Chingford 13 Letchworth 6 Both teams, the coaches and spectators suffered a tiresome afternoon, amazing in a match that saw five yellow cards, one red, a penalty try, 48 penalties and a serious injury. The referee was kindly described as over zealous . U

Chingford 13 Letchworth 6

Both teams, the coaches and spectators suffered a tiresome afternoon, amazing in a match that saw five yellow cards, one red, a penalty try, 48 penalties and a serious injury.

The referee was kindly described as 'over zealous'.

Ultimately, the scoreline was about fair, based on territory, although both sides struggled to string any phases of play together and had only the odd chance of a try.

With a pitch in perfect condition, the elements favoured Chingford in the first half, with a stiff breeze and the low autumn sun on their backs.

First blood went to Letchworth, a Gavin Donald penalty, after the first yellow card to Chingford's second row.

Ben Priestley, on his debut, figured well in defence when Chingford did put together an attack.

Gary Glencross was next to the sin bin for a technical breach.

With the whistle dominant, scoring chances were confined to penalties.

Chingford's 13, normally pinpoint accurate, missed four chances, before finding the range with his last two attempts.

Donald missed a couple of more difficult chances, and both claimed afterwards that the new balls being used did not travel well!

Simon Hill was dominant in the scrum but every time he gained the upper hand, another penalty was awarded against him.

Jaggi Johal left the field limping just before half time, replaced by Morgan Bevan. Without his presence, Chingford's open side was set free to become the man of the match.

With the elements now with Letchworth, Donald kicked well for territory to set up a penalty and even the scores.

Chingford looked vulnerable but they were given a new lease of life when Lindsey Hogg was despatched to the bin.

A rare moment of class outside was provided by second row Tony Simpson. He showed the ball and went through the gap and he was inches away from getting the scoring pass in.

Chingford mounted a decent attack of their own but looked to have thrown away an overlap with the full-back getting caught short of the line.

There followed a period of confusion as the referee went back to midfield and yellow carded a surprised Priestley.

The referee caused further surprise by then walking under the posts to award a penalty try. The conversion was a formality.

The game completely lost all shape as players struggled to comprehend what was now within the laws.

Letchworth pressed but looked unlikely to open the home defence. Frustration from both sides crept into the game and a series of niggling incidents broke out.

With seconds left, Simpson had an accidental clash of heads.

He was prone on the floor as quite separately a bout of hand bag swinging broke out.

To everyone's surprise, it was the Chingford open side who was called for a red card. He left the field justifiably protesting his innocence.

With Simpson now out of the action, Luke Starr had one last flourish but he was tackled into touch.

Letchworth are on the road again this Saturday when they travel to Twickenham, hoping to end a run of three consecutive defeats.

* Simpson is said to be recovering well this week despite X-rays revealing a fractured forehead.