Jersey finished on top after an attritional cup tie at the
Brickfields, a ground where they are now 'three-from-three.'
The win leaves Jersey with nine points in pool 5 of the British
& Irish Cup, level with holders Leinster 'A', who were
surprisingly beaten 26-24 by Carmarthen Quins. The Welsh side
rallied from a 3-21 deficit and are third in the pool with eight
points, while Plymouth have three.
Albion started strongly and after some early pressure
Player-Coach James Shanahan put Marc Koteczky in for a try, however
the full-back could not convert. Jersey responded soon afterwards
with an Aaron Penberthy penalty but Koteczky then found his range
with a kick of his own (8-3).
The home side had more possession and territory for much of the
first half, and when Jersey countered a penalty opportunity for
Penberthy was missed. It took until the latter stages of the first
half for Jersey to get into the game and get more points on the
board.
A free-kick to Albion saw the home side opt for a scrum, but this
led to a penalty for Jersey and when the ball was kicked for a
lineout, Jersey won possession and the ball was worked to Tobias
Hoskins to score his first try for the club, with Penberthy adding
the extras to put the Islanders in front.
Shanahan, playing his first game since injuring a hamstring at the
start of the season, was sent to the sin-bin just before half-time
for a deliberate knock-on, and at the same time there was a long
injury break with home prop Ted Stagg needing lengthy treatment and
eventually being stretchered off. After a long delay Penberthy
slotted the resultant penalty and the whistle blew for half-time
(8-13).
An early penalty for obstruction saw Penberthy add three points to
his team's tally, but while they still had 14 men Albion were right
back in it on 48 minutes when Rob Langley scored (pictured below),
pouncing on a loose ball after a lineout. Koteczky missed another
conversion, but after sustained pressure he was able to kick a
penalty and it was level at 16-each.
With around 12 minutes to play Penberthy restored his side's
lead, but after 75 minutes it should have been back to all-square
only for Koteczky to miss a 'gimme' penalty right in front of the
posts.
There were chances for both sides in the closing stages but it was
Jersey who stretched their lead thanks to Penberthy's drop goal,
and the visitors held their lead until the final whistle blow.
The two side will meet twice at St Peter in November - on
Saturday 8th when the Greene King IPA Championship resumes; and on
Friday 28th when the next round of the Cup takes place.
Plymouth Albion: 15 Marc Koteczky, 14 Lewis
Warner, 13 Ben Woods, 12 Toby Howley-Berridge, 11 Peter Homan, 10
James Shanahan (YC 39), 9 Josh Davies, 1 James Gibbons, 2 Ted
Stagg, 3 Tom Heard, 4 Rhys Oakley, 5 Brett Beukeboom, 6 Herbie
Stupple, 7 Rob Langley, 8 Iain Grieve capt
Replacements: 16 Tom Cowan-Dickie, 17 Dan Pullinger, 18
Tom Hicks, 19 Tom Fidler, 20 Eoghan Grace, 21 Cameron Setter, 22
Lawrence Rayner
Jersey: Grant Pointer, Mark Foster, David Bishop,
Tobias Hoskins, Mark McCrea, Aaron Penberthy, Joel Dudley; Ignacio
Lancuba, Gareth Harris, Danny Herriott, Nick Campbell, Dave
Markham, Alex Rae (capt), Joe Buckle, Michael Noone
Replacements: Martin Garcia-Veiga, Jon Brennan, Nick
Haining, Ryan Hodson, Ryan Glynn, Lewis Robling, Jack
Burroughs
Referee: Greg Macdonald (RFU)
Attendance: 875
Half-time: 8-13
Scorers
Albion
Tries: Koteczky 3, Langley 48
Penalties: Koteczky, 13, 63
Jersey
Try: Hoskins 36
Conversion: Penberthy 36
Penalties: Penberthy 8, 40, 42, 68
Drop goal: Penberthy 77
