Plenty of positives for Wisbech rugby players after derby defeat at league leaders West Norfolk
Wisbech might be bottom of the Counties 2 Eastern Counties table heading into the festive period - but on this evidence, Leonard Veenendaal's side won't be there for much longer.
The Men in Red more than played their part in a pulsating A47 derby clash at West Norfolk on Saturday before eventually slipping to an 18-12 defeat at Gatehouse Lane.
There were plenty of positives for Veenendaal to take away and after the game, the director of rugby said: "It's never easy coming here and I think for both sides it's our biggest local derby so both sides step it up and we knew we were up against it.
"I think West Norfolk today deserved to win, they turned up today and won it fair and square there's no argument about but I'm proud of our boys as they gave it everything they could and it came down to two penalty kicks.
"I think the fact that West Norfolk opted to take penalty kicks was the respect they showed us. They knew they were in a match that could have gone either way, it was a fantastic match.
"I think they even played better than when they came to us. Home advantage does help but they stepped it up and because of the way they played I had to congratulate all of my players who turned up as well.
"To go toe-to-toe against a West Norfolk side who are on fire today it's respect for both sides."
Veenendaal, whose side was hit by a 10-point deduction by the RFU for playing an unregistered player against Fakenham earlier in the campaign, added: "I think it was small things that cost us. It was a couple of penalties and an interpretation of the breakdown and whether they had rolled away or not.
"Fine margins, but I think the referee was very consistent to both sides so it was one of those things."
Veenendaal wants his players to build on their recent performances when they return to action in the new year.
"It's pretty well known we've got a lot of injuries at the moment, I think we still have nine injuries to first-team players," he said.
"The players who have stepped in have grown into the role and for us now it is seeing if we can climb into the top half of the league but also for these players to kick on from where they are and build on that.
"We don't have the biggest squad but with a full squad, I honestly believe we can mix it with anybody and we proved that in the league above last season as well."
West Norfolk's Hayden Revell registered the first try after a move down the right, which was kept alive by Louis Jones before converting his own score.
Wisbech responded with a try of their own through Ethan Garford and Sam Anderson levelled the scores by adding the extras.
A mazy 50-yard run from Finlay Wilcox saw him offload to Josh Burgess to restore the home side's side but Revell put his conversion wide to leave West Norfolk with a 12-7 going into the break.
The second half became a real war of attrition as both sides slogged it out in the heavy conditions.
A Revell penalty increased West Norfolk's lead to eight points but Wisbech refused to lie down and Sam Green reduced the arrears with a second try for the Men in Red, although Anderson smashed his conversion attempt against the upright.
An incident involving Wisbech’s Soloman Prestidge on the far touchline sparked a 20-man melee with both sets of players involved before the referee restored order for the final 20 minutes.
Following the heated exchange, the hosts kept their composure the best. A further penalty from Revell gave West Norfolk a six-point advantage, which they maintained until the final whistle.
