Ormskirk 1st XV 15 – 28 Glossop 1st XV
Ormskirk lost out to mid-table Glossop in a real game of two halves at Green Lane that keeps them bottom of South Lancs and Cheshire 1. The match, sponsored by local business Newlands, started at a frantic pace with the visiting Derbyshire side piling on the pressure and making use of the low sun that made visibility difficult for Ormskirk. Glossop’s big forwards proved a real handful for ‘Kirk and continuously made yards with driving mauls that the home side failed to stop at the source. Compounding Ormskirk’s first half problems was their ill discipline, giving away 10 penalties in the first 40 minutes that allowed Glossop to make easy yards and maintain the pressure on the home side. Glossop scored four unanswered tries in the opening period, all coming from their dominant forwards, they also added a penalty and at half-time they led 23 – 0.
Thankfully for Ormskirk, the 2nd half was a different affair and it was their turn to play rugby on the front foot. As they spent more and more time in Glossop territory the belief in the team grew and they continuously made inroads into the visitors’ defence, something they looked incapable of in the first half. Ormskirk got their first reward for their improved performance after 62 minutes when strong runs from Val Gately and Kieran Mahood had sucked in the Glossop defence, once the ball had been recycled, fly-half James Illingworth’s long pass was picked up by Andy Healey who showed good strength and pace to score in the corner. Straight from the kick-off Ormskirk were back on the scoreboard, after shaping to kick the ball long, Illingworth chipped over the first line of defence and the ball bounced favourably for him to re-gather and then pass to winger Andy Wroe 50 yards out who left his opposite number in his wake to score out wide.
Sensing an unlikely comeback victory, Ormskirk remained in the ascendancy and continued to attack. Confidence was high and they were playing their best rugby since October, however Glossop’s defence stood firm for the next 10 minutes to frustrate the men in green. On 76 minutes Ormskirk did manage to register their third try, again Illingworth was the provider as he changed the direction of the attack and created an overlap on the right wing from where he fed Wroe who had the simple task of finishing in the corner. Unfortunately for Ormskirk, all three conversion attempts were missed but with 4 minutes remaining they still had the chance to gain 2 bonus points from the game by getting their fourth try and getting within 7 points of Glossop. Unfortunately Ormskirk coughed up possession after catching the kick-off and didn’t touch the ball again as Glossop sensibly kept the ball in their forwards and made progress down the pitch, culminating in them scoring their fifth try of the afternoon with the last action of the match.
Ormskirk lost this match with a disappointing first half performance in which they failed to find an answer to Glossop’s direct approach and gave away far too many penalties at the breakdown. Ormskirk must now carry the belief they gained in the second half into their next game away to Hoylake a week on Saturday (28th January) as they become more and more desperate for a victory that will keep their survival hopes alive.
Ormskirk: 1, Bowling 2, Williams 3, Gateley 4, Hitchlock 5, Merrill 6, B Davis 7, Roberts 8, Mahood 9, Prytherch (c) 10, Illingworth 11, Hodson 12, Johnson 13, Curley 14, Wroe 15, Healey 16, P Davis 17, Rothwell 18, Croft
