Stourbridge 44 DK 10 (From Halesowen News)

Stourbridge 44 DK 10

5:58pm Saturday 8th September 2012 in Local Sport By Matt Maher

A DOMINANT forward display helped Stourbridge to derby delight against Dudley Kingswinford.

The hosts held the upper hand throughout in front of a packed crowd at Stourton Park to win the first meeting between the rivals in 12 years.

Nigel Mukarati, Tom Jarvis, Gary Dipple and Drew Harper all scored tries while Stour also claimed two penalty tries.

Simon Fletcher and Rhys Pritchard scored for DK but they found the hosts simply too strong.

Both visiting tries came from flowing moves but were the only occasions they enjoyed extended time with the ball in hand.

Stourbridge were simply too powerful, despatching their opponents in a clinical display of forward play which turned the much-anticipated derby into a stroll in the sun.

That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty to admire in the back line too, with Will Hurrell in particular catching the eye as he set up two first half tries.

With two wins out of two, Neil Mitchell’s side are already looking like they will be a force in National Two North. For DK the agenda is different but at least after today they will be under no illusions as to the task ahead of them.

After a bright start from the visitors, a booming kick to touch by Caolan Ryan lead to several minutes of constant pressure on the DK line. The final result was a penalty try to the hosts as the visiting defence were penalised for persistent fouling.

DK were not without their chances, Matt Farrington being bundled into touch just yards short of the line.

But Stour looked potent every time they got the ball in their opponents half. After Ryan extended the lead with a penalty, Mukarati added a second try, finishing off a lovely move from open play after Hurrell had burst through the DK defence.

That effort was then bettered by the visitors, who got their first points of the day when Fletcher touched down following a great passing move. But their joy proved short-lived as Hurrell once again waltzed through, this time setting up Jarvis to put the hosts into a 22-5 half-time lead.

Errors early in the second half, including a kick from Gareth Bown which failed to find touch, didn’t help DK’s cause and when Stefan Shiillingford was penalised for holding on Ryan notched the first points of the period with the boot.

Dipple then took advantage of missed tackles to breeze through and score the hosts fourth try and secure the bonus point.

Though the game was over as a contest, the visitors kept battling and scored a second try of their own when Pritchard went over following some flowing passes.

At the other end, Ryan dropped the ball a yard short of the line when he looked certain to score.

But Stour were continuing to hammer the visitors in the forward line and were awarded another penalty try with nine minutes to go after exerting further intense pressure on the DK line.

Harper then forced his way over in the closing moments to cap a super display from the home side.

STOUR: Jarvis, Bressington, Hurrell W, Dipple, Cooksammy, Ryan, White, Sturdy, Pearl, George, Hurrell R, Stott, Mukarati, Rodley, Harper Replacements: Adams, Barkley, Jones, Roy-Smith, Wordley.

DK: Fletcher, Chance, Bown, Shillingford, Farrington, Higgins, Gore, Kelley, Humphries, Francis, Parry (Murphy 41), Griffiths, Bissell, Knight, Tideswell Replacements: Shakespeare, Pritchard, Perry, Parkes.