Enfield Ignatians produced a battling second half display against Chelmsford but it wasn’t enough as Emile Hertz’s side suffered a 24-17 defeat in London Two North East.

The much changed Ignatians side, who were missing five key players, were poor in the opening period.

They were reduced to 14 men when Mickey Piper was sin binned and Chelmsford opened up a 17-5 advantage by the interval. Luke Ellis grabbed the Enfield try.

The Blue and Golds were much improved after the break. Their pack started to boss the contact areas and their pressure paid off as Shaun Engelbrecht went over with Jordan Wilson adding the extras.

Enfield kept their momentum and Frank Stavrou fed Ellis who went over to level the contest.

However, the Chelmsford side did manage to get their hand on the ball in the dying stages and they scored a converted try from Jobi Fischer to seal the win.

Hertz said: "We were very poor in the first-half and we told the players at the break to forget about everything that had gone on before. We told them that they needed to be better in all departments and to believe in themselves as a group. We got a massive response."

Ignatians tackle South Woodham Ferrers in their penultimate league fixture at Donkey Lane on April 5.

Ignatians Twos all but wrapped the Herts-Middlesex Merit Two title after a hard-fought 24-19 win over Hampstead Threes at Donkey Lane.

There were tries from Shaun Rogers, Alberto Di Dio and Sean Coyne. Paul Duke went over twice and also added two conversions.

There was disappointment for Ignatians Threes who lost 41-0 to Datchworth Herts-Middlesex Merit Three.

Enfield’s Under-15s are closing in on the Herts-Middlesex Division Three title after a default 45-0 win against Welwyn who conceded the fixture.

The Under-12s combined forces with Old Grammarians and claimed 47-14 and 63-0 wins against Finchley and Pinner in the Middlesex Shield competition.

The Under-9s clinched 12-5 and 15-5 victories against Stockwood Park while the Under-8s had mixed fortunes in their double header against the same opposition.

They side were beaten 10-6 in the first game before securing a 9-6 win in the second.