County Cup 1/4 Final at Dockham Road.
This game was eagerly anticipated by Cinderford as only a few weeks ago, the boys had beaten the opposition 13-12 in a very hard fought game.
Cinderford having won their group had home advantage and the fans turned out on mass to give their full support.
The game was expected to be a very tight encounter, but how wrong were these expectations prove to be?
Cinderford were on the offensive from the kick off and dominated the early play. There were some really hard hits and Cinderford never took a backward step and pressed for an early score. Cinderford were awarded a penalty after 8 minutes and Jack Guy took the kick to open the scoring to give Cinderford a 3-0 lead.
The game was played at a ferocious pace and there was no further scoring for the next 27 minutes. Cinderford were camped in the Cheltenham half for what seemed an age, and after some superb ball retention by the the forwards, the ball found its way to Cinderfords “try machine” Will Baldwin and he went over on the stroke of half time to give Cinderford an 8-0 lead at half time.
The second half kicked off with Cinderford having the wind at their backs. The boys really were “in the zone” and they were determined to not lose the lead that they had worked so hard to get.
There was no score for 20 minutes but Cinderford were gaining the upper hand and after some brilliant play Ben Thompson powered over the line to score Cinderford’s second try to extend the lead to 13-0.
Cheltenham heads were visably dropping and after 28 minutes, Jack Guy kicked a penalty to extend the lead to 16-0.
On 33 minutes, Ryan Kibble crossed the line after a fine Cinderford move to seal a great victory by 21-0.
Cinderford now face Old Bristolians in the Semi-Final next week.
Men of the match were Ollie Moore, Josh Tull and Jude Hunt.
Wishing the boys all the best for the Semi Final
Cinderford squad:
Josh Haddock, Jacob Smith, Toby Powell, Will Baldwin, Can Davis, Morgan Peates, Jack Guy, Ryan Kibble, Louis Brennan, Ben Thompson, Connor Gresty, Danny Troughton, Mason Carr, Josh Tull, Jude Hunt, Ollie Moore, Ethan Brookes, Finlay Poultney.