South keep on improving

Two late Sean Taylor tries saw Hoppers claim a draw with the final play of the game against a forceful South Leicester side making their first trip to Lightfoot Green.

It was South Leicester that got off to a great start and had a 14-3 lead midway through the first half as Dale Ager and Gareth Turner crossed the line either side of a Taylor penalty. Ager was on hand following a nice cross field kick and Turner scored the first of three tries from the catch and drive.

Hoppers pulled the game back to within a score when Pete Altham scored the first of his two tries when the referee reversed a decision for too much chat from the visitors and after a catch and drive effort the half backs created space for the prop to pick a fine line and power over. However, a scrum penalty just after the restart allowed Rickie Aley to slot a penalty to add to two well struck conversions giving South Leicester a 17-10 lead at the break.

Hoppers started the second half brightly but were soon down to 14 men when Tomlinson received a yellow card for an off the ball incident. The man advantage didn’t help the visitors as Hoppers levelled the score when Altham crossed for the second time cantering in down the left touchline after a great break from John MacKenzie and support work from Murray.

Straight from the restart Will Lees was unfortunate to see yellow for a mid air collision and South Leicester capitalised on a two man advantage along with mistakes and ill-discipline from the hosts as Will Evans and Jacob Heath touched down to and looked to have done enough for the midlands side as they secured the try bonus point with 20 minutes to play.

Hoppers kept going and looked to take advantage of a tiring South Leicester side and when Taylor crossed with five minutes to play it set up a grandstand finish. Hoppers kicked a couple of penalties to touch and when close to the line Harry Moulding took a quick tap with the back line making space for the full back to score.

Many teams would have settled for a losing bonus point but Hoppers sensed the opportunity for more and more penalties from the visitors helped with field position before another quick tap, this time from Murray got Hoppers behind their opponents and Milliken’s good line and well timed pass put Taylor into space and he rounded the last man to get nearer the posts for a simple conversion.
Full Time

Preston Grasshoppers 29-29 South Leicester

Report from Preston Web Site