Reds leave it late to grab second win on the bounce

Monday 02 February 2015

Jersey claimed a second consecutive league win thanks to a late try from Mark McCrea on Saturday.

Visitors Nottingham had clung to a narrow lead at freezing St Peter for 66 minutes, but were sunk when McCrea powered over the line with just six minutes to play.

Playing into a stiff wind, Jersey made the perfect start, when Mark Foster forced his way over the line from close range. Nottingham responded when skipper Brent Wilson claimed a try from a rolling maul. Will Maisey added a straightforward conversion, and then stretched his side's lead with a penalty. The scored remained 5-10 until the break.

Jersey had several chances to score throughout the second period, but were denied by their own errors - in both handling and execution. Nottingham defended well but two players received yellow cards as the pressure mounted. Jersey continued to press forward and eventually McCrea burst through under the posts, giving Jonny Bentley an easy conversion to put his side in front.

The majority of the 1,775 crowd celebrated the final score loudly, although the visitors could have snatched a win at the death - Maisey lined up a drop goal, but failed to connect and seconds later the final whistle blew.

"It was a great result and the wheel has really turned for us in recent weeks with a great display against Bristol and wins over Doncaster and Nottingham," said Jersey Head Coach Harvey Biljon. "We showed real heart and desire, but also our discipline was superb at the end and helped close out the win."

The result moved Jersey up to seventh in the league (out of 12 sides), with Nottingham staying fourth. Bottom side Plymouth Albion won at home to Rotherham and are now just three points behind 11th-placed Doncaster. Jersey have a 12-point gap over Albion and will hope to push up into the top-half of the table during February.