Stortford secure League 1 status, and relegate their hosts, with tense 27-22 win at Cinderford

Bishop's Stortford managed to maintain their status in the National League 1 for another season after a thrilling 27-22 victory over Cinderford during their match to avoid relegation on Saturday.

Approximately 60 fans traveled from Silver Leys to Gloucestershire's Forest of Dean to cheer on their team. However, they had to endure a long wait until the end of the game as their team's 24-0 first-half lead was slowly diminished by the opposing team. Both teams had a player sent off during the match.

As the campaign reached its final match, Stortford found themselves in 11th position with 51 points. Leicester Lions were just behind them on 50 points, while Taunton Titans trailed in 13th position with 48 points. Cinderford were at the bottom of the table with just 46 points, and the two lowest-ranking teams would face relegation.

The team led by Coach Marcus Cattell was aware that if they didn't obtain two points by either drawing or scoring bonus points for tries and losing, they could face demotion to National League 2 East.

They managed to achieve their fifth victory out of eight games played since mid-February following a streak of six games without winning. With this win, they were able to secure their position in the league and also push Cinderford to relegation along with Taunton. Even though Taunton managed to win their game against Blackheath with a score of 47- 32, Leicester Lions came back strong and scored 23-14 against Sale in the final four minutes, leading to Taunton's relegation.

In the Beavis Memorial Ground in Cinderford, Stortford received a penalty try only 10 minutes into the game. This happened thanks to full back Nick Hankin's excellent pursuit, which led to him being tackled on the line. Because of this, Joe Mullis from the opposing team was given a yellow card.

The score difference widened to 12-0 as Harrison Langworthy, the flanker, scored his fifth try of the season. Unfortunately, the conversion kick by fly-half Tom Walker was missed, but he compensated for it by converting Stortford’s third try. This took his total points scored for the season to 67. Moreover, his superb kick through resulted in winger Jake Morris scoring his sixth try of the season.

In the middle of the game, the guests were able to get four points after Aussie team's No. 8 player and captain, Will Rogers, scored his fifth season's point, bringing the total to 24-0. Although, Walker was not able to make the extra point.

At the end of the first half, Cinderford managed to score their initial points by means of a try from winger Sam Smith. However, the conversion was not successful and the score was 24-5 at half time.

During the latter part of the game, the home team managed to decrease the difference in scores. Prop George Porter executed an impressive driving maul, scoring a try that was not converted. However, the conversion kick was missed.

Cinderford faced a challenging situation when their player Jack Shields received a red card for an incident that led to an injury for Stortford's Tom Walker. As a result of this, Connor Lloyd was brought in as a replacement and he managed to score a penalty, increasing Stortford's lead to 27-10.

The game became even with 14 players on each team after the referee issued Langworthy with a second yellow card. Cinderford managed to score two more tries, one by Smith and the other by Max Knight who plays as centre, with one of them being successfully converted. As a result, they took the lead with a score of 27-22, making the Stortford fans feel anxious about the game's outcome.

The guests put up an impressive defense to fend off Cinderford's numerous attacks during the final minutes. This secured them a bonus-point victory and allowed them to finish 11th with 56 points, tying with Sale who finished in 10th place. This ensured that they would remain in League 1 for their sixth season and uphold their impressive record of never being relegated at any level throughout their 104-year existence.

In free English, the section could be rewritten as: Here is a list of the Bishop's Stortford team members: Hankin, Morris, Biard, Mills, Smith, Walker, Bolton, Hill, Adejimi, Peck, Kiff, Charter, Langworthy, Jones, and Rogers (captain). If any of these players cannot participate or need to take a break, they will be replaced by Rayment, Warren, Wardell, Pope, or Lloyd.