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At the beginning of the season Forgeside travelled to a very big Whiteheads side and ended up with an hiding, shipping in 78 points in a Division 3C East encounter. Before the start of yesterday's game Forge were in a bouyant mood and confident of getting something out of the game, particularly with it being a home game. However, despite the fact that the men from the Ponderosa were dominant during the early exchanges, they were 14-0 down within 9 minutes of the start as Whiteheads capatilised on unforced errors. You could see the faces of the coaches and committee men on the sidelines with mutterings of 'here we go again', and it looked as though it could be a long afternoon. Quite the contrary though. Forge were the dominant side throughout the entire game, particulary at the breakdown area, the only exception being the scrums where the visitors had the upper hand at times. Whiteheads however were not poor by any means. Their intent to spread the ball at every opportunity was evident, but it was the defence of the home side that nullified any attack from the visitors. And credit must go to both sides for trying to play an expansive game in such atrocious playing conditions. Forge battled on and eventually crossed the line after some dogged work by the forwards to work their way up the field for Flanker Cain Preece to score, converted by Centre Luke 'Smeg' Jones. The game became an arm wrestle from thereonin in the second half with both sides unable to make a dent in the scoreline up until midway through the half when the home side was awarded a penalty, Jones converting to make it 10-14. The hosts continued to apply pressure in the visitor's 22 and forced errors which paid off when Full Back Kyle 'Mez' Merryfield intercepted a pass in the 68th minute and raced in 20 meters to touch down under the posts, Jones converting. The last 12 minutes became a tense affair as Whiteheads tried everything to breach Forge's defence but it was too resolute as the hosts clinched the game to win 17-14. It wasn't the prettiest game to watch but it was certainly an entertaining affair with every man from Forge putting in a shift. There were some notable performances however, particulary from Centre Luke Jones, Flanker Cain Preece and Captain Steve Howard at No8. Forge need to build on this performance and take it to Malpas next week.