The Colts report by Steve Mole.
Colts unlucky in thriller at the Rec.

What a game this was, end-to-end stuff from the first whistle to the last, with Crediton just edging it
39 - 40.
Services shocked the visitors with a dream start.
Trystan Green flew down the wing from his own 22 after a turnover, and quick hands found him in space. Joss Redsell adding the conversion. 7 - 0.
Five minutes later, great defensive pressure saw Cosmo Searls charge down a clearance kick and pick up the rebound to score wide out.
12 - 0.
These two early scores sparked Crediton into life, and for the next 10 minutes, we were pinned at our end of the pitch. We had chances to exit, but tried to play our way out, which gave Crediton opportunities. Two intercept tries in that 10-minute spell, both converted, and they took the lead 12 - 14

We settled into our structure a bit, which led to some good handling and Harry Witcher breaking away to score, Joss adding the extras from the touchline to take us back into the lead 19 - 14.
Crediton came back at us, but with the try line begging, Trystan Green picked off the last pass to scorch down the wing for his second under the posts, Joss adding the 2.
26 - 14.
The ref had a busy day with the whistle, and the breakdown was fiercely contested all game. Sam Gollup picked up a yellow card for a dump tackle, and two minutes later Owen Gurney collected another for a ruck offence, reducing us to 13 with half-time not far away.
Crediton took their chance and grabbed 2 quick tries, 1 converted to close the half at 26 - 26.

The second half started with us still at thirteen men, and it didn’t take long for Crediton to strike again off a 5 metre scrum through their impressive forwards and adding the two from the touchline 26 - 33.

We were now up to 14 players, but couldn’t stop their strong runners making yards, and the visitors grabbed another 7 points to extend the lead 26 -40.
It looked at this stage that Crediton had done enough, but a yellow card for a “no arms” tackle gave Harry Witcher a long-range penalty chance, which he slotted to grab three back,
29 -40.
We kept them under pressure, and from a well-executed catch and drive, Jake McKensie rumbled over to close the gap 34 - 40.
Tempers now started to flare on both sides, and Crediton picked up a second yellow with ten minutes to go. The resulting penalty and lineout led to some good phase play, and Tom Brown crossed wide out to make it 39 - 40.

The last five minutes were nail-biting for sure, with both teams giving all they had to get a result. The ref penalised Crediton in midfield just inside the halfway line and Harry Witcher stepped up to take the kick. Unfortunately, it went wide, and that’s how it finished a few minutes later
Services 39 - Crediton 40.
Both teams had their chances throughout the game, and both gave away too many penalties, but for the spectators, this was an absolute thriller.
Well done to all the players!!!

Joss Redsell picked up DOTD for a perfectly measured pass, straight to the opposition.
MOTM. A few mentions, Nathan Todd, Owen Gurney, Jake McKensie all contributed well, but for his two electric tries, this week it’s Trystan Green.

Moley