UCS Old Boys lose the lead as Finchley inflict second successive loss

UCS Old Boys lost a second-half lead as they went down 20-13 at Finchley, suffering their second successive defeat – and their third from the opening five league games in London North-West Division Three.

After a penalty and a try from Rory Gibson, Damir Jovanovic touched down to give UCS a 13-10 advantage, but the hosts hit back with a penalty and a try of their own to leave their visitors eighth in the table.

The game started frenetically with neither team able to string more than a few phases together before turning the ball over, and there were few scoring opportunities.

Finchley were given a yellow card after 20 minutes after an infringement at the breakdown, and Gibson put the first points on the board with a penalty.

But the Old Boys played poorly from the restart, trying to run the ball out of their half and then failing to clear, giving the hosts’ full-back the chance to run in under the posts unopposed.

UCS responded with a sustained period of terrirtory and they eventually got their reward as full-back Sam Sherlaw beat three tackles and released Gibson, who scored in the corner, but Finchley led 10-8 at the interval.

The away team started the second half well and, when they earned a five-metre line-out, an eight-man rolling maul rumbled its way over the line, with Jovanovic emerging at the bottom of the pile.

However, Gibson was unable to add the extras and Finchley quickly hit back, catching their visitors napping with a quick penalty and then running in a converted try which put them 20-13 ahead with half an hour left.

UCS did some damage in the scrum, with Ahmed Ghanem making an impact off the bench and winning the ball against the head, but a lack of quality and structure, characterised by chaotic scrambling with and without the ball, meant the Old Boys were unable to build up enough momentum to salvage the game.