Tyldesley u13Â 29-7Â Ormskirk u13Â
The U13s travelled to Tyldesley for a pool fixture in bouyant mood after a good win at Lymm a fortnight ago. However, after a bright start it all fell apart in a poor second half.
The opening half was end to end with big hits from both sides allied to some good handling from the Ormskirk backs and robust driving and rucking from the home side. Ormskirk scored first after a good passage of play, three rucks and swift handling created space for Eddie Webster, who popped up from open side and although nursing a sore ankle, powered his way over. Jonny Dunn added the impressive conversion. The home side hit back with a similar wave of possession, allowing their speedy winger the space to sprint into the corner. Ormskirk nearly extended their lead after a fine break from Dan Bailie, who was tackled close to the line. Unfortunately the support was too long coming and the home side, much to the relief of their support, cleared their lines. At half time, Ormskirk led 7-5 in a close game.
However, the second half brought a number of injuries, much re-shuffling of the side, with a number of players having to move two or three times. Tyldesley had two big, straight running centres, a large hooker and a big No.8. After one of the centres cut the through the Ormskirk defence like a hot knife through butter to score under the posts, the message was clear. The home side used their size advantage and with Ormkirk’s poor tackling they scored two well worked tries and two disappointingly soft tries. To their credit, Ormskirk stuck at their game and tried to reduce the deficit with a number of slick handling moves, but basic errors, lack of support and the continual missing of key tackles meant the result was never in doubt.
Credit to Alex Fitzpatrick and Dan Price who returned after a number of weeks injured, Alex had a storming game and was one of the few players to be able to hold his head high after an indifferent team performance.
Next week’s EFE Lancs Cup match at Fleetwood becomes even more important.
