LIFE in the London leagues is not getting any easier for Old Gs after they were beaten 21-0 at home by undefeated Charlton Park.

Although the visitors departed with the spoils, they had to work hard to secure the points.

Old Gs were again without a raft of first choice players.

Both squad scrum halves, Dan D’Cunha and Chris Bassett, were absent.

The backline all moved up one with fly-half Richard Oxtoby playing at scrum half and captain Michael Hodge moving to fly-half.

This arrangement seemed to work well although it was not ideal to make such changes in key positions against opponents as good as Charlton Park.

The visitors were soon into their game which was a mixture of pace and power and close support.

Old Gs could not initially live with this and conceded three converted tries in the first seventeen minutes of the game.

Terry Read was first to score, finishing off the move after a quickly taken tapped penalty. The same player instigated the second try, bursting past tacklers before feeding his winger Barry O’Keeffe, who touched down.

O’Keeffe then scored another try when his team created an overlap after sucking in defenders to the breakdown.

Sam Naden converted all three tries, one from the touchline, to add to Old Gs’ woes.

The visitors seemed to be cruising to a substantial score, dominating in most areas and even edging the set pieces.

Their total dominance was not to last though and Old Gs came back strongly against their high flying opponents denying them any more points for over an hour.

They even threatened to score themselves, with at least two clear cut chances either side of half-time.

The secret to Old Gs’ improvement was their unrelenting defensive effort and a willingness to scrap for any possession offered.

They were especially effective at the breakdown, pressurising their opponents and not allowing them to settle. Hooker Lawrence Coleman and No 8 Matt Coomber led the assault, both putting in punishing tackles and turning over ball when the opportunity arose.

Centres Adam Keenhan and Mark Fenton-Smith sealed up the midfield, cutting down all attempts to break through their channels.

As the game progressed, Old Gs had the better chances and even controlled possession for long periods.

Matt Johnson was dragged down just short of the line after supporting a sharp break by Adam Keenhan.

Early in the second half, full back Dave Boyer was tackled just inches from the line after he burst through a wide gap in the visitors defence.

Gaps in the visiting defence were rare and generally Charlton Park coped well with everything thrown at them.

They also avoided conceding penalties within range, as did Old Gs, and there was not one kick at goal by either side throughout the match.

The second half produced very few scoring chances and was a bit of a stalemate with no points scored. Coleman and Hodge both left the field injured.

Replacement centre Ricky Harding had his first outing this season and looked sharp and also one of the few players capable of breaking the defensive line.

The game did provide some solace for Old Gs, although the excitement of victory in the season’s opening game now seems a long time ago. The team are at least competing hard, although scoring points is proving rather elusive.