THEY didn't have their regular Waratahs stars at their disposal or their multiple Shute Shield-winning coach and after a grudging 80 minutes Sydney University went down to a resilient Manly Marlins yesterday.
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The home side charged home to score a late and unlikely try with just two minutes on the bell, outside centre Oli Samuelu slotting the extras to give the side their second win from as many matches this season.
On a picture-perfect day at Manly Oval, a couple of thousand lined the white picket fence for the Marlins' first home game of the season.
Despite a week's worth of torrential rain, the pitch turned out green and firm and allowed for a high-speed game. The home side was first on the scoreboard through a penalty kick to Samuelu but it didn't take long for Uni's class backline to split the defence, Samuelu's opposite Michael Hodge finishing off a smooth attacking play to put the visitors in front. Five-eighth Dan Kelly missed the kick but made up with a penalty goal, extending the lead to 8-3.
At that early stage, Uni looked like running away with the match as they pitched camp inside the home side's 22 but Manly playmaker Alex Miles found a weakness down the left edge and exploited it twice for lengthy breaks before No.4 Cadeyrn Neville crossed for an equaliser five minutes short of half-time.
Uni responded quickly and while they were denied two tries by some desperate Manly defence, managed a penalty goal to head into half-time with an 11-8 lead.
The second half started much the same, Uni dominating through the middle while Manly continued to terrorise their right-side defence. The sides exchanged penalty goals early for Uni to lead 14-11 after 10 minutes, the tussle continuing to the previous script before Uni crossed for their second try of the match through fullback Stuart Dunbar, after a blindside break, to cement a 19-11 lead with a quarter of the match remaining. But again, Manly found solace in a long-range break and reduced the deficit to just one point.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, the visitors seemed to put the result beyond doubt with a converted try next to the posts. But a penalty goal and a desperate try in the dying minutes tied up the game before the Marlins converted the try to claim the lead and the inspirational win.
