St Ives Roosters set aside the disappointment of defeat at Colchester by completing a double over Thetford Titans thanks in no small part by a hat-trick from centre Paul Ashridge.
Although a bright day and firm pitch suggested a day for expansive football both sides were hampered by a strong wind throughout. St Ives were first on the scoreboard. Despite being forced to drop out from their own line the Roosters regained possession when the Titans knocked on and then gained teritory from a penalty. Good passing from right to left found Ashridge who darted through a gap to score. Jimmy Allen was unlucky with the conversion rebounding from the right post and then apparently missing the left upright.
The play failed to establish a coherent pattern as a result of many penalties from a sometimes overly pedantic official. When the Roosters did establish possession it was frittered away with ambitious passes that drifted away from their target in the high wind. Thetford managed a rare attack down the left following a penalty but Roosters full back Chris Saunders was on hand to snuff out the move.
Repeated penalties put more pressure on the Roosters in midfield but soon the home side were advancing again and Ashridge was unlucky to have a second score ruled out for a forward pass in the build up. St Ives pressed on again but a promising move lost its way on the last tackle. More mistakes from the Roosters allowed Thetford to go close but the home side gained relief with a 40-20 clearance. The respite was shortlived however. Titans centre Matt Roberts ran the ball out with disconcerting ease and from the ensuing attack hooker Tom Palmer was able to equalise. The conversion was again missed on what was a difficult day for kickers. The half ended with the game as tight as the strings on a banjo at 4-4.
With the slope and wind now against them the Roosters started the second half disastrously by putting the kick off straight out. The Titans also fell victim of the gale by putting the ensuing penalty dead. The Roosters rebuilt and now started to show more composure by eliminating the long balls that had blighted their play in the first half. Soon they reaped a reward as quick hands from right to left enabled winger Eddie Embley to score in the corner. Ashridge's second came from a sweet move in midfield and then on 60 minutes he broke from 30 metres to seal his hat-trick. Allen added the extras to establish a margin that now looked to be decisive.
To their credit though Thetford were not finished and soon established a promising overlap on the left which required heroics from the Roosters defence. Twice more the home defence withstood pressure while camped on their own line and it was some relief when they took advantage of some tired looking tackling to advance up the field. Saunders looked to have scored in the corner but was held up. The Titans came back again but Palmer's running was too lateral and the defence was able to force him over the sideline. St Ives advanced up field again and hooker Andrew Dean did not need a second invitation to dive over from dummy half with 7 minutes remaining. Allen again converted.
Thetford rallied and were able to claim a somewhat fortunate try when Chris Trede's kick ricoched around the defence and was regathered. However there was no time for any further scoring.
Roosters coach Ian Hill was happier with the defensive effort and the all round performance in the second half. However, there were still too many errors bedevilling the Roosters play and improvement will be needed for the remaining fixtures agains the division's top two sides, Hainault and Greenwich
Next week the Roosters have a free weekend in the Conference and will be sending a side to play a London League fixture at Southampton.