Woolacott, George Briggs converting.
Fraser Jones-Lake crossed shortly after where he held off three defenders to score under the posts with Luke Hickman taking over the kicking duties.
With the half coming to a close Latchford extended their lead when half back Adam Wood threw an outrageous dummy which fooled two defenders and allowed him to race under the posts. Hickman’s conversion left the half time score 18 – 10.
As with the first half Thatto started strongly and again crossed early on reduced the deficit to just two points, however Albion quickly hit back when second row Andy Unsworth threw an audacious pass which cut out four players and allowed winger Owen Nugent the space which he used to cross in the corner.
Credit must be given to an impressive Thatto side who would not lie down and they scored again to leave the score at the hour mark 22-20.
In a battle of attrition it was a case of which team could take the upper hand and fortunately for the hosts it was the Albion side who hit form starting with Damian Lyon barging his was over from 10 yards out, shortly followed by debutant Joe Long burrowing his was over from dummy half with a further conversion from Hickman.
Thatto crossed again with five minutes remaining to bring the game to just a one score deficit but it was to be Latchford’s day and they held on for a well deserved victory.
MOM was Fraser Jones-Lake who was run close by Danny Brown and Andy Unsworth.
Latchford have a further home game this Saturday (10th) when they entertain Haresfinch RLFC Ko 2.30pm
