[L]Thurrock 38, Chingford 17[.B]

THURROCK returned to winning ways at Oakfield on Saturday, with Tom Worsfold pulling the strings from 10 and producing a first-class performance in steering the Oakfielders to a fine victory.

Thurrock brought Ahmed Aminou back into the fold after a long academic and injury lay off. Lewis Cross demonstrated his outstanding potential by reverting to open-side, a position he had not filled since his youth. He soon showed his determination with some solid tackling and hard, driving runs. He has real dynamism and will prove increasingly influential in the future.

It was indeed Cross and the ever effective Ben Timson who carried well into the opposition half, allowing the restored Worsfold to kick three successive penalties.

His leadership and decision - making were exemplary and those qualities were appreciated by the large pre-festive crowd which included his father, former Thurrock and Saracens' legend, Peter.

Thurrock were full of enterprise and slick inter- passing brought opportunities out wide. Dan Stone just ran out of space after a splendid foray and dance down the touchline.

A wonderful tackle from Ahmed Aminou prevented a Chingford resurgence, before the powerful midfield axis of Niall Clifford and Henry Bird started to pay high dividends.

Unfortunately Thurrock were guilty of missing some gilt-edged chances through over-running and the dreaded forward and miss- passes!

Nevertheless, one glorious inter-change enabled Timson to show what a gallant club-man he has become when he presided over a long period of pressure.

Chingford responded with some coruscating, energy packed surges from Chingford captain Reece Miller.

With Anthony Catchpole, Dan Ulph and Frank Wright shoring up the scrum, this was a much better forward effort. Caolan Watts-Adams, Jay Jennings and skipper Russo were to the fore, yet with Connor Reynolds dropping a goal and a couple of tries, the visitors were never out of the game.

Niall Clifford hit a spectacular line to arc outside the defence and score a brilliant try.

In spite of the early pressure, Thurrock were never "out of sight" and it needed a Tom Worsfold drop-goal to produce a clear lead.This was the seminal moment of the game and gave Thurrock a measure of latitude. Although Chingford were brave in their defiance, the home side came back strongly Ahmed Aminou, having just pulled off a try saving tackle, supported a multi -faceted passing movement to dive through a melee for a well-deserved try. While all this was going on, Worsfold was holding on to his rhythm and accuracy for an impeccable return with the boot. His half-back partnership with Alex Jones was dominant and a key factor in this latest victory. Matt Siddle was making his customary incursions into the line much to the delight of his northern following. This was a vastly improved performance to give supporters confidence for the next game, an intriguing match against old rivals, Southend at Warner's Bridge at Southend.