WESTCLIFF suffered their first defeat of the season as Sidcup fought back to triumph 33-28.

Westcliff, who had triumphed in their opening two fixtures of the London & SE Premier Division campaign, led 28-17 at half-time.

But Sidcup came back strongly in the second half, much to the frustration of Westcliff’s director of rugby Rick Compton.

“It was very disappointing to allow the game to slip away,” said Compton.

“We coughed up too many easy points in the first half, failed to score at a crucial point in the second half and were unable to manage the game effectively when the pressure came on.

“I wondered if we might have a dip after the levels reached against Southend and that was very evident in the opening minutes.

“We were not quite on it and that is always disappointing.

“Enforced changes at one, three, six and eight didn’t help but the lads that came in performed well and the importance of a large squad is never to be underestimated.

“Congratulations must go to Sidcup, who forced the issue and pushed home their advantage in the final 20 minutes.

“They are a decent side who will have, I expect, a solid first season at this level.

“But we got two bonus points out of the game which we will bank but now we put it behind us and look ahead to another trip to Kent when we visit Westcombe Park.”

Westcliff - who now sit fourth in the table - started slowly and found themselves 12-0 down before skipper Harry Branch touched down.

Rob Smith then did likewise and Jack Jones’ two conversions put Westcliff 14-12 in front. Moments later, Chris Marsh combined with Jim Smith to score before last week’s hat-trick hero Sam Brown also touched down, after a Sidcup try, to put Westcliff 11 points clear at the break.

However, second placed Sidcup poured forward in the second half, leading to Jones being shown what appeared to be a harsh yellow card. Sidcup kicked the resulting penalty before also adding a converted try and, late on, two more penalty kicks to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Westcliff: Brown, Stol, R Smith, Jones, Fenton, Whiting, Branch, Morrant, Mackintyre, Lane, Scogings, Edwards, Jobling, Marsh, J Smith Replacements: Webster, Ox & Merrick