Sandbach thwart Vale of Lune efforts

MATCH REPORT: Sandbach 17 - 5 Vale of Lune (Regional 2 North West).

The cold snap had abated, and the Vale 1st XVs league campaign could resume after a break of four weeks. Their Cheshire opponents were lying in second place, whilst the Vale occupied third. The positioning makes promotion ambitions real for both sides, either automatically, or through the play-offs. There was much to play for.

Head coach Mark Goodman made modest adjustments, maintaining the cohesion of the team. The familiar faces of Chris Ramwell and Harry Finan returned to the 1st XV to strengthen the back line whilst Vale hooker Harm Dokter returned to the club of his youth.

It soon became apparent that both sides were equal in their abilities and styles of play. There were long phases of Vale possession in the Sandbach half, followed by reciprocal action for the Cheshire men. Prop Joe Crompton made his mark with some fierce pounding of the Sandbach defences. Vale's back row managed to neutralise the threat from the lively Sandbach scrum-half Laurie Essenhigh.

A string of promising manoeuvres by Sandbach ended by fumbling fingers, and the Vale had a few handling blips of their own. With the teams cancelling each other out, the half-time score was a rarely occurring 0-0.

Some changes were made in the break, with Finan, Fowler and McKinnon bringing their skills to the field. A halfway line break by Jack Ayrton set him off toward the left touchline. Reading the move, winger Jack McFarlane cut infield behind Ayrton to take a well-timed pass, and the scoreboard finally came alive.

A chance to extend the Vale's lead from a penalty kick sailed painfully wide. Sandbach dug deep and pressed into the Vale twenty-two metre area. A driving maul trudged along, finally freeing the ball for the No. 13 to dive over the line to the right of the posts for an equaliser.

Sandbach pressure brought about a penalty for improper handling in the ruck, which was kicked cleanly from thirty metres.

It was all about who would be the first to blink. Only one score between the sides, and each giving it their all with the last reserves in the energy tank. The breakthrough came from Sandbach in the left corner, which was duly converted.

The Vale kept up their output, driving toward the tryline and a possible league bonus point for a close scoreline. In the melee of limbs and torsos, the referee deemed that the the ball had been held up off the grass, and the big finish was denied.

It was a long journey for no points, but the Vale remained positive. They are still in contention for top spot and, failing that, the play-off positions at the end of season. Next Saturday sees the rescheduled fixture at home against top-of-the-league North Ribblesdale. Kick off at 2.15pm.

Team: J. Crompton, H. Dokter, R. Pillow, H. Fellows, J. Sutcliffe, S. Walton, S. Wallbank, J. Ayrton (c), B. Swarbrick, K. Gledhill, J. McFarlane, J. Mayall, A. Bolton, R. Busby, C. Ramwell. Reps: H. Finan, A. Fowler, J. McKinnon.