Wisbech come from behind and a man down to beat Thurston in final Counties 2 Eastern Counties League fixture

Wisbech put in a performance to remember on Saturday when they beat Thurston 21-41 at Robinson Field.

The game looked to be slipping away from the Men In Red, who were playing a man down and behind on the scoreboard at half-time.

Skipper Jack Malkin put in a talismanic performance with a try, four conversions and a last-minute penalty goal that inspired a dominant second-half performance to earn him the well-deserved Bowsers Man of the Match award.

Further tries from Olly Eduardo, Henry Lankfer, Gerhard Wessels, Matthew Esser and Hal Wyatt secured the bonus point win on the road in a highly-competitive match that will surely live long in the memory of Wisbech supporters.

Wisbech director of rugby Leonard Veenendaal said: “We knew the challenge Thurston would present but somehow the players where in a slumber until the red card incident seem to spark the fightback.

“It was a game of two halves: a scrappy and ill-disciplined first period from Wisbech, followed by a composed, clinical second half with all 18 players putting in a momentous shift led by their inspirational captain.

“Malkin’s leadership, his dogged defence and attacking threat were instrumental in dragging his team to a deserved victory. A performance worthy of the title Field Marshal Malkin.

“Despite the 15-point deduction, I am proud and delighted with the squad's attitude in the way they fought their way back from the bottom of the league table to finish a respectable 6th with more wins than the team in fifth place.”

The game began brightly for Wisbech, playing into a strong wind, with Malkin darting through the defence to register the first points on the board.

However, the hosts did not succumb to the early pressure; they responded with a penalty, narrowing the gap to 3-5.

Thurston capitalised on Wisbech's inability to secure the restart to register their first try of the day and take their lead 8-5.

Despite a flurry of penalties and some loose tackling from Wisbech, right-wing Hal Wyatt produced an inspiring strong run, setting the tone for a spirited comeback.

Malkin once again took control, breaking the line, stepping past defenders, and offloading superbly to Olly Eduardo, who finished under the posts. Malkin converted the try he set up to make it 8-12 to the visitors

Second-row Chris Parry produced a piece of magic when he broke through the Thurston line from his own half, but was unlucky to knock on.

Moments later, Parry received a red card for reacting to a blatant stamp, reducing Wisbech to 14 men.

With the numerical advantage, Thurston edged back ahead 13-12 with an unconverted try.

Minutes later, after a kick took an unlucky bounce, the hosts extended their lead to 18-12 with a try in the corner – a controversial decision after the ball had appeared to hit the post and go into touch.

As the half-time whistle blew, Wisbech appeared to be losing their grip on the game.

From the restart, the Men in Red were quick out of the starting blocks with renewed purpose and much needed energy with the introduction of Ethan Garford off the bench.

They were soon rewarded when No8 Henry Lankfer powered over under the posts for a converted try to reclaim a narrow one-point 18-19 lead.

The lead was short-lived as Thurston converted a penalty in front of the post to reclaim the lead 21-19.

Wisbech were not going down without a fight, despite persistent penalty concessions, the Men in Red where finding their rhythm.

Their patience in attack with accurate offloads was rewarded when centre Gerhard Wessels surged over for a converted try to reclaim the lead to 26-21 and, more importantly, the fourth try bonus point.

It got even better for Veenendaal’s side as they took control, adding two more tries through full-back Matthew Esser and right-wing Hal Wyatt to stretch the visitors' lead to 21-38.

Malkin capped off a phenomenal individual performance with a late penalty to seal an incredible 41-21 bonus-point victory on the road.

With the league completed Wisbech now turn their attention to the Cambridgeshire Cup when they host St Ives at Harecroft Road in the semi-final on Saturday, kick off 2:30pm.