COVENTRY BEARS 33

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS 20

Eighteen points in the last ten minutes of the first half set the Bears on their way to a first league double over the All Golds.

The All Golds tried to stage a recovery in the second period but lacked the composure and discipline to apply the pressure that would lead to points.

After their big win over the Stags, the All Golds should have been full of confidence but they seemed flat and unfocused and, as the game wore on, got increasingly ragged.

By contrast, the Bears grew in confidence after Jason Bass’ try had cancelled out Steve Parry’s effort 12 minutes into the second period and killed the All Golds’ momentum.

The home side had the better of the opening minutes with Jack Morrison going close twice and they scored early through Hayden Freeman after Jack Uren had lost a high kick in the swirling wind.

However, the All Golds slowly clawed their way back into the game and Jack Mitchell scooped up a rebound close to line to score. Kieran Hyde added the goal.

The All Golds rode their luck as the Bears got into good positions but didn’t capitalise on them with frequent errors, though the All Golds were just as guilty of putting pressure on themselves with lazy and careless play.

They finally paid the price after conceding back-to back penalties Danny Price twisted over to give the Bears the lead again.

They extended it when Richard Jones lost the ball in the tackle and Jamahl Hunte sped in at the corner on the free play. They were in again on the next set, Jay Lobwein chipping over Phil Cowburn to touch down. James’ goal and a penalty with the last kick of the half gave the Bears a healthy 22-6 interval lead.

Three minutes into the second half, Parry spotted a lazy marker and scooted in from 20 metres out, Hyde was again on target and the revival was on.

However, it was effectively over when Bass went over out wide nine minutes later and to add insult to injury, Hyde was sin-binned for protesting about an obstruction in the build up to the score.

The All Golds scored while he was away when Uren nipped in at the corner but in their desperation for another score they wasted opportunities by conceding cheap penalties.

With 14 minutes to go, a sweeping move sent Kadeem Williams in at the corner to make the score 26-20 but the mistakes kept coming and Price nudged over a one-pointer with eight minutes left to put two scores between the sides.

Price then grabbed his second try from James’ neat kick to the posts to seal a deserved win for the Bears who are still in the hunt for a place in the Shield Final.