With a comfortable victory over Leigh in their Lancashire Plate quarter final Ormskirk were looking to carry that form over to their semi-final against North Manchester side Sedgley Park. With midweek training going well at a cold and blustery Edge-Hill and with, finally, a full squad to pick from the coaches believed that a place in the final was well within the lads reach if they could work as a unit and not let the occasion get to them.
Unfortunately the omens did not look good as Sedgley took the game by the scruff of the neck and produced a well worked try within five minutes of the start and then rubbing salt in the wounds by a well taken conversion.This however seemed to spur Ormskirk on and they came flying back into the fray. A great touch kick by Robbie Jones gave ‘Kirk a line-out in a great attacking position and from the resulting possession Sedgley were caught offside giving Graham Bishop an easy penalty kick to get Ormskirk on to the score sheet.From the kick-off Ormskirk again pushed forward with some excellent drves by Arron Waggoner and Marcus Rylance making excellent ground.
Sedgley were well organised in defence and some great cover tackling saw Olly Hogan bundled into touch in what was a very small pitch. However well won ball from the resulting line-out gave Olly his chance for revenge as the ball was passed out wide for him to go over in the corner to put Ormskirk in the lead for the first time in the match. Ormskirk now had the bit between their teeth and another great bullocking run by Arron Waggoner saw him tackled just shy of the line. As Sedgley struggled to clear their lines they knocked on and from the resulting scrum Craig Ennis picked up and drove through for the second try. Ormskirk were soon on the attack again and Sedgley were caught offside giving Graham Bishop yet another easy penalty kick to give ‘Kirk a well deserved nine point lead at this stage.
Unfortunately Ormskirk took the foot off the gas and with a couple of unforced errors it allowed Sedgley to use their powerful forwards to set up another try, again well converted from out wide. This seemed to give Sedgley a new momentum and only some excellent last ditch tackling on the line prevented them going over for their third try of the game just before the break.
Half-time: Sedgley Park 14  Ormskirk 16
It now felt to the large Sedgley crowd that the game was now theirs for the taking but Ormskirk have really developed as a team over this season in more ways than one and were keen to end the season in a cup-final and show to all their character and commitment . From the kick-off Ormskirk charged forward and once again Sedgley were penalised and Matt White steadied everyone’s nerves with a well taken penalty kick from in front of the sticks. With Ormskirk’s forwards doing a lot of the tackling the coaches cleverly made some early substitutions giving tired legs a break and allowing players such as Nick Winrow and Michael Quirk a chance to show their paces.
Again the match was being well controlled by Ormskirk with fly-half Robbie Jones constantly pinning back the opposition with some excellent touch line kicking. This was backed up by some committed tackling typified by Kyle Hoy and a superb ‘hit’ by Pat Lloyd as Sedgley struggled to break free from their own half. Ormskirk appeared to be throwing the kitchen sink at Sedgley but to their credit they held firm and excellent tackling kept ‘Kirk at bay. Finally Ormskirk scored the try that put the game beyond the home side. Sedgley were again caught off-side and a great kick into the corner by Robbie Jones gave Ormskirk an attacking line-out near the opposition line. Even though the line-out was lost Craig Ennis cheekily stole the ball back and ran through to score in the corner. With just a few minutes left to play Ormskirk once again pushed the ball deep into the opposition’s territory and ended the game in control.
Full-time: Sedgley Park 14  Ormskirk 24
This game showed the character of what is developing into a very good side. There were times in the match when lesser teams may quite well have buckled but the lads stood firm and ended the game in control and looking forward to the plate final on the 6th of April over at Manchester Rugby Club against the winner of the Waterloo v.Rochdale match.
