Deepings feel heat in summer setback at Northampton Men's Own

Mid-table Deepings ran into a heatwave at Northampton Men’s Own where the promotion-chasing home side put on a show to mark Past Players’ Day.

But the Green Machine threatened to spoil the party early on when Lance Charity put the visitors ahead, backed up by strong performances by inside centre Chris Owen and full back Matty Morton.

It was then that Men’s Own turned the screw and eventually surged clear at Stoke Road.

Deepings skipper Guy Cunningham said: “Men’s Own played well and got some quick ball which made it difficult for us to defend.

“We were the first team to score and in the first 15 minutes, we were really putting the pressure on.

“But we were always hanging on after that with last ditch tackles and eventually, with the heat, they started to break through with some of their really good players.”

Despite the convincing defeat, Cunningham did praise the performances of Charity, Owen and Morton who will all be looking for a far better outcome when third-placed Queens come to Linchfield Road on Saturday.

Cunningham said: “Considering it was an away game and Men’s Own are going for promotion, I thought we played really well and there were parts of the game when we were on top.

“Lance got man of the match, but Matty did well at full back and Chris Owen has started playing to his potential in a position at inside centre, a position where’s he just learning what it takes to do well there.”