Alresford 40 – Lymington 31 [ 13th December 2025]
Alresford welcomed Lymington to an unseasonably sunny Arlebury Park for our penultimate game of December, keen to move on from last weeks performance.
Lymington kicked off the first half, hoping to show that their standing in the league table was not a misnomer. However, the home team were in a determined mood, and after a period of sustained forward pressure, we duly scored our first try of the afternoon after 6 minutes. The resulting conversion made it 7-0 to Alresford.
Stung by this, the away team came into life, and after 14 minutes, they responded with their first try. The missed conversion made it 7-5.
Lymington were now starting to build an attacking platform and a second try followed after 22 minutes, with the conversion moving them into the lead at 7-12.
But Alresford, with our pack in ferocious form, refused to buckle, marched the opposition up the pitch, and were rewarded with a penalty for their efforts. This reduced the deficit to 10-12.
However, it was Lymington who had the last word in the first half, as a converted try just before the whistle, increased their lead to 10-19.
Alresford kicked off the second half after a team talk that seems to produce sense of optimism and positivity.
This was borne out when, four minutes into the half, Alresford sliced open the away defence for their second try of the afternoon. The conversion brought the scores closer at 17-19.
Back came Lymington with their fourth, bonus point try, which although unconverted, increased their lead to 17-24.
But, far from being disheartened, this seemed to spark Alresford into another gear. Roared on by an increasingly confident support, a period of pressure resulting in the awarding of another penalty – the lead had been reduced to 20-24.
The home team now had the bit between their teeth, and with Lymington now in some disarray, pushed the away team back towards their try line to gain yet another penalty; we now were just a point behind at 23-24.
And all of our endeavours were rewarded with our third try of the afternoon. Another superb conversion meant we were back in the lead at 30-24.
We were now making repeated inroads into an increasingly demoralised Lymington defence, as the awarding of yet another penalty increased our lead to 33-24.
Alresford were now searching for our first try bonus point of the season, and this happened 10 minutes before the end; the score was now 40-24.
But Lymington refused to give up, and their fifth try came just before the whistle, making the final score;
Alresford 40 – Lymington 31.
This was the performance we have been threatening all season. We have at times during every game, produced this lethal combination of defensive solidity, a pack that refused to take a backward step, and a back line that grew in confidence as the game progressed, but this was the first time that we have maintained it for a match duration. Everyone played their part today; Dudley Pekarik took over kicking duties, and slotted over at will, keeping the scoreboard moving. Picking out people who tackled everything that moved, and kept the pressure on were many and myriad, but Matt Moss rightfully won Man of the Match for a stalwart performance at 12. But across the board, we produced a controlled, mature performance in which we deservedly took down a team who were third in the table at the start of play.
We have now shown what we can do and can use this confidence and momentum as we move into the second half of the season.
Our thanks to Lymington for the game, we wish them well for the rest of the season ,and look forward to the return fixture in March.