Greene King IPA Championship
Ealing Trailfinders 28-17 Cornish Pirates
His Trailfinder pals will be asking Phil Chesters to pick the next six lottery numbers if he carries on like this.
Before the first win of the season, the winger predicted Pirates would be vulnerable, and so it proved to be.
It was level at half time, but Ealing pushed on in the second period to carve out a precious win and cement belief their sole goal – staying in the Championship – gained momentum.
Chesters did his bit by scoring in this game to go with a touchdown against Yorkshire Carnegie last week.
Rhys Crane also scored, and a team shove saw the pack win a penalty try at the death.
Chesters chipped ahead and caught his kick to run over, while a pair of Alex Davies and a Pirates response left the score 13-10 at the break.
Crane picked up a wayward kick to light the afterburners and dive over. And even though Pirates fought back, Trailfinders won a penalty try that along with Davies’ conversion meant they even denied the visitors a losing bonus point.
A delighted Chesters added: "We always knew how tough it would be making the jump up to the Championship from National League One, but we’ve made a lot of decent signings.
"Our sole goal this year is to stay in the Championship, and if we can ensure that we would love to push on to mid-table."
Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Chester 10, Crane 46, Penalty 80), Conversions (Davies 10, 80), Penalties (Davies 19, 40, 71)
Cornish Pirates
Tries (McGlone 36, Arnott 77), Conversions (Cargill 36, Hallett 77), Penalties (Cargill 9)
