HARWICH and Dovercourt secured a hard-earned 24-14 victory at Kings Cross Steelers, in the Essex League Shield.

They started well and soon put their hosts under pressure.

From a ruck, Ryan Boyne, starting at scrum-half for the first time, used his size and power to force his way over and the conversion was kicked by Sean Mills junior.

Harwich continued to have the lion's share of possession and territorial advantage.

However, after a wonderful move covering 80 metres, the home side seized the ball and swept down field to score a converted try.

The visitors continued to dominate possession and field position, taking the game to their hosts. Their forwards were making good inroads into the opposition's red zone.

In particular, man-of-the-match Harley Hema and David Parkin were keeping Harwich on the front foot.

Following a good lineout win, the ball was passed out to Hema, who started his run by knocking over a would-be tackler and then shrugging off another attempted tackle.

Inevitably, his run ended over the line, scoring another try for Harwich which Mills junior converted.

Despite their forward supremacy, the home team rallied and showed they could also play good rugby.

Working hard, they managed to get some field position and eventually run in a good try which was converted, as the first half ended 14-14.

Early in the second half, Harwich made a change with the hard-working Sean Mills senior being withdrawn to make way for Justin Webb.

Captain Josh Leeks took the wing forward spot.

Backs coach and centre Alex Cullen, who had made an excellent interception in the first half, was substituted by his brother, James.

The changes worked for Harwich as they played some good attacking rugby, as in the first half, but now they brought some patience to their game and were able to exert real pressure.

Following good work down the blindside by the consistent George Brunning, covering the number eight slot, the ball arrived in the eager hands of winger Adam Palmer, who was full of running and took the opposition defence on down the outside.

A late cut back saw him make a large gap to get over the line and put the visitors in front.

Unfortunately, the usually reliable boot of Mills junior skewed the ball just wide.

A further change saw new scrum-half Boyne replaced by full-back Tommy Kite.

Realising that looking after the ball and going through the phases would exert pressure on their opposition, the visiting team started to play with real conviction.

With some excellent forward play, Mills junior put an excellent kick in, which rolled into touch just in the home team's 22-metre area.

The forwards excellently stole their opponents' ball and moved the ball into the centre of the pitch.

With good ball retention, they eventually got the ball out wide where Cullen hit a gap and off loaded to give eager stand in full-back Palmer the easiest of strolls over the try line for an excellent try.

With a difficult angle, Mills junior just missed the conversion.

With this ten-point advantage, Harwich were able to close out the game for a hard-earned away victory.