Devon and Cornwall League Okehampton Chiefs 18 Falmouth 15 A SMALLER than hoped for crowd were eagerly anticipating another Okehampton victory at Oaklands Park on Saturday afternoon but the match proved to be a nail biting affair with the result in doubt virtually up to the final whistle. The match started brightly for the Okes playing up the slope in the first half with the forwards dominating possession and giving the Oke However, the possession and territory was not turned into points and despite a number of good opportunities for Okehampton it was the visitors who scored first when one of their forwards went over in the corner following some close inter-passing. The lead was increased to 12 points shortly afterwards when some slack Okehampton defence allowed Falmouth to score underneath the posts to put Okehampton firmly on the back foot. This proved to be something of a spur for the Okes and following a delightful passing movement the ball found its way out to Buzz Brimacombe on the left wing to score in the corner. Unfortunately Falmouth responded with a penalty to make the half time score Falmouth 15: Okehampton 5. After half time Okehampton brought on Arnie Searle as replacement full back and this proved to be an important factor in the eventual outcome of the match. The second half began with the Okehampton pack once again providing a steady supply of possession and following some concerted pressure the ball was moved along the back line for Arnie Searle to crash over. The centre Greg Cornish was successful with the conversion and shortly afterwards he was also successful with a penalty to bring the scores level at 15-15. Indeed, it was the mercurial Cornish who landed the winning points with another penalty some 10 minutes from time. Despite him having an indifferent game with the boot the quality of his running skills were once again evident for all to see. This week sees the Okes travel to Wellington where two more league points would provide a vital lifeline in their efforts to avoid relegation.
