Crusaders 2nds v Beccles 2nds

Crusaders 2nds hosted a very strong Beccles 2nds after Lakenham were unable to field a team.With Beccles 2nds sitting mid-table in the league above this was always going to be a tough fixture but the Team were up for the challenge.
With plenty of support for both Teams,the conditions were heavy to say the least and with rain forecast the outlook was for a scrappy forwards battle. But despite the conditions, both Teams managed to play some good rugby, with Crusaders taking an early lead after 5 mins with a quickly taken penalty enabling Jordan Long to score.
For the next 75 mins, the 2 Teams battled it out around the field with Beccles applying plenty of pressure but were unable to cross the Crusaders line. The game was a very stop / start affair with far to many penalties being conceded by Crusaders and plenty of time taken up with scrums. With Beccles throwing everything at Crusaders it was only a matter of time before the Ref pulled out a yellow card, which was promptly presented to Matt Atkin for pulling down a maul. Which was a little harsh as it wasn't him, but was the culprit in 5 earlier offenses - karma ! With Matt off the field for 10 mins and with Beccles making yet another host of subs, it was pointed out to the Ref that they actually had 16 on the field !
Despite this, Crus held on to a hard earned and well deserved win. Beccles played well, but the Crus scramble defense and stubbornness to give up won them the game in the end
Good to see Ben Barker return after a long lay off through injury.