Bishop’s Stortford beaten 39-20 at home by Plymouth Albion in National 1

Bishop’s Stortford endured a first half to forget as they lost 39-20 at home to Plymouth Albion in National 1 on Saturday (September 28).

The hosts have now suffered three straight defeats and sit 12th - third from bottom - after four fixtures.

The first period for the home team was summed up by head coach Tom Coleman when he said they made far too many errors and gave Plymouth a big foothold in the game. On the day, the away side were better in every aspect of the game.

Stortford mistakes piled up early on and the hard-running visitors eventually took full advantage with three tries and two penalty goals in the first half.

The first score after seven minutes was a penalty try to Plymouth, with Fraizer Kiff leaping high and knocking on a possible scoring pass and receiving a yellow card.

Stortford countered, but settled for a penalty goal to Mike Cooke with 19 minutes gone, which was almost immediately followed by a second try to Albion as Jack Oulton sniped over from the base of an attacking ruck after an attacking lineout.

Tom Putt converted and added three points from the tee three minutes later when an under-pressure Stortford lost their own defensive lineout and were penalised at a midfield breakdown.

Cooke slotted his second three-pointer for a breakdown offence after 31 minutes, with Putt matching the feat at the other end five minutes later.

Plymouth ended the half on a high with a third try, scored by Shea Cornish, after slick handling capitalised on a missed first-up tackle by Stortford to go in 27-6 up.

The home side came out fast in the second half and scored tries after 41 and 45 minutes. Kiff rounded off early pressure after good work by Charlie Briers and Austin Pope before Jack Biard scored an excellent solo try.

Cooke converted both, but momentum was lost through a soft offside penalty and then a poor handling error brought Plymouth back into the game.

And they took full advantage by punishing poor defensive organisation close to a breakdown to claim another converted try, scored by Jake Clemson, which finished off a series of hard Plymouth drives, with player after player making ground.

The scoring was rounded off by an unconverted try from Harrison Legg on 63 minutes, tidying up a loose ball, flung inside, as a team-mate was tackled towards touch with the home defence stretched once more.

Stortford showed character at the end, battling hard to prevent any further score after Dan Powell was red-carded after 68 minutes.

Coleman’s men return to action this Saturday (October 5) when they travel to ninth-placed Sedgley Park.

Stortford: Powell, Mills, Biard, Pope, Smith C, Cooke, Briers; Smith T, Moffitt, Peck, Charter, Kiff, Ferguson, Hammick, Rogers. Replacements: Rayment, Hill, Cilia, Merrett, Gilham.

Plymouth: Putt, Cornish, Raumakita, Hill, Hoffmann, Legg, Oulton; Boughton, Mead, Pullinger-Ham, Makepeace, Stupple, Broadhurst, Hodges, Moa. Replacements: Williams, Clemson, Montgomery, Diaz-Dart, Clarke.

Scorers: Stortford - Tries: Kiff 41, Biard 45; Cons: Cooke 42, 46; Pens: Cooke 19, 31. Plymouth - Tries: Pen try 7, Oulton 22, Cornish 40, Clemson 54, Legg 63; Cons: Putt 23, 41, 55; Pens: Putt 25, 34.

Referee: Ben Wood.

Star man: Jack Oulton (Plymouth).

Attendance: 500.