Hoppers end year on a low

Sedgley Park 34 Preston Grasshoppers 17Preston Grasshoppers ended 2016 with a disappointing defeat at Sedgley Park.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Dec 2016, 13:42 BST
Updated 29th Dec 2016, 15:12 BST
Hoppers head coach Garth DewHoppers head coach Garth Dew
Hoppers head coach Garth Dew

The loss at Park Lane means that Hoppers end the year sitting bottom of National League Two North.

Hoppers conceded after just 90 seconds, when Richard Lepori touched down out wide.

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Three minutes later, fellow winger Andy Riley crossed the whitewash, with both tries coming against some lacklustre Hoppers defending.

Two yellow cards then saw Hoppers reduced to 13 men, and Sedgley bagged their third try after 15 minutes.

Johnny Matthews touched down from a driving line-out, with Matt Riley converting.

Matthews and Andy Riley both scored again to give Sedgley a commanding 29-0 lead.

With the half’s last play, Hoppers got on the scoresheet.

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Lewis Allen’s kick-off was collected by Matt Garrod, who off-loaded for Chris Roddy to touch down.

Hoppers had the momentum and created plenty of front-foot ball, until Max Skofic crossed the whitewash from a driving lineout to put Sedgley 34-5 ahead.

Two yellow cards for the hosts then put Hoppers back in the contest.

Tom Forster broke the gain line and his delicate pop saw Jack Swarbrick finish a nice move, with Allen converting.

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Chris Taylor then scored after Phil Mills bounced off the Sedgley tacklers and offloaded for Taylor to breeze past some weak defending.

The game’s final quarter was scrappy, with Hoppers desperately trying to get within losing bonus-point distance of their opponents, while Sedgley were happy to wind the clock down by keeping the ball in their pack.

Ultimately, despite a gallant effort, Hoppers came away from Park Lane pointless.

Hoppers head coach Garth Dew said: “I’m very disappointed with the whole performance.

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“The first half was embarrassing, and I while I commend the turnaround in attitude in the second half, it came too late.

“We gave ourselves four or five quality chances to score in the second-half but only took two of them, which is why we’re bottom of the league.

“We now have a needed two-week break, and when the lads come back they have 
to be prepared to work very hard.

“Hopefully our new pitch will give us a fresh start and some impetus to turn the season around.”