Ormskirk u14s 37*pts - Broughton Park 7pts
Ormskirk kicked off this tie with the knowledge that if they played to their potential then they could well win. After a 29-17 victory over the visitors earlier in the season, hopes were high, but also wary of a Broughton Park team that had a decent set of forwards.
All concerns were soon blown away as a windy day saw the Ormskirk side progress to the semi’s with a comprehensive destruction of a spirited Broughton Park side that were chasing shadows all morning but finished the match with a try of character, long after the contest was over.
Ormskirk’s first score came in an odd way as the forwards created a great platform, as they did all match, for Cecil Fairhurst to charge through the defence and although tackled over the try line, the forwards drove over the ball for Jonny Dunn to score the easiest try ever as he simply picked the ball up off the floor, saw he was over the try line and put it down again, 5-0!
Eddie Webster, captain for the day, celebrated his deserved inclusion in the Lancashire u14 side by powering his way under the posts after 6 minutes to score, with Chris Nicholson adding the extras. Another great passage of play saw the ball driven on by the forwards and then George Lightfoot broke blind and fed Aaron Cheung, the powerful winger brushed through three tacklers to score. Lightfoot then on the score sheet as he once again exploited space down the blind side to go over in the corner. 22-0 at half time with the wind was a good return but it was important to keep the momentum going and not let the visitors gain any foothold. Another charging run by Cecil, one of many, shattered the defence – what greater sight is there than a prop battering through would be tacklers? The mayhem caused by his 30m charge left acres of space for Eddie Webster to take the ball wide and use his pace to score in the corner. Cecil scored a much deserved and well applauded try as, like a moose in full flight, he took four tacklers with him over the line. No tropical juice with bits this week, just good old H2O was the fuel that powered the No.1.
Lightfoot got on the score sheet again as he drove down the short side near the posts with Nicholson adding another conversion. Broughton Park then suddenly used their forward power to great effect as they kept possession for over five minutes driving the ball close with tons of support that eventually resulted in a converted try near the posts. This game would have surely been closer if they had used this tactic earlier, but to be fair, Ormskirk played with such intensity from the first whistle that the visitors never had any possession of any note to try and mount anything like a sustained attack.
Great performances from Chris Nicholson, George Lightfoot, Cecil Fairhurst, Dan Price, Aidan Charlton and Eddie Webster laid the foundation for this won, but the overall team performance was one of the best of the season.
The final score of the game typified their stranglehold on proceedings as they won the ball, drove it on in the forward, with loads of support runners, before giving the ball to the backs, who handled the ball brilliantly to provide Webster with his hat trick and rounded off a great team display. Training will now focus on the semi-final away to Warrington on March 16th.
Thanks to sponsors Kammac plc and Marksman International for providing a new kit for the team.
Tries: Eddie Webster 3, George Lightfoot 2, Jonny Dunn, Cecil Fairhurst, Aaron Cheung
Cons: Chris Nicholson 2
Team: Cecil Fairhurst, Marc Tasker, Jack Morris-Holland, Dan Price, Matthew Swords, Steve Maloney, George Lightfoot, Aidan Charlton, Jonny Dunn, Adam Kirk, Jonny Ford, Chris Nicholson, Eddie Webster (c), Aaron Cheung, Dan Bailie. Subs: Joe Wright, Ben Watherston, Michael Bradbury, Simon Brazier
