Battling Ignatians slug it out to share the points

4:48pm Wednesday 17th September 2008

Mersea Island 12 Enfield Ignatiants 12 HAVING flirted with victory, Enfield Ignatians were eventually forced to dig deep to salvage a draw in their opening league fixture at Mersea Island, writes Jonathan Landi.

For most of the first-half, Ignatians threatened Mersea Island’s near invincibility on their home patch, but lack of a cutting edge came back to haunt them yet again.

It all began so well after Wes Warren instigated his own try by taking play to within yards of the Mersea line. Ignatians then engaged rolling maul mode before the number eight bundled his way over for a try converted by Mark Mansfield.

But despite the dominance, errors crept into the visitors’ play at key moments which kept Mersea Island in the hunt, and when the hosts started to move the ball away from the heavier Ignatians’ pack, they started to prosper.

Resolute defence kept Ignatians in it, but Mersea gave themselves a huge lift on the stroke of half-time when they swept right, creating just enough space for the winger to squeeze in at the corner.

Mersea failed to supply the extra points, but they started where they left off in the second period as Ignatians found themselves pinned in their own half for long periods – even losing flanker Richard Laurence to the sin bin for foul play.

However, Mersea had two men sin-binned after the break, and the islanders started to scent victory after shredding the Ignatians’ defence, before the winger rounded fullback Andy O’Byrne to give the Essex side a 12-7 lead.

Under the cosh, and forced to readjust continually after using up the full quota of their replacements, Ignatians, for only the fourth time in the half, dragged themselves by the bootstraps into the Mersea Island half.

O’Byrne’s booming touch-finder gave Ignatians a prime attacking position, and after a patient build up from the catch and drive, the peerless Lyons muscled his way over to force a stalemate that wasn’t to be broken.

l The Ignatians’ second team began the defence of their Herts-Middlesex Merit Table One title with a resounding 54-0 over Barnet IIs. After an indifferent first-half, Ignatians stormed back with captain Sean Engelbrecht claiming three tries.