Park leave themselves with too much to do

Park had all the early play. A super run up the left by Unseld past two tackles nearly bore fruit.

Big pressure saw them gain a penalty inside the home 22, but out wide.

It may have looked straightforward from the main spectator area, protected from a strong crosswind on the other side of the pitch, but, for a left-footer, it appeared a very tall order indeed from where Ross Laidlaw was standing.

So it proved, and a kick to touch to keep up the pressure may well have been the better option.

As so often happens, when one side enjoys a monopoly of possession and fails to capitalise, as soon as the other gets the ball, they score.

A line-out on their left saw Southend winger Nick Flexman make a good run to stretch the defence and he passed to full-back Simon Hoult, who delivered the sucker punch, converting it himself for 7-0 after six minutes.

Park received early notice that this was not to be their finest day when they got in front of the kicker at the restart to immediately concede a scrum.

Less than five minutes later, they were caught offside in front of their own posts to allow Hoult to extend the lead to 10-0.

The visitors often looked the better side, but attractive moves were peppered with simple errors that stopped them fully exploiting good field position.

Southend were clearly up for it and it soon became obvious this would be a difficult afternoon.

Park came back with a strong attack but, again, opted to kick at goal when awarded a penalty in a similar position to the first, with a similar result. Powerful runs from Jon Underwood and Amo Tauialo went to the heart of the home defence but a knock on spoilt things.

Back they came again, another penalty and this time kicked to touch.

Park won a scrum and again exerted pressure, first driving then throwing the ball around to probe for an opening, but the defence was superb.

Laidlaw tried to rapidly change the direction of attack with a kick to the left but the strong cross-wind took it out on the full.

Back came Park, another penalty (and the home skipper told to warn his players) and a superb kick to touch in the corner.

Another maul nearly made the line, then the ball was released for dynamic runs from Mark Lock and Underwood before Laidlaw spun a superb long pass, against the wind, to James Strong, who made a difficult path to the line look dead simple for 10-5 after 21 minutes.

Southend showed they were a good side and always looked dangerous ball in hand.

However, the match should have swung Park’s way approaching the end of the first half, when a midfield melee saw the home flanker Green sent to the sin bin.

However, the resulting penalty failed to find touch and was booted back with interest.

From the resulting scrum, Underwood uncharacteristically could not hold on to the ball and, when it spilled, centre Michael Stanley delightedly scooped it up and ran on to score, Hoult adding a conversion for 17-5 at half-time.

Precisely what was said in the confines of the dressing room remains a secret but, clearly, it did not include the practical advice that if you are in the mood to shoot yourselves in the foot, do not go out armed with a sub-machine gun.

Park started strongly. The first attack was foiled by a forward pass, but Graham Barr performed a brilliant steal from the scrum to set up a good move by Nick Huggett and Strong, but, when Laidlaw tried to switch direction his pass, found home winger Flexman, who flew away up the wing.

Unseld gave chase but, when the Southend man was able to step out of his despairing tackle without pausing, it was 22-5.

Worse followed almost immediately when Laidlaw gathered the ball in defence and speared his clearance kick straight into the ribs of the home fly-half Phil Ellis, who had plenty of time to bend down and pick the ball up before cantering off between the posts, his try converted by Hoult for 29-5 with less than half an hour left.

Mercifully, Laidlaw is an experienced enough player to realise that two isolated cock-ups do not make him anything less than Park’s outstanding player this season.

Park’s reaction to adversity was utterly magnificent. Led from the front by skipper Rob Jewell, they played attacking rugby that really did justify that over-used word “awesome”.

Straight on to the attack, a penalty just outside the 22 was hammered to the corner by Richard Davies and Park drove relentlessly to the line for Chris Ritchie to score.

The angle of the conversion defeated Dylan Pugh, who was on for Laidlaw.

Straight back on the attack, Unseld had a great run up the left, the forwards camping on the line before the ball was released across to the right for Strong to score his second, Pugh adding the extras for 29– 17.

Strong was soon involved again with a super run up the right before being felled by a high tackle, of the clumsy rather than the deliberately violent kind.

From the resulting penalty Park set up Jewell to crash over for what looked a superb try.

There were audible sighs of relief from the home crowd when the referee, perfectly positioned, ruled there had been a forward movement.

But Park were by now irresistible and a good attack through the middle saw the ball moved to Unseld on the wing, who made good ground before releasing to Jewell who flew over – and this one counted.

This was attacking rugby of the highest order, and Park were not done yet.

A superb attack through the middle – Jewell again – saw Pugh streak away between the posts, converting it himself for the visitors’ fourth try in 12 minutes to tie the scores at 29-29.

The only way Southend were now able to get into the visitors’ half was in kicking off after a score, but that route proved enough when – looking to get back on the attack – Park rashly got caught offside directly in line with their posts.

Hoult coolly slotted the penalty over for 32-29 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Few would have bet against Park finding a way to score again, but the rugby gods were not with them.

They spent the rest of the match deep in Southend territory, most of it camped on the line, but the loss of powerful lock Steve Pape with an injury meant shifting Underwood to lock the scrum.

Park tried everything to get over the line but Southend defended magnificently and when, after several minutes of immense pressure, the referee spotted a forward movement to give a 5m scrum to Southend, they sent it through channel one and hoofed it out of the ground to claim victory.

Any Park supporter returning to the clubhouse to find his pint half full would have toasted bravery in defeat and a period of the best attacking rugby you are ever likely to see at this level; those finding their pints half empty would have wept into them about how a side so good could ever have got themselves 29-5 down in the first place, knowing what hung on the game.

Park: Davies; Strong, Sweeney, Jewell, Unseld; Laidlaw (Pugh); Barr; Huggett, Tauialo (Ritchie), Collier; Quigley, Pape (Anayi); Underwood, Barrett, Lock.

Subs not used: Daw, O’Driscoll

Park scorers: Strong (2T), Pugh (T, 2C), Jewell (T), Ritchie (T).