READING Abbey coach Luke Harding hailed the belief of his side after they snatched a last-ditch 23-22 victory in their Southern Counties North derby at home to Reading, writes Richard Ashton.

The hosts looked set for defeat in a see-saw contest which had ebbed and flowed throughout the afternoon, but wing Dave Canham crossed at the death to seal a third consecutive one-point home win against their rivals.

And Harding told the Chronicle: “I’m so pleased not just for the club, but for the 18 in the squad because they’ve proved there’s strength and depth and we’ve got ability.

“Even though we went behind, the players had the belief to go in that last play of the game and put some excellent phases together and get the win.”

Abbey had trailed 10-5 at the break after a low-quality first-half filled with handling errors from both teams, Reading having gone in front in the 22nd minute when centre George Dear burst through before off-loading to Alex Dorliac who dotted down.

Scrum-half Guillaume Janvin added the extras and a penalty, before the home side cut the gap when Jules Greenaway (pictured) collected a grubber kick before diving over, despite a hint of a forward pass in the build-up.

Abbey had the better of the final phases of the half, though, and could have gone in front, only for Maurice O’Connell’s dive for the line under the posts deemed to have been held up. On another day, it may well have been awarded.

Two Ollie Walton penalties nudged Abbey in front early in the second half, only for Will Proctor Searle to touch down and make it 15-11 to the away side.

Yet Harding’s side regained the lead just four minutes later, man-of-the-match Greenaway juggling his chip ahead before holding on to go over. Walton’s conversion made it 18-15.

The hosts suffered a setback when Chris Shaw was sin-binned for persistent off-side, and Reading then barged over for a converted score which looked like it might seal the win.

That was to discount the late impact of Canham, however, who collected a ball on the left after a series of phases to go over in the corner and spark joyous scenes among the home faithful. Walton failed to add the extras, but the full-time whistle was blown before the restart and Abbey had a second win from three.

Harding – who took over towards the end of last season - admitted his delight with the way his side have started the campaign and revealed: “We’ve had a big influx of players which has allowed competition and puts pressure on other players to raise their game.

“It’s very exciting, but it’s not just about the first team. It’s about the 2nd XV, the 3rd XV and having a big emphasis at training that it’s not just about one team, it’s everyone.

“We’re trying to develop players as a whole and as a group to make this club have a better feeling about it. We want to get players enjoying their rugby and I think we’re getting there, and results like this will help that.”

Harding admitted his side’s first-half performance was sub-par, but believes Abbey’s attacking philosophy will pay dividends by the end of the season.

He continued: “We’ve done a lot of talk about we don’t need to make it pretty, just get go-forward ball and support the player and have belief you can have an impact on the game and get a result.

"In the first half we probably played too much rugby whereas we should have put the ball in behind (their defence), but that’s down to game management which we need to work on.

"Last year we were just clinging on here and there, whereas this year we’re starting to get some structure and belief that we can win rugby games.

"Last year when we went behind generally we took our foot off the gas and didn’t get the result.”

Abbey host Windsor next Saturday and Harding concluded: “Windsor will be a very tough game, but we just need to train hard.

"We need to be realistic and as long as we get four tries per game for a bonus point, I believe a lot of teams won’t be able to score as many as we can.

"To finish in the top half would be fantastic and three games in I couldn’t ask for much more.

"We’ve got some big challenges ahead, but we’re really pleased and really positive.”