REPORT | Dons 38 Coventry Bears 16

[Dons News]

The Dons progressed into the fourth round of the Coral Challenge Cup with a 38-16 victory over Coventry Bears at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Richard Horne made seven changes to his starting XIII, as he looked to freshen up the squad given the short turnaround between games.

It was the visitors who started the better of the two teams and they scored the opening try of the game when Kadeem Williams pounced on a loose ball to go over.

They doubled their lead when they shifted the play right and had numbers on the edge, allowing Elliot Hall to squeeze over in the corner.

That sparked the Dons into life and they had their first try after 22 minutes, as Richie Owen’s cutout pass found Sam Doherty who finished smartly under pressure from two defenders.

Richard Horne’s side went in at the break in front after Brandon Douglas continued his fine start to the season by stepping inside to go over. Matty Beharrell added the two for 12-8.

The Bears responded five minutes after half-time, as Williams spun off a tackle to level the scores once more.

The Dons then booked their passage through with two tries in the space of four second-half minutes. The first came when debutant Jordan Cox forced his way over on his first appearance since joining the club.

Douglas then scored his second of the evening as he collected a pass close to the line and powered his way over under the sticks.

Coventry wouldn’t go down without a fight though, and pulled a try back when forward Dan Gover squeezed between two defenders to reduce the deficit. 

Owen was proving to be influential for the Dons on his return to the side, and had another assist to his name when he found Connor Bower who finished well to extend the lead. 

Beharrell then got in on the act with a quick-fire double, firstly backing up Kieran Cross’ break to go over, before he spotted a gap in the line and cruised through to cap off a man of the match display.

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