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Aspull 40 - Heaton Moor 27
David Todd9 Apr - 19:48
Down and out
For their last league match of the season, Moor played away at Aspull in a winner-takes-all clash, as the losers of the game were guaranteed to be relegated. It was also conceivable that both could go down regardless of the result depending upon other results in their division and the division above but, in the event, it was the Green Lane side that lost out and will now be playing in Counties 2 adm Lancashire & Cheshire next season.
On a sunny afternoon in front of a large crowd, Moor kicked off and the hosts then kept hold of the ball to work their way patiently up-field and some seven minutes after the start, opened their account when their outside centre burst through the visitor’s defence to touch down next to the posts, followed by a conversion. Moor came straight back when, following an attacking lineout, the ball was shipped out to set up several rucks and from the last of these, second-row Roman Elliott burst through to score; the conversion being missed. For the next quarter-of-an-hour or so Aspull had the edge, but solid defensive work by Moor kept them out until the latter were penalised in front of their posts, gifting the home side a straight-forward penalty goal. Aspull then knocked-on from the restart, providing Moor with a scrum, from where they set up an attack only to lose the ball in contact and forcing them to defend desperately as Aspull broke out. A subsequent penalty kick to touch by the hosts provided them with a lineout, which they won and quickly recycled the ball along their three-quarter line, allowing their centre to slice through the defence to score another converted try. Play then reverted to mid-field for the last ten minutes of the half, with Aspull again edging the possession stakes, but Moor had the final say in injury time at the interval when they scored an unconverted try in the corner, courtesy of prop James Brennan. This came following a succession of penalties that were won as they pressured the line, each of which was kicked to touch, followed by a catch and drive. The first two were successfully defended, but the third finally paid off, making it a score of 17-10 to Aspull at half-time.
Within a couple of minutes of the second half, Aspull had stretched their lead with another converted try. This came when Moor, having collected the ball from the restart, then lost it again in attack, from where an Aspull player burst through the centre to touch down under the crossbar. The deficit was reduced five minutes later when Moor took a shortened lineout some ten metres from the opposition’s line and the ball was fed to hooker Archie Ward as he looped around, allowing him to drive through a couple of tackles and score; the try again unconverted. Scoring continued at regular intervals for both sides in the final half-an-hour, with pressure from Aspull resulting in Moor gifting a couple of penalty goals during this period, whilst the try-count remained equal. The first of these tries went to Aspull when a flowing move along their three-quarter line ended with an unconverted try in the corner. The next one went to Moor after they broke out, following some minutes of pressure in their own half, and on winning a penalty having been stopped just short of the line, elected to take a scrum. This then produced a penalty try as the referee adjudged that the subsequent drive by the Moor forwards towards the line had been brought down illegally by their opponents. The next three scores went to Aspull, which effectively took the game away from Moor. The first of the penalty goals was followed by an unconverted try in the left-hand corner after Moor again lost possession deep in their own half, allowing Aspull to set up an attack which resulted in the try. There then followed the second penalty goal from in front of the visitor’s posts, which also resulted in a yellow card for a Moor player, meaning that they had to see out the final minutes of the game with a man down. Despite this, it was they who finished the stronger and in injury time, were awarded a penalty, which they kicked to touch deep into Aspull territory. From the resultant lineout, another drive produced a second try for Brennan, again unconverted, bringing the game to a close and a 40-27 victory for Aspull.
Although both sides scored five tries each, the win was well-deserved as the difference between the sides was the forceful running of the host’s midfield, accurate kicking by their fly-half and Moor’s inability to retain possession in crucial positions. After two seasons at Counties 1 Lancashire & Cheshire, Moor drop down a division and it is to be hoped that they will now regroup and it won't be long before they are promoted again.
It was not all doom and gloom at Green Lane on Saturday however, as the second XV were confirmed winners of their league because, although not playing, other results in their division guaranteed their promotion and it could end up being a double celebration for them come the end of the season as they are also involved in the Final of the Primo Drinks Shield against Broughton 1sts at Macclesfield on May 3rd.
On a sunny afternoon in front of a large crowd, Moor kicked off and the hosts then kept hold of the ball to work their way patiently up-field and some seven minutes after the start, opened their account when their outside centre burst through the visitor’s defence to touch down next to the posts, followed by a conversion. Moor came straight back when, following an attacking lineout, the ball was shipped out to set up several rucks and from the last of these, second-row Roman Elliott burst through to score; the conversion being missed. For the next quarter-of-an-hour or so Aspull had the edge, but solid defensive work by Moor kept them out until the latter were penalised in front of their posts, gifting the home side a straight-forward penalty goal. Aspull then knocked-on from the restart, providing Moor with a scrum, from where they set up an attack only to lose the ball in contact and forcing them to defend desperately as Aspull broke out. A subsequent penalty kick to touch by the hosts provided them with a lineout, which they won and quickly recycled the ball along their three-quarter line, allowing their centre to slice through the defence to score another converted try. Play then reverted to mid-field for the last ten minutes of the half, with Aspull again edging the possession stakes, but Moor had the final say in injury time at the interval when they scored an unconverted try in the corner, courtesy of prop James Brennan. This came following a succession of penalties that were won as they pressured the line, each of which was kicked to touch, followed by a catch and drive. The first two were successfully defended, but the third finally paid off, making it a score of 17-10 to Aspull at half-time.
Within a couple of minutes of the second half, Aspull had stretched their lead with another converted try. This came when Moor, having collected the ball from the restart, then lost it again in attack, from where an Aspull player burst through the centre to touch down under the crossbar. The deficit was reduced five minutes later when Moor took a shortened lineout some ten metres from the opposition’s line and the ball was fed to hooker Archie Ward as he looped around, allowing him to drive through a couple of tackles and score; the try again unconverted. Scoring continued at regular intervals for both sides in the final half-an-hour, with pressure from Aspull resulting in Moor gifting a couple of penalty goals during this period, whilst the try-count remained equal. The first of these tries went to Aspull when a flowing move along their three-quarter line ended with an unconverted try in the corner. The next one went to Moor after they broke out, following some minutes of pressure in their own half, and on winning a penalty having been stopped just short of the line, elected to take a scrum. This then produced a penalty try as the referee adjudged that the subsequent drive by the Moor forwards towards the line had been brought down illegally by their opponents. The next three scores went to Aspull, which effectively took the game away from Moor. The first of the penalty goals was followed by an unconverted try in the left-hand corner after Moor again lost possession deep in their own half, allowing Aspull to set up an attack which resulted in the try. There then followed the second penalty goal from in front of the visitor’s posts, which also resulted in a yellow card for a Moor player, meaning that they had to see out the final minutes of the game with a man down. Despite this, it was they who finished the stronger and in injury time, were awarded a penalty, which they kicked to touch deep into Aspull territory. From the resultant lineout, another drive produced a second try for Brennan, again unconverted, bringing the game to a close and a 40-27 victory for Aspull.
Although both sides scored five tries each, the win was well-deserved as the difference between the sides was the forceful running of the host’s midfield, accurate kicking by their fly-half and Moor’s inability to retain possession in crucial positions. After two seasons at Counties 1 Lancashire & Cheshire, Moor drop down a division and it is to be hoped that they will now regroup and it won't be long before they are promoted again.
It was not all doom and gloom at Green Lane on Saturday however, as the second XV were confirmed winners of their league because, although not playing, other results in their division guaranteed their promotion and it could end up being a double celebration for them come the end of the season as they are also involved in the Final of the Primo Drinks Shield against Broughton 1sts at Macclesfield on May 3rd.
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