MARKET Rasen & Louth RUFC are aiming to bounce back this weekend after losing a closely-fought match against Scunthorpe.
The Red and Greens travelled to Heslam Park and were narrowly beaten 19-17.
It is back to Midlands One East League action this Saturday when they take on Peterborough Lions at Willingham Road (2.15pm kick-off).
Scunthorpe – who play in the league above Rasen – began strongly with some vigorous driving play that pushed their rivals deep into their own twenty two.
With five minutes gone, burly scrum-half Will Harrison pounced on a loose ball to slip through the visiting defence to open the scoring.
Despite the inauspicious start, Rasen regrouped and slowly grew into the game.
Rasen pressure forced Scunthorpe to concede a penalty. Meehal Grint's kick was unsuccessful, but Rasen retained their field position and, after a frenetic passage of play, centre Adam Beasley eased his way over the line to bring his side level. Matt Sutton took over the kicking duties and landed a superb touchline conversion.
Rasen had the upper hand, with Scunthorpe's early dominance evaporating.
Beasley set up an attacking platform and industrious open-side flanker Ben Chamberlin powered his way over the line.
Sutton repeated the dose with another excellent conversion from wide to give Rasen a 14-5 lead at the interval.
The Red and Greens continued where they had left off in the first half as Sutton's sure boot extended the lead with a penalty.
Scunthorpe's Adam Middleton had moved from full-back to scrum-half in the second period and had not been shy in letting the official know his views – but he eventually crossed the mark and received a yellow card.
However, not content to take his ten-minute punishment without comment, he made further remarks to reduce his side to 14 men for the remainder of the match as the referee reached in his pocket to brandish a red card.
Rasen opted for the kick to touch from the resulting penalty, but once again were repelled by the tight home defence.
The sending-off ought to have signalled the end for Scunthorpe, but it had the opposite effect as they galvanized themselves and forced Rasen to concede penalties.
A combination of penalties and smart play pushed Rasen back towards their own line until finally fly-half Ben Wright crossed the whitewash.
A conversion from centre Matt Ellis put Scunthorpe within one score of the visitors with 13 minutes remaining.
A lapse in concentration was to prove costly as Rasen conceded another penalty just inside their opponents' half.
A quick tap from Scunthorpe moved the ball to Ellis, whose running brushed aside several defenders en-route to a decisive solo try under the posts, which he then converted to secure the victory.
Overall, the Rasen side stepped up to the mark and displayed spirit and tenacity. They were the dominant side for long periods – just letting themselves down with their game management in the closing stages as fatigue set in.
