Ely Tigers wrapped up their home season on Saturday with a dramatic and frustrating one-point loss to Saffron Walden, who edged it 27-26 with the final kick of the match.
The opening 15 minutes saw both sides locked in a tight battle with neither gaining the upper hand. That changed in the 22nd minute when Alfie Allen crossed the line for the first try of the game. Matt McCarthy added the conversion to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Minutes later, Ely extended their advantage with a moment of sharp thinking from captain Jim Storey. After Paul Dewey’s kick was blocked, Storey reacted first. He chased down his own kick and won the footrace to ground the ball under the posts, giving McCarthy another easy conversion.
At 31 minutes, Walden responded with a try of their own, breaking from deep after a successful scrum and scoring under the posts. The conversion missed, leaving the score at 14-5.
Just before the break, the Tigers applied pressure on the Walden line with a series of scrums. Eventually McCarthy spotted the gap and dived over for Ely’s third try. His conversion attempt bounced off the upright and through, giving Ely a solid 21-5 lead going into half time.
Much like the first half, the second started evenly. But Walden began to grow into the game and Ely’s discipline started to falter. Jake Alsop was shown a yellow card and Walden quickly capitalised, scoring and converting to close the gap.
Despite being down to 14 men, the Tigers hit back. Luke Turner intercepted a pass and ran it in for a try. McCarthy added the conversion to make it 26-12.
Walden weren’t done. A missed tackle from the Tigers allowed them in for another try, though the conversion drifted wide. A penalty soon followed which brought the score to 26-20.
Ely’s problems deepened when Ryan Edgeworth and Ach Clark were both shown yellow cards. With the Tigers reduced to just 13 players, Walden saw their chance. A try in the corner followed by a confident conversion handed them the win in the final moments.
After the game, head coach Des Lloyd said:
“Result-wise it wasn’t what we wanted and losing by a single point on the last kick of the game is heartbreaking—especially after leading 21-5 at halftime. Unfortunately, discipline cost us. Three yellow cards in a game is unacceptable and spending 20 minutes with 14 men plus another 5 or 6 minutes with just 13 was ultimately what cost us the match.”
📸 Photo – Lee Thompson looking for a way past the Walden defence
