Western Counties West
Hayle 13
Okehampton 17
FOLLOWING last weeks' strong performance against national division 3 leaders Plymouth Albion, Okehampton secured two valuable league points away from home.
Playing against a strong wind in the first half, the Okehampton pack battled hard against the elements, going into the break 6-3 down following a Searle penalty.
The end of the half saw Okehampton reduced to 14 men when Andy Ewen was awarded a yellow card, resulting in a difficult 10 minutes.
Back to 15 men and with the wind behind them, the visitors pinned Hayle in their own 22 for much of the second half with some intelligent kicking, giving Searle the opportunity to slot three penalty goals shortly after the break and regain the lead.
The victory was sealed when Dave Bickle showed excellent vision from scrum half, chipping a kick to the corner for winger Andrew Murry to chase and touch down
A last-minute consolation try for the home side took the gloss off what was otherwise a strong defensive performance, although it served only to alter the scoreline, with the game already beyond Hayle.
Searle collected a bottle of champagne for man of the match — and after intense negotiation agreed to share the contents among the rest of the team!
This week sees Okehampton at home to Wellington, kick-off 2.30pm at Oaklands.