Streatham-Croydon maintained their unbeaten record and leadership of Surrey Three with victory over Old Amplefordians, but it was a hard-fought and exciting encounter that ended in the narrowest of winning margins as they triumphed 27-25.

After the presentation to Streatham-Croydon of a community award by Ian Thirlwall of the Surrey RFU and a minute’s silence for Remembrance Day, Amplefordians started the brighter, showing great commitment and intensity in the loose.

After two penalties and a try in the corner, Amplefordians seemed to have the game under control at 11-0, but Streatham gradually worked their way back into the match, culminating in a crucial score in the corner by winger Andy Venables on the stroke of half-time.

The greater power of the Streatham forwards, particularly in the set piece began to show in the second half, as the home team began to dominate territorially, with man-of-the-match open-side Charlie Thompson a constant thorn in Amplefordian sides at the breakdown.

First, captain Garvin Toussaint showed great balance to step his way under the posts from close range and then prop Damien Darlington touched down as the forwards bulldozed their way to the line. Amplefordians, however, remained competitive and, invited downfield by a string of needless penalties, scored under the posts with some excellent angles of running in the centres.

Aaron Brown, however, calmed the home supporters’ nerves with a well-struck penalty and, crucially, gave Streatham-Croydon some breathing space with an opportunist try, pouncing on a loose ball to hack through and win the race under the posts. Amplefordians were not done yet though, and scored a last-gasp try and conversion for a well-deserved bonus point.

Streatham-Croydon will be relieved at the win and moderately pleased by the performance against an Amplefordian team that has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks, including a victory against Streatham’s promotion rivals Old Tonbridgians. Streatham-Croydon will be looking to extend their unbeaten start with a visit to London Media on 19 November.