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Having endured a long spell of Esher pressure, the home side countered in the final minute of the match with a fifth try as Erinlie broke clear in the Esher 22 to score. When play resumed Esher continued to threaten, but the Nottingham defence held out and the Elmbridge side suffered further disruption due to injury when lock Stuart Walker was taken off with concussion, later spending the night in hospital.Д®sher continued to attack and only a last ditch tackle from Andy Savage prevented a third try for the visitors. Slemen's conversion made the score 29-14 with 65 minutes gone.Д®sher were then dealt a blow when Jewell sustained a neck injury that saw him stretchered off and taken to hospital.

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However, the home side were unable to clear their lines and Esher carved out an opening in front of the posts for full back Doug Flockhart to score. Nottingham's first attack of the second half saw Ayoola Erinlie make ground down the middle before sending Savage in for the bonus point try, Tonks again converting.ДЇrom that point on it was Esher who raised their level of performance and their back play in particular was a delight to watch at times.Д®sher almost got back into the game when a high crossfield kick caused problems in the Nottingham defence and the touch judge spotted an infringement as two defenders tried to clear the danger, resulting in a scrum for the visitors.ДЇrom a position close to the home line, Esher worked the ball over to the right to force another scrum, but a powerful shove from the Nottingham pack drove Esher backwards. Greig Tonks kicked the conversion for Nottingham and added a penalty a few minutes later to make the score 22-7 at half time. The pressure eventually told when Esher second row Stewart Walker was shown a yellow card for another infringement and from the resulting penalty, Taylor darted through a gap in the Esher defence to score. Nottingham began to attack with more intent and only a knock on in EsherвЂ™s 22 prevented Luke Sherriff from scoring a try.Д®sherвЂ™s defence was put under more pressure after conceding a penalty just short of their line and some desperate tackling was required to prevent the home sideвЂ™s forwards forcing their way over the try line. The Elmbridge side were unlucky not to score when a Nottingham clearance was charged down in front of their posts, only for the ball to elude an Esher hand. Nottingham kept up the pressure, however, and restored their lead when Taylor broke clear of the Esher defence before releasing Jack Cobden who ran in his sideвЂ™s second try.Д®sher's backs came more into the game and the home sideвЂ™s defence looked shaky when the pacemen broke quickly. The home side hit back with an attack that drove Esher into their 22 and forced them to concede a penalty but Tim Taylor sliced his kick wide of the posts and the score remained level. The home crowd did not have to wait long for something to cheer as Joe Duffey intercepted an Esher pass on half way before racing clear to score the gameвЂ™s opening try.Д®sher responded with an interception try of their own a few minutes later when Seb Jewell collected a loose Nottingham pass to score, with Dave Slemen converting to level the score 7-7.

ESHER ended 2008 on a sour note on Sunday evening as they were beaten 36-14 by a Nottingham side with designs on promotion.

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