Heavy Hampstead defeat refuses to dampen coach’s spirits

Old Streetonians coach David Bailey is refusing to be downbeat following his side’s third consecutive league defeat in London Two North East, this time at the hands of Hampstead.

The Hackney-based side travelled across the capital only to return with a 50-7 defeat, resulting in Bailey’s men finding themselves at the bottom of the league table.

However, the coach was remaining positive.

“Yes it’s another defeat,” he said.

“But Hampstead are a side that you expect to see in the top three come the end of the season, and we are not.

“The fixtures have not been too kind to us in the opening weeks, and as I’ve said before, we are a new side that is yet to settle down.

“We have used 30 players in our three games so far this campaign, which I think is astonishing.”

Despite the final scoreline, Old Streets did show some glimpses of what they are capable of, but failed to score when they had possession.

“There were periods in the game where we had the ball, but we just couldn’t convert our pressure into points,” said Bailey.

“But all credit to Hampstead, they are a good side.

“There is only so long you can defend for before you begin to miss tackles and Hampstead were an open and attacking side.

“They were better than us in every department, so I can have no complaints there.

“They were the better side by a long way on the day.

“But we didn’t stop working for the full 80 minutes, which is a positive.

“Plus we were playing people out of position, which is something that has been forced on me because of things like injuries and the unavailability of key players.

“We are still waiting on players to come back.”

After the defeat, Old Streets find themselves rooted to the bottom of the London Two North East table, but Bailey is confident that his team will not be there come the end of the season next April.

“There is still plenty of time, it is very early in the season,” he said.

“You must remember that we have played Romford and now Hampstead. Both of those sides will be challenging for promotion.

“We must remember where we have come from.

“Two seasons ago we were in London Three and we did really well to get promoted.

“Last season we survived by the skin of our teeth and this year we have targeted a mid-table finish.

“And I am still confident that that is where we will finish.”

This Saturday, Bailey’s men have another chance to get their first points of the season on the board when they host Saffron Walden.

“This weekend gives us a chance to play against a side we feel is at our level,” added Bailey. “We had a good record against them last season and Romford beat them by 60 points a couple of weeks ago.

“I’m hoping to have two key players back too, in the shape of fly half Alex Glover and vice captain Anthony Mills, who plays in the back row.

“I know that these two will make a big difference, and have a big impact on the side.

“Hopefully we can get that first win too.”