Ely Tigers tamed by Wymondham in league opener

Starting their campaign a week after others clubs in the newly formed Counties One Eastern Counties division, Tigers welcomed Wymondham to the Cambridge Commodities Park after their trip to Diss was postponed due to an unfit pitch.

Tigers, under the guidance of new captain Lory Martin, gave debuts to Joe Coyle and Josh Fry but the game started with neither side able to get a grip of the game.

It was the visitors that took the lead, following a lineout on the left deep into the Ely half, as Wymondham moved the ball across the field to find the over lap in the corner to over for the opening try.

The conversion was missed but with 20 minutes on the clock Tigers went a man down with Grant Storey given a yellow card.

Wymondham looked to make their extra man count, but some firm defending kept them out only for Ely to find themselves back down to 14 men with half-time approaching as Jim Storey was shown the yellow card.

The second half started with Ely still a man down, but Tigers had their best chance of the game to reduce the deficit after being awarded a penalty for a high tackle,.

They opted for the chance of three points, but Jake Alsop's kick drifted wide of the uprights.

Wymondham started to pin Ely deep into their own half, resulting in Tigers kicking for yards, but this gave the visitors the chance to apply more pressure and they increased their lead with a penalty try.

Ely looked to have got the ball over the try line from the restatr, with a break from Alsop finding Alfie Ramswell who looked to have grounded the ball, but the referee ruled the ball had been held up.

Tom Elliott attacks for Ely Tigers (Image: Steve Wells)

With the game drawing to a close, Wymondham scored again but the conversion was missed, before replacement Nathan Brookes became the third Tigers player to be shown a yellow card.

Captain Lory Martin said: "It was a hard fought game, a very closely contested first half and the team showed excellent defensive structure throughout.

"I’m pleased with how everybody played considering this is our first league game of the season, and there are plenty of positives to take from the game as we get stuck into the season."

Tigers are due to travel to bottom of the league Southwold on Saturday looking to kickstart their season.