Sudbury secured another win and two more league points at Moorsfield on Saturday, but will not be pleased with their performance.
Norwich came without a win this season and Sudbury were expected to take command of the game from the off. But that never really happened, with the opening minutes of the game being played in the Sudbury half.
As soon as Sudbury shipped the ball w
ide they looked dangerous, and Amenatape Ragamate, on his debut, made a penetrating run from halfway down the left, allowing Barney Goodchild to touch down after 16 minutes.
Mathew Wooderson converted for a seven-point lead. But the visitors kept plugging away, and were rewarded when Sudbury went over the top of the ruck midway in their own 22, which gave O'Brien an easy kick.
Too often Sudbury kicked away possession, but man-of-the-match Toby Goodwin made two solo breaks from the mauls, and with a 10-metre drive up the middle of the park, the pack gained territory.
Quick hands to the left put Guillaume Botha into space to score giving the Blues a half-time lead of nine points.
The second half started with a bang. Norwich had crossed the try line and converted before Sudbury had woken up.
Early in the half Sudbury made some replacements, Wooderson left the pitch injured and Pears, Cooper and Coone were brought on in the reshuffle to try give the team a lift.
Thirteen minutes into the half, from a Sudbury scrum just in the Norwich 22, they shipped the ball out wide for Ragamate to score.
For the home supporters the next 25 minutes were nail-biting as both sides battled for a winning margin. But no further points came, giving Sudbury the win with a lacklustre performance.
Sudbury have a week before a trip to Mersea on November 29, giving the club a chance to get everyone fit.
Mark Bolton should be available after recovering from the broken collar bone he suffered at the start of October.
The full article contains 341 words and appears in Suffolk Free Press newspaper.