News; Pumas Defeated

The Maidstone Pumas welcomed the arrival of the undefeated London Cobras to Aylesford Rugby Club. The Croydon based Cobras are ranked the Number 1 team in Division 2 having only conceded 9 points in the previous 7 games. This was an eagerly awaited match up to test the Pumas in what has been a good season for the mid Kent outfit.

The game started poorly for The Pumas as the first kick off was run back by Jeremy Reid, who was immediately tackled by 3 Cobras, one of which knocked the ball out of the grasp to cause a fumble. The Cobras struck two plays later as QB Jerome Allen found Emmanuel Mukoro in the end zone from 8 yards. Allen would go onto pass for 7 TD’s during the game.

The 2 point conversion was run in by Britball legend Victor Muhammad. Muhammad was one of the first British people to play the sport professionally turning out for the London Monarchs in 1991/92 and spending time on the New York jets squad in the mid 1990’s.

That unfortunately set the tone for the remainder of the game as the Pumas fought to keep the Cobras offence off the field. However, the Cobras defence showed why they had only conceded 9 points by cutting down runs from James Cherry and Rhys Herring and ensuring that passing was almost impossible.

At the half the score was 48-0. The half time break gave the Pumas player’s time to sit down and reflect on the first period.

The second half was a mirror image of the first with Allen throwing the ball well and connecting with receivers and running back Kwabena Oteng running hard and scoring three touchdowns.

The Pumas played on right to the final seconds as the Cobras tried to score once more, but excellent defence from both Dan Malyan and Steve Berry shut down the final plays.

It was a pretty bruised and dejected team that shook hands with the opposition and finally sat down to listen to the coaches give praise and also remind the players that The cobras had been together, for 4 years coming up through the youth programme before joining the senior league.

Coach Lear said after the game “Despite losing, I am really proud of all 22 players, many of whom had to play both ways. We were outmanned and outsized on the Line of Scrimmage.”

Coach Smith added “I thought the Officials handled the game well, probably the best refereed game this season. We now have a benchmark of where we need to be. The Cobras train twice a week and lift weights and run on the other days. This is where we need to get to reach these standards. As a consequence we will be confirming dates and locations of an off season training programme within the next week or so. We are currently talking to several coaches who may be available to come in and help us improve.”

In a surprise announcement, Pumas General Manager Stuart Crowley added “Despite this defeat, I am pleased to announce the addition of a second sponsor. Ashford Air Conditioning has come on board as they have been watching the development of the expanding youth team, under youth general manager, Mark Lawrence”.

Stuart Added “Ashford AC has come on board to support the development of the young players in the youth set up and also the development of the proposed coaching programme under Coach Smith. With two deals signed, Coach Smith is going after yet more sponsorship, which could be exciting.&lrquo;