Mariners 3 Police 6

In blustery conditions that have come to be the norm at the National Sports Centre?s North Field, Mariners had some incentive to notch their first league win of the season as Mark Ladyman, who has represented the club for over seven years and Bermuda for the last three, was playing in his final match.

And it was Mariners who enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half, though they failed to capitalise on numerous chances.

Ladyman himself led a fired-up and organised pack who dominated with strong forward runs from James Bergle. Only valiant Police defending, led by the back row of Silas Fisken, Kevin Bean and Sean Field-Lament, halted the continuous Mariner advances.

However, it was Keith Hodgkins who opened the scoring with a fine penalty kick giving Mariners a tenuous 3-0 lead at the half.

In the second half the sin binning of Police hooker Ryan Summerville proved to be a crucial turning point as the Blues, not possessing a recognised front row replacement, forced the game to be played with uncontested scrums for the next 10 minutes.

This allowed Police a platform on which to capitalise on the windy conditions. Fly half Michael Kane pinned Mariners deep in their own half with towering kicks and the territorial advantage gave Police the momentum they needed and Kane evened the score with an easy chip in front of the posts.

With less than five minutes remaining Police were back in the Mariners half with some fine backs play. Another penalty against the men in green allowed Kane the opportunity to kick his team into the lead. From 40 metres out he calmly slotted over the kick to secure a narrow 6-3 victory.

In what is proving to be a popular competition and location, the second division 10-a-side play at BAA Field was again held on Friday night. Renegades again ended the evening with an unblemished record with victories over Mariners and Teachers. (Chris Furbert, Ian Scotton, Brad Laggase) (Jeff Sangster 3, Peter Kyle) (Brad Laggase) (John Thompson, Matt Spencer 3)(Ron Hook, Roman Romeo) (John Thompson 2, Matt Spencer)

The Meridian Group League play now takes a break for the holiday season. Games will resume on the weekend of January 9-11. On Friday, January 9, the second team 10-a-side competition will continue at BAA, while league play for the first division will start on Sunday, January 11 with Renegades looking to extend their winning streak against Mariners and Teachers looking to keep pace against Police.