WESTCLIFF returned to winning ways with a crucial 19-17 victory against Colchester.

The narrow success moved Westcliff out of the relegation zone and up to 11th in the National Three London & SE standings.

But Westcliff’s director of rugby Rick Compton felt his side’s win should have been far more convincing after leading 19-3 at half-time.

“It ended up being a close game as had been the expectation in advance but it shouldn’t have been given the grip we took on it at an early stage,” said Compton.

“We got ourselves into a little trouble in the final quarter which was annoying but the most important thing was getting the win which was deserved.

“We left quite a lot of points out there which would have seen us get the bonus point and finish the game in a little more style.

“But credit must go to Colchester who rode their luck, hung in there and sensed an opportunity at a time when they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“However, thankfully we held on to get the win.”

Westcliff handed Uta Tupuola a home debut and went on the attack from the outset.

But initially their efforts were thwarted by a determined defence and it was the visitors who opened the scoring when a kick and chase produced a penalty in front of the posts after just three minutes.

Despite the setback Westcliff went straight back on the front foot and were able to establish a grip on the game through dominance at the set piece, in particular the scrum.

As a result, the hosts were able to hammer away at the Colchester line until James Scoggins was able to force his way to put Westcliff 5-3 in front.

The home-side soon extended their lead when Joe Vandermolen was able to drive over the line from a scrum under the posts after a series of penalties.

And, by the half hour mark, Chris Dudman had also crossed the line after evading some desperate tackles.

With both tries converted by Jack Jones to give Westcliff a 19-3 lead at the break the home-side were well placed for victory.

The hosts were frustrated to have spurned other try scoring opportunities and the second half was also keenly contested.

However, Westcliff were managing the game well and creating more scoring opportunities which were spurned by either committed defence poor decision making or old fashioned bad luck.

But as the final quarter approached second from bottom Colchester were able to exert some pressure of their own and scored two tries to cut Westcliff’s lead to just two points with 10 minutes left.

But the hosts were able to hang on to secure a vital victory .

Westcliff: Dudman, Lowe, Rudd, Tupuola, Bard, Jones, Weston, Macintyre, Binneman, Scoggins, Edwards, Maloney, Jobling, Vandermolen Replacements: Lane, Marsh & James