National League three South West

Brixham 13,

Ivybridge travelled to a cold, sunny Astley Park for another derby against Brixham.

After beating them ­earlier in the season, the Fishermen wanted revenge. They may have got it, but the margin of victory was just a single point.

The opening 10 ­minutes saw the sides feeling each other out as the game see-sawed in the middle part of the pitch. The deadlock was broken when Brixham were awarded a penalty and opted to pop it into the corner for a five-metre lineout.

A secure catch ­followed by the pack driving forwards took the ball over the line, with flanker Scott Puleston grounding for a try in the corner.

Eight minutes later and another penalty brought a lineout on the opposite side of the pitch. Same throw, catch, drive and try scorer. Ed Barnes missed both conversions, but Brixham were 10 points ahead after the first quarter.

With the slope in their favour, Brixham continued to do most of the attacking, but were repelled by a staunch Ivybridge defence.

The home side’s only reward came when Barnes landed a penalty kick to extend the lead.

With half time approaching Ivybridge showed that their ­forwards could also drive a maul, and their try, unconverted, ­narrowed the gap to 13-5 at the break.

The second half ­continued the pattern of the first, with the two sets of backs cancelling each other out and ­parity in the packs.

Brixham came close to scoring five minutes into the half, but were stopped just short of the line and again soon after, when their attack ended with a penalty to Ivybridge and a yellow card for lock Adam Thomas.

While he spent 10 minutes in the bin, Ivybridge upped their game and started to press downfield.

With Thomas readying himself to resume activities, Ivybridge again showed their mauling ability and their second try ensued. The conversion left Brixham clinging to a lead of a solitary point.

The final 20 minutes saw both sides giving their all in the chase for victory.

Brixham could have extended their lead slightly when offered a penalty attempt, but opted for the corner and a possible try. The catch-and-drive ploy failed and the final minutes were fraught, but the final whistle came a bit too soon for Ivybridge.