Blackheath suffer National League 1 defeat despite leading twice

AMPTHILL 33
BLACKHEATH 22

BY GRAHAM COX AT DILLINGHAM PARK

A thoroughly disappointing afternoon for Blackheath, who allowed this National League 1 game to slip away despite clawing their way ahead on two occasions.

Club lacked the cutting edge when it mattered with Ampthill managing to stretch their defence to far greater effect.

The Bedfordshire side raced into a 14-3 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour.

Quickly into the attack after Blackheath lost possession, line-out ball moved back out wide for left-wing Sam Baker to have a simple run in. Although Elliot Clements-Hill responded with a penalty for crossing straight from the restart, Amps’ full-back Will Foster weaved a line through the midfield for a second converted score.

Having already secured a penalty from the first scrum of the contest, the Club pack drove off line-out ball for Danny Herriott to crash over on 24 minutes.

Blackheath were enjoying their best period of the game, Craig Dowsett was held just short on left flank, before Tom Williams powered across to finish the move.

Had Blackheath firmly punished Ampthill’s indiscipline, which saw the hosts concede nine first-period penalties, the Club’s lead at the break could have been a significant one. Instead it stood at a slim 17-14 and was meekly surrendered as Amps’ open-side Joe Bercis rampaged through the midfield for second-row Carl Burgess to cross under the uprights within a minute of the restart.

Clements-Hill crossed in space out wide on 53 minutes after Blackheath had gone through the phases to gain a 22-21 advantage, but again the Club’s concentration deserted them at a restart as Foster collected his own neat chip in front of the uprights for Bercis to score. This time there was no coming back.

A tap-penalty opportunity at close-range was thwarted, as Ampthill’s defence turned over possession – they did so again in the closing moments to deny the Club consolation.

The hosts drove hooker Aleki Lutui across from line-out ball on 72 minutes to make the game safe.

Blackheath host Rosslyn Park on Saturday.  Kick off at Well Hall is 3pm.