By Zippy
August 7 2006

Match review from NL2 as the Celtic Crusaders lost 22 - 26 to Gateshead Thunder at the Brewery Field yesterday, for details read on.

By Ian Golden - http://www.sportingwales.com/artman/publish/article_8511.shtml

CELTIC CRUSADERS 22 GATESHEAD THUNDER 26

Gateshead Thunder earned their first win in five matches while Celtic Crusaders suffered their second home defeat on the bounce as they went down 22-26 to the Tynesiders at the Brewery Field on Sunday.

As the scoreline suggests, it was a closely fought match as both sides scored four tries, but Thunder were deserved winners in the end. With a full-strength side for the first time in weeks, they played out of their skins while the Crusaders had their chances to win the match but were not at their normal brilliant best this afternoon. The Crusaders remain in third place in the table though after next week’s opponents, Featherstone Rovers lost 31-12 at London Skolars.

The Crusaders did take an early fourth minute lead. Michael Ryan made a beautiful run down the centre laying off to Jace Van Dijk who ran the ball home then converted himself.

Thunder fought back straight away. Mark Christensen laid off to Robin Peers who dived over in the corner. Wade Liddell added the extras.

Peers then became the hero at the other end, making a try-saving tackle as he forced Carl de Chenu into touch following Damien Quinn’s fine run. Quinn himself was pulled back minutes later after de Chenu’s pass to him when he was in a possible scoring position, was slightly forward.

Thunder took advantage of their good fortune as they scored again on 22 minutes with Justin McKay finishing off a fine passing move and Liddell converting.

Crusaders levelled things in one of the best taken tries I’ve seen at the Brewery Field all season. On the final tackle, Luke Young placed an inch-perfect kick under the sticks that Tony Duggan superbly caught and grounded in the same movement. Van Dijk converted.

However Thunder regained the lead two minutes later after Liddell kicked a penalty from right in front after Crusaders were penalised for holding down in the tackle.

Thunder missed a vital opportunity to further their lead. De Chenu was tackled in the goal area but Alex Rowe fumbled a kick from underneath the sticks. De Chenu almost had a try from the resulting set but dropped the ball as he was tackled when diving for the line.

But Thunder did go over again just before half-time when Trent Gocher forced his way through and Liddell converted.
It took 19 minutes for the opening second half score as defences ruled while there were handling errors aplenty from both sides. The Crusaders were close twice – initially when a penalty was given for holding down in the tackle, but Liddell intercepted from the resulting play. Matt Hill also had a perfect chance to score but knocked on near the sticks while receiving Luke Young’s pass

But the Crusaders finally crossed when Michael Ryan scored following an excellent run from de Chenu. Ryan was the provider three minutes later, picking up a loose ball and setting up Matt Hill to go over. Van Dijk converted to give the Crusaders a 22-20 lead.

There could have been another try soon after but Duggan’s pass was too low for Van Dijk to control properly and he knocked on.

Thunder took advantage again and regained their lead with ten minutes remaining. Kevin Neighbour set up Nathan Black who charged his way under the sticks. Liddell kept up his 100% record with the kick. Neighbour had the chance to follow him over and seal the game but knocked on with the try-line gaping while no-one was able to latch onto Burley’s grubber.

Crusaders had their chances to take the points but again chances went astray. Quinn fumbled a fine pass from Duggan as he received while sprinting down the wing, while Hywel Davies’ knock-on gave possession back to Thunder with seconds left on the clock.

The Thunder away support may have only just been into double figures but they were the happiest fans in the ground as their play-off hopes took a boost.

Crusaders’ coach John Dixon was disappointed with his teams performance commenting: “We did play well at any point during that game. We didn’t put ourselves in a position to win today and didn’t complete nearly well enough today. We weren’t good enough with ball, weren’t disciplined enough and credit to Gateshead – they were really strong and in the end the better team won.”

In contrast, Thunder head coach, Dean Thomas was ecstatic about his team’s performance. “I thought it was an excellent win today. Any win’s a good win but today we preferred well. We were disappointed with our performance against Featherstone last week but a lot of positives came out of that. We’ve had really positive sessions this week, we came down to Wales early on Saturday and our preparation for the match has been awesome – you can’t ask for any more from the board who gave us the funds to come down early and the players have responded on the pitch.”

CELTIC CRUSADERS

1. Tony Duggan
21. Carl de Chenu
3. Aled James
4. Damien Quinn
5. Paul Morgan
6. Luke Young
7. Jace Van Dijk
8. Hywel Davies
9. Michael Ryan
10. Phil Cushion
11. Dean Fitzgerald
12. Chris Beasley
13. Matt Hill

Subs:
14. Lee Jones
15. Ryan Barton
16. Gareth Price
17. Geraint Davies

Tries: Van Dijk (4), Duggan (26), Ryan (59), Hill (62)

Goals: Van Dijk 3/4

GATESHEAD THUNDER

21. Wade Liddell
2. Kevin Neighbour
3. Joel Barnes
4. Mark Christensen
5. Robin Peers
6. Neil Thorman
18. Justin McKay
8. Rob Line
9. Nathan Black
10. Tabua Cakacaka
11. Steven Bradley
12. Trent Gocher
13. Joe Burley (c)

Subs:
14. Scott Kelly
15. Stephen Rutherford
16. Alex Rowe
17. Tony Doherty

Tries: Peers (9), McKay (22), Gocher (37), Black (70)

Goals: Liddell 5/5

Attendance: 525

Men of the Match: Crusaders – Ryan, Thunder - Peers

Referee: Robert Hicks (Oldham)

Half-time: 12-20

Penalty Count: 4-6

Scoring Sequence: 6-0, 6-6, 6-12, 12-12, 12-14, 12-20, 16-20, 22-20, 22-26

Gamestar: A lot of Thunder players had a great game but their initial try scorer Robin Peers just stood out.

Gamebreaker: Black’s winning try coupled with handling errors from the Crusaders in the last few minutes.

Weather: Sunny – a few clouds

Match Rating: 3/5

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
1	Dewsbury	18	16	0	2	595	279	32
2	Sheffield	18	14	0	4	629	340	28
3	Celtic Crusaders	18	11	1	6	640	339	23
4	Featherstone	18	11	1	6	502	428	23
5	Swinton	18	10	1	7	485	409	21
6	Barrow	18	9	0	9	441	419	18
7	Gateshead	18	9	0	9	455	446	18
8	Workington	17	7	0	10	424	525	14
9	Hunslet	18	4	2	12	337	473	10
10	Keighley	18	4	1	13	345	530	9
11	London Skolars	17	4	1	12	300	602	9
12	Blackpool	18	4	1	13	304	667	9