Photos courtesy of Tom Anthony
Only Blackheath’s second-ever victory at Brickfields, and one which will be savoured long after this National League One season has concluded.
Lying second in the table, Plymouth Albion had gone unbeaten in their home fortress from the start of the campaign. Added to that, the Devonians were on an eleven-match winning spree which had taken them to within a point of league-leaders Rotherham, their last defeat, coincidentally, having been at the Utilita Well Hall in November, when Blackheath had triumphed 40-28.
Now, with the odds stacked against them, as well as a vast majority of the 2,550-strong crowd, the Club repeated the result with a stunning win built on a ruthless opening half-hour, followed by stoic resistance, and in so doing, closed the gap on the side just above them in the table.
Three early penalties gave the visitors field position, and as Fin O’Sullivan took lineout ball 15-metres from the Albion goal-line, the second-row continued to lead the drive for Billy Harding to crash over for the first try.
On 14 minutes, another lineout saw ball spun across field, and as Ed Dunford came into the line, the full-back threaded his punt to the right corner with perfection for Tom Hughes to gather and ground.
Then, as the 30-minute mark approached, Jordan Burns sent Archie Holland and Jake Hennessey tearing through the midfield, before the scrum-half himself dummied through the remainder of the defence for another try, Sam Morley’s second conversion giving Blackheath a 19-0 lead.
Albion were having a shocker with their lineout, the ball constantly overthrown into the grateful arms of Harding, but a resurgence was inevitable and it came in the final minutes of the half.
As the hosts gained momentum, hooker Harry Wilkinson was worked across for a try, and lock Hugh Taylor added a second from a tap-and-go, but sandwiched in between, yet another overthrown ball was hoofed forward by Harding, and as Albion illegally killed the breakaway, Archie Holland was driven across for a fourth Blackheath score.
An off the ball incident after the re-start for the second period gave the Club pack another opportunity to drive Harding across for the hooker’s second try, Morley’s conversion from out wide extending the visitors’ lead to 31-14 on 50 minutes, but now Albion found another gear.
Blackheath have one of the best defensive records in National League One, but Albion gained continuity close to the Club’s goal-line for scrum-half and skipper Jack Oulton to slip through a gap.
Even an Albion yellow card failed to interrupt the momentum switch, and although wing Noah Fenton’s breakaway score was the result of a Blackheath handling error, and fly-half Iwan Jenkins missed his only conversion strike, the Devonians were back within five points.
Nevertheless, Blackheath dug deep into their reserves. Josh Smart made a crucial turnover to add to earlier efforts from Noah Sloot on his 50th Club appearance in the back-row, and inevitably from the ubiquitous Harding, and as Morley kept his cool to slot a 77th minute penalty, Blackheath knew a famous victory was theirs.
Blackheath have a break next week, but on Saturday 14th March welcome Rotherham to The Utilita. Kick off is at 3.00 pm.
Plymouth Albion
Tries: Wilkinson 31, Taylor 38, Oulton 59, Fenton 65
Conv: Jenkins 31, 38, 59
Blackheath
Tries: Harding 5, 50, Hughes 14, Burns 27, Holland 35
Conv: Morley 5, 27, 50
Pens: Morley 77
Attendance: 2,550
| 15 | . | Ed Dunford |
| 14 | . | Tom Hughes |
| 13 | . | Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas |
| 12 | . | Raff Hollister |
| 11 | . | Jake Hennessey |
| 10 | . | Sam Morley |
| 9 | . | Jordan Burns |
| 1 | . | Archie Holland |
| 2 | . | Billy Harding (Capt) |
| 3 | . | Rory Marsh |
| 4 | . | Fin O’Sullivan |
| 5 | . | Ed Scragg |
| 6 | . | Josh Smart |
| 7 | . | Noah Sloot |
| 8 | . | Archie Smeaton |
| 16 | . | Archie Bourne |
| 17 | . | Jaes Cornish |
| 18 | . | Tom Johnson |
| 19 | . | Tom Emery |
| 20 | . | Kyle McGhie |
Graham Cox
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