Deepings in the cold due to slow start at Sileby

Despite a man-of-the-match performance by Matty Morton, Deepings came up just short in their last match of the season at Sileby Town.

The Green Machine found themselves 13-0 down at half time, due in part to the loss of centre Chris Owen through injury.

But tries by Tim Shilling and Kelvin Squires, both converted by replacement kicker and skipper Guy Cunningham, gave the visitors hope at Platts Lane.

However, Cunnigham himself fell short with a last-gasp penalty to give Deepings what would have been their first win since beating Bourne at Milking Nook Drove two months ago.

Cunnigham said: “It was a fantastic match, end to end and our lads played really well.

“The way we played was far better than in some of the other games, with Matty Morton playing out of position at number nine, and we could have won against Sileby.

“But the last couple of fixtures (Northampton Men’s Own and Queens) were really difficult against sides at the top of the league.

“Yet we still played some really attractive rugby to move up the league earlier in the season.

“I believe we’re back on track and there’s a real buzz about the club after a season where we’ve beaten some of the teams around us.”