Glenwood Go Down in the Midlands
Glenwood travelled up to the Midlands this past weekend to take on Michaelhouse and in a game where both teams made mistakes and struggled to gain momentum early on, it was Michaelhouse who eventually came out on top with an 18-15 win .
The opening exchanges saw both sides giving everything they had with the home side gaining the upper hand early on. They were rewarded with an early penalty advantage, which saw their flyhalf convert a drop goal to sneak a 3-0 lead.
Glenwood were quick to respond after putting Michaelhouse under serious pressure and turning over a ball from the kick-off. The passage of play was rounded off by Glenwood left wing, Ilunga Mukendi, who went over to score in the corner. The try was converted by Jerome Bossr and with Glenwood leading 7-3.
Glenwood struggled to create cohesion in their attack and made too many mistakes which resulted in Michaelhouse playing much of their rugby in the visitors half. This pressure took its toll as Michaelhouse were rewarded with a try through some poor defending by the Glenwood outside centre. The conversion was unsuccessful and Michaelhouse had taken the lead by a single point, 8-7.
Once Glenwood got inside the Michaelhouse half they were rewarded for their efforts as Bossr converted two penalties to take their lead to 13-8.
Glenwood were unable to add to their score although they had at least two try scoring opportunities late in the game. It was Michaelhouse, however, that enjoyed much of the territory and possession advantage in the second half much because of some inconsistent decisions from the officials.
Michaelhouse took advantage of another defensive error from Glenwood and scored a try down the right hand side of the field as well as another penalty that extended their lead.
With only minutes on the clock, Glenwood were pressing hard on the home team's tryline only to be denied their due reward through some tough decisions at the breakdown as well as some poor handling skills.
Michaelhouse came through the victors and were deserved winners on the day having pressurised the Glenwood defence into a win.
By Michael Vowles
