Ditchling came to Shoreham for the reverse fixture looking for revenge for their home defeat but bringing a reshaped backline due to some key absences.

From the start Ditchling looked confident and found their high tempo game was causing Shoreham problems, particularly out wide. The revamped backline proving more than a match for Shoreham. Unfortunately the momentum was continually thwarted by simple mistakes and repeatedly being penalised for straying offside. Strong tackling, notably Charlie Jacob, kept Shoreham at bay until eventually on the 20 minute mark Shoreham scored from a penalty. Ditchling did not learn and this was repeated 5 minutes later to give Shoreham an early 6:0 lead.
From here Ditchling began to take control and cause Shoreham problems with their strong running and quick moving of the ball. Shoreham stood firm until a neat sidestep from Fly Half Ben Poulton 10 yards out took him under the posts for the first try of the game. Poulton converted his own try to give a 6:7 scoreline.
Unfortunately just before half time Ditchling were handed a yellow card and the resulting penalty allowed Shoreham to kick deep into Ditchling territory. From the lineout and resulting maul they were able to score between the posts. The conversion gave Shoreham a 13:7 half time lead.

HT Shoreham 13 Ditchling 7

The second half saw Shoreham gain the early momentum. A blind side move led to a ruck on the Ditchling line and eventually barging over and push the lead out to 20:7.
It was from this point Ditchling raised their game and took control of both possession and territory.
A series of quick rucks switching the play from left to right saw Barney Reed eventually drive over and reduce the lead to 20:12.
Continuing the pressure the next 10 minutes were played in the Shoreham red zone and finally Ollie Van Hoeken forced himself over to reduce the score to 20:17.
Ditchling’s revamped backline were making yards every time they had the ball and this pressure led to a yellow card to Shoreham. Then on 70 minutes, Adam Crook broke the Shoreham back line to score under the posts. The conversion by Poulton gave Ditchling a deserved 20:24 lead.
Shoreham responded well and a noticeable shift in gears led to a swing in momentum. A penalty reduced the score to 23:24 and pressure led to Ditchling begin to panic and lose shape. A mistake led to Shoreham regaining the lead through a further try, which was followed up shortly after to give the final score an unflattering 35:24.
Shoreham showed their experience in this league by regrouping and tightening their game when under pressure. Ditchling continue to improve in all areas of their game and are bonding well as a squad but unfortunately showed their inexperience with small mistakes, unnecessary penalties, and not being able to close out a game which cost them the result.
Ditchling now have a week off to recover and use this time to train hard in preparation for their next league fixture against Worthing on 1st March.

Scorers
Tries: Ben Poulton, Barney Reed, Ollie Ollie Van Hoeken, Adam Crook
Con: Ben Poulton (2)