Pellow proud despite defeat

Steve Grace
1/5/18

Exeter Braves head coach Ricky Pellows admitted it was a failure to win the little moments that cost them the A League title against Northampton Wanderers on Monday night.

Braves had a 21-14 lead halfway through the second half with tries from Moray Low, Tom Lawday and Matt Kvesic, but Wandies fought back as Jamal Ford-Robinson and Paddy Ryan added to Lewis Ludlam’s opener to triumph at Franklin’s Gardens.

Pellows’ side dug deep in the last 10 minutes but couldn’t get a late score, and he said it was the battle at the breakdown that cost Braves the game.

“I think it will burn for a few days in terms of how we lost the game, we didn’t play the way we wanted to,” said the Braves boss. “We said inside that to win big games you’ve got to win all the little moments and we just didn’t win enough of those.

“In the first half we were put off our game, Northampton defensively stopped what we were looking to do in terms of our attack. The pressure built and we just didn’t deal with that pressure, as the game unfolded we came out second best on a lot of the balls on the floor.

“The boys fought really hard, to build a lead then fight their way back into the game and get into an opportunity to try and win was really pleasing. We got into the lead but then from there Northampton took control of the game and we were never able to rip the momentum back off them. But we haven’t played the way we’d like to, fair play to Northampton, they put us under a lot of pressure and they deserved to win.

“There were key moments in the game where we just let things slip and had errors here and there. Then when Northampton had opportunities near our line they took them, and we were always chasing the game late on.

“We’ve got a massive end to the season as a club and these players tonight have played a massive part in not just the Anglo-Welsh and A League but also the Premiership, so we have to get back into training and build for Saturday, we’ll look forward to what is an exciting end to the season.”

Full-back Max Bodilly also admitted that Braves didn’t play like they had done all season, having only lost once in the A League campaign until the final.

“We were good in parts but I don’t think we were good enough to win the game really,” said the 23-year-old. “It was a bit hit and miss, we were a bit off our game and we didn’t really win the key moments and that’s what probably cost us.

“We weren’t happy with how we were playing at half time so we said we haven’t been playing our game yet and we’re still drawing, so there’s a chance, we’ve got 40 minutes to go out there and show what we’re about.

“Unfortunately we didn’t really do that in the second half, so we’re a bit disappointed with that. We didn’t really help ourselves, discipline was key, we gave them a lot of easy ins and that cost us. We were chasing the game at the end.”