Chineham 19-22 Hook & Odiham

IT was a disappointing day at the office for the Chineham Lions as they were unable to mark Lee Rudden’s 150th appearance with a victory in a spicy local derby against Hook & Odiham.

Chineham started brightly, scoring through a strong carry off the back of the scrum by number eight Chris Dorling.

Hook and Odiham hit back through a close-range score of their own.

The hosts’ set piece allowed them to assert their dominance and maintain field position.

This led to another score after a series of penalties given away by the eager Lions.

With the Lions trailing 17-5 at halftime, an instant response was needed and it was duly provided as they turned over the kickoff.

Some strong carries by the Chineham forwards allowed skipper Spencer Taylor to power over from close range, Soper slotting the conversion to bring the scores to 19-12.

A back-and-forth battle kicked in for the next 30 minutes, with Soper narrowly missing a penalty attempt from his own half and both teams failing to capitalise out wide.

Eventually, a quickly taken penalty was spread wide and the hosts were able to stretch their lead to 22-12.

Chineham finished strongly, and after a succession of near misses, yellow cards and penalties. Dorling forced himself over from another strong carry, converted by Soper to draw the game to a close at 22-19.

Chineham travel to league newbies Christchurch next week.