Old Streetonians stay bottom of the table after home defeat

Old Streetonians missed a great opportunity to haul themselves off the bottom of the table after squandering numerous chances as they went down 24-14 at home to UCS Old Boys.

On a gloomy afternoon at Hackney Marshes, the visitors went 7-0 up after a turnover allowed fly-half Liam Greany to break through and off-load for Laurent Stephenson to go under the posts.

The Onians quickly picked themselves up though – and drew level after dominant work by the pack allowed hooker Chris Jones to score following a series of drives at the line, fly-half Tom Winter nailing a touchline conversion.

But the same old mistakes came back to haunt the home side – butchering two four-on-one overlaps and then conceding a second try from an 80m interception when close to scoring themselves.

In the second half the Old Boys put pressure on the home side – whose poor discipline gifted them field position – with plenty of deep kicks.

From a lineout on their own five-metre line an Old Street ball went loose and Damir Jovanovic pounced to make it 19-7 with 20 minutes to go.

UCS continued to force the Onians to attack from deep by kicking to the corners, and they kept the ball tight as Matt Jacobs drove over for a decisive score.

Despite a late penalty try, the home team were unable to rescue even a losing bonus point – with Old Streetonians vice-captain Nick Barham admitting the side must target their three remaining games leading up to Christmas.

“The home game against Finchley on December 13, one place above us, is now a must win game,” said Barham.

“But with this improved performance, and players coming back from injury, points from all three games are definitely possible.”

Old Street’s second XV also lost at home last Saturday – going down 38-19 to London Cornish Dukes, while the third team lost 38-33 away at Feltham 2s after having to play 10-a-side due to a lack of numbers.