Mid Canterbury Combined fullback Charlie Brown was the hero at the death with an injury time penalty.There is a sense of renewed belief among the Mid Canterbury Combined group after they gutsed their way to their first season win at the weekend.

A 14-man Combined pulled off a thrilling last-gasp 13-12 away win over Roncalli Combined in Timaru on Saturday, following a clutch penalty at the death by Charlie Brown.

Down by two, Combined were awarded an injury-time penalty, and Brown stepped up and slotted the kick five metres in from touch to seal a dramatic one-point win.

The moment was caught on video and shared on the Mount Hutt College Facebook page yesterday.

Combined were forced to play the majority of the encounter a man down after one of their players copped a red card after 10 minutes.

Despite this, Combined were full of running in the first half as a handful of chances went begging, and they had two five pointers disallowed in the second spell.

“We were a bit unlucky,” head coach Shane Enright said.

“I think we had a bit of white line fever in the first half.”

The Mid Cantabrians would eventually cross the chalk with loose forward Ben Middleton dotting down.

The team have had plenty of challenges thrust upon them throughout this campaign, including injuries and the side’s relative inexperience.

Enright hoped the squad’s confidence and belief had been replenished now they had tasted victory in the campaign.

“By getting that W, hopefully that’s going to give a bit more belief,” he said.

Combined have been bolstered by the return of some of its key players from injury-related layoffs, including Sam Ree and Christian Thompson.

Enright confirmed star recruit Michael Hennings was to make his long-awaited comeback this weekend for Combined from the bench.

He said his return to the field could be a significant turning point, with some daunting clashes ahead.

“It’s a huge boost from the Fijian boy,” he said.

“We just have to be smart over the next seven weeks by giving those players a chance who haven’t had a lot of game time.”

Mid Canterbury is on the road again this weekend where they face St Thomas’ in Christchurch, a team sitting ninth on the ladder.

Combined’s next home game is in three weeks time where they take on current pacemakers St Andrew’s on August 15.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 27 July 2020