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Aldwinians 34 - Heaton Moor 19
David Todd20 Nov - 16:02
Too loose
With both sides having similar records and in mid-table, the outcome of this game could well see a gap created between them, with one climbing and the other slipping back. As it turned out, it was the visitors who slipped up, as for the third time this season, Moor were again playing catch-up, with the opposition having scored three tries before the latter had troubled the scoreboard, all following penalties given away by them.
Moor kicked off and for the first ten minutes, kept Aldwinians pinned down in their half, with each attack by the visitors looking promising. This changed when the hosts were awarded a scrum and Moor were penalised for not engaging quickly enough, allowing the former to clear their lines with a long kick to touch. From the ensuing lineout, Moor were then penalised twice in quick succession, the last one for being offside just inside their own 22, allowing their opponents to take a tap, catching Moor unawares and ending with an unconverted try in the corner. Now with the advantage, the home side continued to press, forcing Moor into defending their territory and ten minutes later an almost identical scenario occurred that had led to the first try, as Moor were caught offside and another quickly taken tap penalty resulted in a second try, this time converted. Shortly afterwards, Moor were again penalised, allowing Aldwinians to kick to touch on the former’s 22 and from the resultant lineout, set up a drive that ended with another converted try. With less than half-an-hour gone, Moor now found themselves with an uphill task if they were to get anything out of the game, but they set about the task and they gradually hauled themselves back into it. With ten minutes to go before the break, they won a lineout on the opposition’s 10-metre line to set up a rolling maul and when stopped, the ball was passed along their three-quarter line to right-winger Will Roe, making his 1st XV debut, who then charged up his wing and when halted, passed inside to centre Sam Firth to run in and touchdown; the conversion being missed. Moor continued to have most of the play and with only a few minutes left before half-time, a relieving kick by the home side out of their 22 was fielded by left-winger Myles Maclagan, who returned at pace before passing to full-back Mike Ingham, who in turn fed fly-half James Brady for the latter to score and convert, making the scoreline at the interval 19-12 to Aldwinians.
The second half found Moor having to almost continually defend their ground, but managed to do this well and during the third quarter kept Aldwinians at bay, with the latter being held up on the line on more than one occasion. Moor eventually managed to clear their lines and set up their own attacks and from one of these just over the halfway line that was looking promising, an attempted kick over the advancing cover was charged down, immediately putting them on the back foot. Turning defence into attack, Aldwinians recovered the ball, recycled it along their back line, ending with an unconverted try in the corner. The hosts continued to dominate, but with ten minutes to go, a rather wild pass into nowhere was picked up by Ingham, who preceded to sprint some 70 metres up field before passing inside to Firth, who then cut in to score between the uprights, giving Brady a straightforward conversion. With the possibility of Moor now at least leaving with a losing bonus-point, Aldwinians went up a gear and had Moor defending deep in their own territory and eventually, with only a minute of normal time remaining, this pressure paid off as one final drive led to an unconverted try. Deep into injury time as Moor tried yet again get something from the game, a speculative kick ahead into the Aldwinians 22 was caught on the full, resulting in a call for a mark. This free kick was quickly taken, again catching Moor off-guard and following a number of interchanges between forwards and backs, ended with another unconverted try, bringing the game to a close with a convincing 34-19 victory for Aldwinians.
Another disappointing result for Moor and even though they had to defend for long periods, they did so well and had they not given away so many penalties in the first half and been a bit more alert in the second, could and should have got something from the game.
Moor play the Anti-Assassins at Green Lane this Sunday (24/11/24), k.o. 2:00 p.m., as part of their 125th Anniversary celebrations.
Moor kicked off and for the first ten minutes, kept Aldwinians pinned down in their half, with each attack by the visitors looking promising. This changed when the hosts were awarded a scrum and Moor were penalised for not engaging quickly enough, allowing the former to clear their lines with a long kick to touch. From the ensuing lineout, Moor were then penalised twice in quick succession, the last one for being offside just inside their own 22, allowing their opponents to take a tap, catching Moor unawares and ending with an unconverted try in the corner. Now with the advantage, the home side continued to press, forcing Moor into defending their territory and ten minutes later an almost identical scenario occurred that had led to the first try, as Moor were caught offside and another quickly taken tap penalty resulted in a second try, this time converted. Shortly afterwards, Moor were again penalised, allowing Aldwinians to kick to touch on the former’s 22 and from the resultant lineout, set up a drive that ended with another converted try. With less than half-an-hour gone, Moor now found themselves with an uphill task if they were to get anything out of the game, but they set about the task and they gradually hauled themselves back into it. With ten minutes to go before the break, they won a lineout on the opposition’s 10-metre line to set up a rolling maul and when stopped, the ball was passed along their three-quarter line to right-winger Will Roe, making his 1st XV debut, who then charged up his wing and when halted, passed inside to centre Sam Firth to run in and touchdown; the conversion being missed. Moor continued to have most of the play and with only a few minutes left before half-time, a relieving kick by the home side out of their 22 was fielded by left-winger Myles Maclagan, who returned at pace before passing to full-back Mike Ingham, who in turn fed fly-half James Brady for the latter to score and convert, making the scoreline at the interval 19-12 to Aldwinians.
The second half found Moor having to almost continually defend their ground, but managed to do this well and during the third quarter kept Aldwinians at bay, with the latter being held up on the line on more than one occasion. Moor eventually managed to clear their lines and set up their own attacks and from one of these just over the halfway line that was looking promising, an attempted kick over the advancing cover was charged down, immediately putting them on the back foot. Turning defence into attack, Aldwinians recovered the ball, recycled it along their back line, ending with an unconverted try in the corner. The hosts continued to dominate, but with ten minutes to go, a rather wild pass into nowhere was picked up by Ingham, who preceded to sprint some 70 metres up field before passing inside to Firth, who then cut in to score between the uprights, giving Brady a straightforward conversion. With the possibility of Moor now at least leaving with a losing bonus-point, Aldwinians went up a gear and had Moor defending deep in their own territory and eventually, with only a minute of normal time remaining, this pressure paid off as one final drive led to an unconverted try. Deep into injury time as Moor tried yet again get something from the game, a speculative kick ahead into the Aldwinians 22 was caught on the full, resulting in a call for a mark. This free kick was quickly taken, again catching Moor off-guard and following a number of interchanges between forwards and backs, ended with another unconverted try, bringing the game to a close with a convincing 34-19 victory for Aldwinians.
Another disappointing result for Moor and even though they had to defend for long periods, they did so well and had they not given away so many penalties in the first half and been a bit more alert in the second, could and should have got something from the game.
Moor play the Anti-Assassins at Green Lane this Sunday (24/11/24), k.o. 2:00 p.m., as part of their 125th Anniversary celebrations.
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