Fourteen-man Burton hold on

BURTON beat rivals Stoke to stay top of Midlands One (West) despite playing for all but seven minutes with 14 men.

Craig Dutton was sent off following an altercation but the Crofters made light of his loss to record a superb victory.

With prop Rob Wakelin making his 250th first team appearance, Burton kicked-off playing into the wind and rain and after seven minutes that saw both sides kicking the ball to and fro, the Crofters were reduced to 14 men.

Ian Gilmour had just ripped the ball from the opposition centre, only to be pulled back for a Stoke scrum as he was racing towards the Stoke line.

From this scrum, Dutton picked up to feed Darryl Banton, but as play continued he was repeatedly held by a Stoke player.

Despite shouting and trying to push his assailant away, his patience finally wore out and he lashed out at his opponent in full view of the referee.

The inevitable red card followed, plus a yellow for the Stoke player, but the net result was Stoke had to play with 14 men for ten minutes, while Burton had another 73 minutes to go.

Whether this early reduction in playing numbers or the horrible conditions were to blame, while the outcome of the game was never in doubt, the Crofters were once again made to struggle and held to a tight 22-14 victory against one of their bogey sides.

Following this incident, Burton found it difficult to put together their normal flowing game, but still managed to maintain territorial advantage as they continually penned back Stoke in their own half.

Good breaks from John Philliskirk, Matt Tivey, Tom Bartram, Dan Smith and Lawrence Betty all ended with poor final passes.

However, with the Burton pack’s support and defensive work, following the example being set by Burton’s two-man backrow of Joe Carpenter and Simon Spencer, their line was never seriously under threat.

The Crofters continued to pile on the pressure but just before the break a move involving several players including Banton, Gilmour and Spencer saw the latter having to leave the field with an injured knee to add to Burton’s woes.

Steve Cross came on to replace him and was soon in action as he helped Charl Neethling, Wakelin and Josh Cartwright combine to carry the ball to within five metres of the Stoke line. But a fumble saw a scrum given to Stoke.

A great Crofters scrum then saw Banton pressurise the Stoke scrum-half, who fired a poor pass back for Banton to charge through to grab the touchdown and get the first points of the day.

Bartram’s boot was on target as he increased Burton’s lead to 7-0 after just five minutes of the half remaining.

Stoke restarted the game and Bartram gathered to take play to halfway before a Crofters scrum saw Gilmour, Betty and Tivey feed the ball down the line to Smith.

He raced into the Stoke 22 to feed Carpenter, but the flanker’s efforts were stopped just short of the home line and the whistle signalled the end of the half.

Burton received Stoke’s kick-off and a good break by Carpenter saw him feed Smith, who turned the ball back inside to Betty.

But the Crofters lost the ball and the opposition counterattacked.

Stoke Centre Price cut through Burton’s midfield and raced upfield to feed scrum-half Oakley, who ran in to touch down under the posts for a converted try to level the score at 7-7.

Working tirelessly, the Crofters continued to attack and press the home line and the hosts were forced to concede a penalty that Bartram duly converted to reestablish Burton’s lead at 10-7.

The heavy conditions and horrible weather saw Burton legs beginning to tire and Jon Edwards replaced Dan Eastwood to boost the Crofters’ defensive capabilities as Stoke continued to optimise their one-man numerical advantage.

With Burton needing all the points they could muster, a break from Banton took play to the Stoke 22, but unfortunately Bartram’s normally trusty boot failed as his kick glanced the outside of the upright.

Stoke’s dropout was taken by Smith on halfway and he immediately darted forward only to be bundled into touch on the home 22.

The Stoke line-out was not straight and the Burton scrum surged towards the line before Banton released Betty, who fed the onrushing Philliskirk.

The full-back drew the cover before passing to Carpenter, who completed the move as he dived over for a try.

And with Bartram’s boot back in form to bisect the uprights, the Crofters led 17-7 with 15 minutes remaining.

More Burton pressure saw Stoke caught in their own 22 as their clearance attempts were only half successful and from one ensuing line-out just inside their 22, Burton’s Cartwright won the ball.

The backs spun the ball along the line and Smith looped around the back to take the final pass and score in the corner.

Despite the conversion attempt sailing just wide, Burton now led 22-7 with just 10 minutes to play.

Stoke threw everything at the Crofters in this last period, but the visitors refused to give in as they battled for everything, working tirelessly in support of each other as they gallantly hung on to their precious lead.

Time and again, Stoke drove at the Burton line, but each time these efforts were thwarted. A chip over the top eventually paid dividends and saw Stoke’s Price race through to get a try that was converted.

Still leading 22-14, the Crofters again turned defence into attack with Tivey, Smith, Betty and Bartram all breaking out only to be stopped by Stoke’s cover.

A chip into the home dead ball area by Banton saw Bartram just beaten to the touchdown in the last play of the match.

So, despite all the distractions of the match, including a stoppage for a hare on the pitch, the Crofters extended their unbeaten run to nine games and stay two points clear at the top of the table after these valiant, battling efforts produced the reward they deserved.