Kingstone Press League 1 – 20 August 2017
Coventry Bears 14 London Skolars 50
A record-equalling fifth consecutive win for Skolars saw them consolidate their position in the top two in the Shield, having won all three games since the league split into two for the final two months of the season.
Despite the final scoreline, it was far from plain sailing in the first half. Coventry took the lead after five minutes when Kieran Sharratt gathered a chip-kick over the Skolars’ defence. There was a further blow for Skolars when Charlie Lawrence went off after knock to the head soon afterwards and took no further part in the game. A high tackle on Phil Lyon saw Chris Barratt sin-binned and Skolars scored from the next set, Michael Sykes scoring under the posts.
Despite being a man short, the Bears regained the lead when Hayden Freeman broke down the win before offloading to Mikey Russell. Skolars fought back, Mike Bishay finishing off a Dave Williams break. Williams scored just before half-time when he took a short pass from Jermaine Coleman for Skolars to lead 10-17 at half-time.
The second half saw Skolars in control. A late tackle on Phil Lyon saw them start an attacking set close to the tryline and Louis Robinson crashed over. Then Eddie Mbaraga took the ball on the right 30 metres out, brushing off the full-back to score. Coventry won possession from a short kick-off and were rewarded with a try for Jason Bass, but Skolars took control again. Player/coach Jermaine Coleman, in his 150th game for the club, timed his run onto his brother’s kick to perfection. Josh Allison scored his 11th try of the season, before Bishay added his second of the game from another Jy-Mel Coleman kick, the latter adding his seventh conversion of the afternoon.
The scoring was rounded off as Kazeem Faturoti-Edwards sliced through the defence to score in the right corner as Skolars reached the half-century.
A win on Friday against South Wales Scorpions will see Skolars top the table.
Coventry Bears
1 Mikey Russell
2 Hayden Freeman
3 Jason Bass
4 Matthew Reid
5 Jamahl Hunte
6 Paul Emanuelli
7 Brad Delaney
17 Brad Brennan
9 Billy Gaylor
10 Paddy Jones
11 Kieran Sherratt
12 Chris Barratt
13 Zak Williams
Subs (all used)
14 James Kelly
19 Jack Morrison
16 Elliott Davies
16 Alex Beddows
8 James Guertjens
Tries: Sherrat (5), Russell (20), Bass (55)
Goals: Delaney 1/3
London Skolars
7 Mike Bishay
1 Jacob Ogden
3 Josh Allison
4 Lameck Juma
24 Michael Brown
29 Jermaine Coleman
6 Jy-Mel Coleman
25 Michael Sykes
11 Lamont Bryan
10 Dave Williams
12 Eddie Mbaraga
23 Will Martin
Subs (all used)
14 Phil Lyon
15 Kazeem Faturoti-Edwards
8 Louis Robinson
18 Michael Greenhalgh
Tries: Sykes (10), Bishay (25,69), Williams (38), Robinson (47), Mbaraga (51), Jermaine Coleman (60), Allison (64), Faturoti-Edwards (72)
Goals: Jy-Mel Coleman 7/9
Penalty count: 4-6
Half-time: 10-18
Referee: Steve Race
Attendance: 268
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 10-12, 10-18, 10-24, 10-30, 14-30, 14-36, 14-40, 14-46, 14-50
