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Written by Mike McDermott
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Monday, 16 March 2009 |
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Narrow victory on the other foot - this time!
Moor claimed their second Cumbrian scalp in successive weeks as fourth-placed Wigton came south seeking the double. Centre Phil Thomas gave Moor and ideal start with a penalty and then a try from a powerful burst, which he converted, to put them 10 points ahead in as many minutes. Wigton hit back with a penalty but a Phil Butcher try, converted by Thomas, increased the lead. Within minutes, Wigton had scored a converted try but two Thomas penalties produced a 23-10 half-time lead.Facing the wind from the re-start, Moor knew they would need another strong defensive display to claim victory. A tap-penalty after 20 minutes produced a Wigton try, to cut the margin to 8 points. With 10 minutes left, Moor could have made the game safe but a promising three-quarter move was halted with the try line beckoning as the final pass was adjudged to be forward. For the final 5 minutes Moor were a man short as a flanker was yellow-carded for a technical offence. A series of short drives from the visitor’s large pack eventually forced their way over in the corner but Moor played out the final minutes for a sweet revenge, 23-20.An excellent all-round display by centre Phil Thomas, quick breaks from the base of the scrum by flanker Adam Crawford and strong runs by evergreen Phil Butcher produced the scores, whilst another good defensive display made the league points safe against a good Cumbrian side. This Saturday, Moor are away at Fleetwood in a re-arranged league game, k.o. 3:00 pm.Moor 2nds remain at the top of their league with a close victory away at Burnage, whilst the 3rd XV went down heavily against Oswestry 2nds.On Sunday, Moor were hosts to the Lancashire v Cheshire U20s county match. The ‘Red Rose’ side galloped into a 19-0 lead in as many minutes, but then allowed their opponents back into the game for a 19-14 interval lead. Cheshire then resumed where they had left off and overturned the deficit to lead 31-19, only to see Lancashire overhaul this in the dying minutes to go 33-31 up. There was, however, to be a twist in the tail, as in the third minute of injury time, Cheshire kicked a penalty to record a dramatic 34-33 win, a result that severely damages Lancashire’s chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the competition. |
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