Stroud slip up but Sharp is undismayed (From Stroud News and Journal)

Stroud slip up but Sharp is undismayed

STROUD head coach Andre Sharp saw his side slip to a narrow 15-12 defeat against South West Two West championship rivals Clevedon, on Saturday, but is convinced they will still be in the title shake-up come the end of the season.

Trailing 8-0 at the interval after Clevedon had dominated the first half, Stroud fought back bravely after the break before a breakaway interception try shattered their hopes of staying top of the table, but they did enough to impress Sharp who felt they were a shade unlucky not to win.

"We were a far better side than last week against Taunton and I cant fault the level of commitment from the players," he said.

"Clevedon were a good side and it was a very close game. We were pleased with the improvement in our lineout work and scrummage, but our support play, especially at the breakdown was not quite good enough to win the game.

"We gave away one silly interception try under the posts in the second half and that made the difference really, but we showed a lot of character and Im not despondent because the players gave everything on the pitch. We will just have to do a bit more on the training ground," he said.

Stroud, who entertain Weston Hornets at Fromehall Park on Saturday, lost ground on rivals Clevedon, Exmouth and St Marys, but Sharp is confident that ground can be made up by the end of the season.

"We were as good a side as Clevedon, but things just didnt go our way on the day.

"We have played all the top three sides away from home so far and they were all close games, but they still have to come to us and so its still very much in the melting pot.

"I still think we have got as good a chance as any of our rivals," he said.

For more Stroud sports stories, see this week's SNJ.