SOMERSET Vikings journeyed to Cheltenham, anticipating a challenging encounter and aiming to redress the balance for their defeat earlier in the season.

The Vikings quickly showed some of their old flair a mere two minutes into the match when a quick snipe followed by a slick pass from Doug Caddick to Stefan Pierce allowed Pierce to bulldoze two defenders to score.

Dan Hinton failed to convert.

Cheltenham soon returned the favour with tries from Sam Coles and Adam Dommett in rapid succession, both converted by Sam Hughes.

Vikings quickly returned to the game when Caddick went for a quick snipe down the blindside to score. Hinton failed to kick a difficult conversion.

Capitalising on some poor Vikings defence, Cheltenham player Henry Davies scored, again successfully converted by Hughes.

Half-time saw the score at 18-8 in Cheltenham’s favour, with the Vikings down to only two subs after a blood injury removed Connor Caddick from the game.

A minute into the second half, Jonny Loudon scored under a pile of Vikings, with Hughes converting.

Injury then forced Doug Caddick from the pitch.

Five minutes later, Chris Davies scored in the left-hand corner for Cheltenham, with Hughes failing to convert.

The Vikings quickly rallied, with Joe Bussell splitting the defence to score and Hinton successfully converting.

Unfortunately, Jordan Tucker was forced to leave the pitch after injury, leaving the Vikings with no subs and most of the second half remaining.

Rising to the challenge, however, the Vikings showed true fighting spirit. This was quickly rewarded when a set of impressive play and an out-the-back offload from Aaron Woods resulted in Josh Wood sprinting over the line to score. The conversion was missed.

Cheltenham successfully fought back with tries from Henry Davies and Chris Davies, both converted before some sublime handling by the home team saw Cheltenham player Joe Hart score another try.

The Vikings were not finished, though, and upped the pace with Ozzy Flowers scoring next.

Unfortunately, this was to be his last contribution to the game as injury meant he had to leave the pitch, leaving the Vikings a man short with a good 15 minutes of play left.

In true Viking style, the team dug deep and produced some exciting play which saw both Bussell and Hinton score.

Aspen Waite man of the match was George Day.

Cheltenham Phoenix 44, Somerset Vikings 30