Dorset & Wilts Div Three North

Minety II 22

Swindon III 20

DESPITE having few experienced three-quarters available, a makeshift Minety second string battled through for a narrow win over Swindon thirds.

Playing downhill in the first half, Swindon kicked two penalty goals to take an early lead.

Led by their pack, Minety drove back up the slope and, having spent a long time in their opponents' half, finally got on the scoreboard thanks to a powerhouse try from Morgan Lightbody.

Mike Scott's conversion put Minety one point ahead, but their lead was short-lived. The visitors soon scored a try of their own and the conversion made it 7-13 in Swindon's favour at the break.

Coming downhill in the second half, Minety's scratch three-quarter line still struggled to gain cohesion. Their forwards knew what they were doing, however, and, having battled their way to the line, worked Matt Oliver over for a try.

Linking well with Lightbody, centre Simon Rowe then broke away and made a dash for the line from his own half. His try under the posts set up an easy kick for Minety, but the referee omitted the conversion from the final score.

Minety's final points came when skipper Milo Hartley put his team's man-of-the-match Ben Langridge away for a try on his debut.

Swindon came back with a converted try to make it 22-20, but Minety fought hard to defend their narrow lead and managed to see out the game.