London Scottish 38 Jersey 17
London Scottish head coach James Buckland praised his side’s killer extinct as they returned to winning ways against Jersey at the Athletic Ground.
Scot @leemillar10 thrilled with Friday night win. #theincrediblejourney http://t.co/x1qCIJe6Cl pic.twitter.com/zNu8aS3vb9
— London Scottish FC (@LSFCOfficial) November 15, 2014
The home side ran in six tries from six different scorers to seal the bonus point victory which lifts them to second in the Greene King IPA Championship.
Buckland praised winger Miles Mantella’s man-of-the-match performance which helped end his side’s run of four straight defeats and maintain their 100% league record at home for this campaign.
“The boys have done it this week but we know we have to do it every week.” – James Buckland
“The whole back line kicked really well,” said Buckland. “They kicked in a very positive fashion which put them under a lot of pressure.
“They kicked back poorly to us at times and our half-backs exploited the opportunities that were on offer.
“Miles Mantella came good, if you give him broken field he will run at you and cause trouble.
“The boys have done it this week but we know we have to do it every week.
“Our target is the top four but we went to Mosley last week and lost. We are under no illusions, this is going to be a very difficult task.
“We pride ourselves on our driving play but we got pushed around a little bit, so that will be something we need to work on.
“Playing away in Doncaster in our next match will be a difficult challenge for us and a completely different one to this.”
Peter Lydon opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a converted try after Mantella was allowed space to counter-attack from a kick downfield, weaving through tackles before releasing the full-back for the score.
The visitors got themselves on the board in the 20th minute thanks to a successful 40-yard penalty from Jonny Bentley.
Just after the half hour mark, and with Scottish lock Gregor Gillanders in the sin bin, the Islanders decided to try and make their one man advantage count, opting to kick to the corner from a penalty when three points were on offer.
But the gamble did not pay off as Scottish centre Lee Millar intercepted a pass and ran close to 80 meters to score between the posts – again Lydon made no mistake with the conversion.
Mantella got the third try for the home side in first-half added time and once again Lydon added the extras to send his side into the break 21-3 up.
After the restart the visitors threatened to barrage their way back into the game, but they twice wasted possession five meters out through a wayward line-out and a knock-on.
Debutant James Chisholm was able to bundle his was over in the 53rd minute to but the result beyond doubt and the extra points took Lydon’s season’s tally to 76.
Just five minutes later the league’s top try scorer – Mark Bright – added another for the home side, his tenth of the campaign before the visitors hit back with two converted scores of their own.
First Sam Lockwood peeled off a rolling maul to score before Grant Pointer finished went over seven minutes from time to bring Jersey within a score of a losing bonus point.
But any faint hope of a consolation point were dashed in the 76th minute as Lydon was able to collect his own kick and set up Matthew Williams to round off the scoring.
“It was nice to get a few different boys on the scoreboard in various different ways, so hopefully the coach will be pleased with that one,” said Mantella.
“Bristol and Worcester are class but with the rest it’s all to play for and hopefully we can get our way into the top four and stay there.”
