Controversial official leaves Pirates bemused at Bedford

Bedford Blues 19, Cornish Pirates 16

A CONTROVERSIAL try from Bedford Blues' No.8 Chris Goodman early in the second half proved decisive, as both teams fought each other to a standstill in a scrappy match at Goldington Road, writes Dick Straughan.

Goodman's 46th minute lunge at the Pirates' line appeared to have been thwarted by the last ditch tackling of Shaun Pammenter and James Doherty. The touch judge initially indicated that Goodman had been bundled in to touch, while referee Keith Lewis clearly signalled that the ball had been held up over the line.

After a prolonged debate between the two, a try was awarded, to the clear bemusement of the Pirates' camp.

Punch

It was, however, a poor decision, thoroughly in keeping with the inconsistent performance of the match officials throughout the game, and was then compounded by the issue of a yellow card to Pirates' centre Paul Devlin, for throwing a punch earlier in the move.

Devlin's visit to the sin-bin temporarily reduced the Cornish side to 13 players as he joined Laurie McGlone, who had received his marching orders late in the first half for an offence at the breakdown.

It was also harsh on Devlin, whose only offence was actually to run into Blues' full-back James Pritchard in open play.

The match had promised much in the build-up, but failed to deliver.

In conditions perfect for open rugby, the Blues took a fourth minute lead through a Pritchard penalty, only for Pirates' fly-half to then miss with his first effort at the sticks.

But Bedford were struggling already at the line-out, and two successive overthrows deep in their own territory gave Pirates' hooker Rob Elloway a simple catch at the tail on both occasions.

At the second time of asking, he sauntered unopposed over the home line to score. Cook converted.

Referee Lewis was already struggling with the scrum, and continually penalised the Pirates without investigating the true cause of the problems.

Bedford rode their luck to good effect, forcing the Pirates to replace Ryan Storer with Scott Franklin at prop after Pritchard's second penalty had cut the deficit to a single point.

Alan Paver then became the subject of the referee's frustrations, but the Pirates stuck to their task and playing down the infamous Bedford slope, increased their lead in the 34th minute as Cook landed a sublime 45-metre penalty.

Pritchard responded again as McGlone was binned, but the final word of the half was Cook's, as Bedford strayed offside, and he edged the Pirates 13-9 ahead at the break.

The Blues were out of the blocks quickly at the restart, and after early pressure stole the lead as Goodman's try was awarded and then converted by Pritchard. Luke Fielden and Ian Vass then went close for the home side as they sought a killer score, but the Pirates managed to hang on with some dogged defence.

Cook's third penalty squared the game at 16-all before another offence at the scrum allowed Pritchard a long range kick of his own, square on to the Pirates' posts.

The Canadian international made no mistake with what proved to be the final score of the game with more than 20 minutes to play.

Bedford pressed hard late in the game, with the Pirates unable to escape from their own half for long passages of play.

Flanker Sacha Harding squandered the best try scoring chance of the game for the Blues, as he dropped the ball inches from the line with nobody to beat.

But with frustrations high on both sides, the final whistle came as a relief to all.

BEDFORD BLUES: Pritchard (c), Fielden, Dorrian, Vass, Davey, Davies (Sharp 65), Walshe (Cecere 65), Walsh, Locke (Richmond 51), Seal (Boulton h/t), Tupai (Harlock 73), Rae, Lewitt, Harding, Goodman. Replacements (not used): Daynes, Taylor.

Scorers. Tries – Goodman; Cons – Pritchard; Pens – Pritchard (4).

Yellow Card: McGlone, Devlin.

CORNISH PIRATES: Davies, McAtee (Jackson 72), Devlin (sin-bin 46-56), Winn (Ireland 62), Havili, Cook, Doherty (Cattle 48), Storer (Franklin 29), Elloway (Prosser 67), Paver (Andrew 59), Pammenter (Holmes 59), Gulliver (c), Morgan, Betty, McGlone (sin-bin 37-47).

Scorers. Tries – Elloway; Cons – Cook; Pens – Cook (3).

Yellow Cards: McGlone, Devlin.

Attendance: 2,817.

Referee: K Lewis (RFU).

Big match marks: Davies 6, McAtee 7 (Jackson 6), Devlin 6, Winn 6 (Ireland 7), Havili 6, Cook 8, Doherty 6 (Cattle 7), Storer 6 (Franklin 7), Elloway 8 (Prosser 6), Paver 7(Andrew 7), Pammenter 8 (Holmes 7), Gulliver 8, Morgan 7, Betty 7, McGlone 7.

Man of the Match: Shaun Pammenter – An industrious display from the big South African in the set piece, coupled with some big defensive hits.