Canterbury 29 Wimbledon 32: National League 2 East match report

By David Haigh

Canterbury had a poor day all round as they lost 32-29 at home to Wimbledon in National League 2 East.

Having come from behind to establish a winning position, Canterbury saw the game slip away in the late stages as wing Tom Pozniak grabbed Wimbledon's fifth try. It was the ultimate disappointment for a city side that struggled to find any cohesion and paid heavily for lapses in defence.

The signs that all was not well came in a forgettable first 40 minutes. Despite having most of the possession and territory, a disjointed Canterbury found themselves a point down at the break. Nathan Morris's catch and drive try, converted by Frank Reynolds, was cancelled by one from Wimbledon's Marik Touilzak and an Ed Morgan penalty goal.

On the resumption there was a greater focus from Canterbury and sound handling produced an early try for Cameron Murray. Reynolds converted, then added a penalty, and there were opportunities to build on a nine-point lead. But the city side's defensive frailties let them down as clever work and decisive running from the visitors produced three tries.

Fly-half Morgan sold a sweet dummy for the first and it was followed by two more in the space of a minute. Wing Tom Bracegirdle's great solo run left everyone in his trail and from the restart the tackles again disappeared as Lewis Bloor finished off an unchallenged break.

Two conversions meant Canterbury had all the work to do. A yellow card, one of three handed to Wimbledon, saw the city side take advantage with a converted Pierce Holland try before a serious injury to the visitors’ prop Sam Gratton brought a lengthy delay.

When play restarted Canterbury seemed to have redeemed themselves when Sam Rogers' try put them two points in