Rugby union: Late penalty earns Wimbledon a share of the spoils in Chingford thriller
A late penalty try against a Chingford side reduced to 14 earned Wimbledon a share of the spoils in a 17-17 thriller.
It leaves the Dons second in London & SE Division – four points behind Sutton & Epsom.
The Dons were trailing 17-10 when their Essex hosts had a player sent off five minutes from time for throwing a punch – and they made their numerical advantage count.
Wimbledon took their chance for a long period of attack close to the Chingford line, which yielded a series of penalties, until the referee eventually ran out of patience and awarded a penalty try to even the score.
The match was played in testing conditions, with a high wind blowing straight down a sodden pitch.
Chingford had their members sponging up surface water before kick-off and an attritional match followed.
Wimbledon took the lead after three minutes – wing Phil Chesters scoring wide out on the left after rounding the Chingford defence after Wimbledon had taken a lineout.Centre Freddie Hooper was unable to convert.
Chingford almost hit back immediately. Their restart kick was fumbled, and from the resulting scrum, they gained a penalty, which outside half Scott Meakin was unable to convert into the strong wind.
Wimbledon then bagged a second try when scrum-half Aaron Booth burrowed his way over after 22 minutes – the score coming after full-back Matt Gilbert made a big clearance with the wind behind him, and pressure on the Chingford scrum led to a penalty for Wimbledon, with Chesters tackled five metres out. Hooper was again unable to convert.
The half did not end well for Wimbledon. With time running out before they faced the wind in the second half, Booth earned himself a yellow card on 37 minutes.
An injury to tighthead Jordan Saunders saw Bradley Ugodulunwa pitched in as a replacement, and just as the half was finishing, Chingford pressure earned a try for their number eight, Matt Bhol, when he grounded the ball in contact with the posts. Meakin converted.
With the wind at their backs, Chingford had the Dons under pressure at the turn-around and a penalty for Meakin made it 10-10.
The Wimbledon scrum stayed on top, and the defence held firm until Chingford replacement wing Josh Oranu-Noah scored on 73 minutes, in much the same place that Chesters had scored in during the first half. Meaken added the extras, and Wimbledon were behind 17-10.
The outcome changed on 75 minutes, when Chingford lost a player.
The final outcome of the match was a tribute to Wimbledon’s fitness, as a tiring Chingford pack eventually conceded the ground to give Wimbledon the field position for the final try.
Wimbledon are at home to Guildford tomorrow (2.30pm).
