Vale of Lune edged out at Burnage

MATCH REPORT: Burnage 36 - 34 Vale of Lune

It was sunny but cold at the Stockport end of the Mersey. Vale arrived in second place in the NW2 table, to face a Burnage side lying in fifth. Vale turned out in blue, whilst the home side sported black. Vale's Harm Dokter had to sit it out, having sustained a knee injury. Matt Mount stepped up to play at No. 2.

Referee Iain Craven set things off and the Vale came out of the traps with energy and purpose, pressing into Burnage land, only to fumble the ball over the try line. Burnage unleashed their big forwards to steamroller the Vale back and claim the first try on the right.

Vale stand-off Kurt Gledhill sustained a knee injury and had to be helped off. Adjustments were made and Alfie Bolton came aboard. Jamie Mayall kicked a penalty from thirty-five metres, but the initiative lay with the home side who quickly claimed their second try in similar manner to the first.

Vale's forwards matched the output to take play into the Burnage twenty-two area. A driving maul gave flanker Sam Walton the space to score. A Burnage player was challenged in the air by Vale centre Harry Finan, who was deemed to have impeded the jumper unlawfully, and he headed off for a ten minute holiday

A man down, the Vale came back as though they were a man up. Sam Walton was held up over the line, then Mayall made a sharp incursion to pop the ball up for Ryan Busby to finish off the move. Archie Fowler made the hard yards, setting up No. 8 Sam Wallbank to cannonball over the last seven metres to score. The half time tally was 12 - 24 to the Vale.

Soon after the restart and Finan's return, Eddie Abdelghafar entered the arena. Mayall's boot extended the lead with a penalty kick from twenty-five metres out. Burnage had more to give their home support. Their pack efficiently engineered a try in the right corner.

Vale responded with a moment of high excitement on their left flank. Winger Jack McFarlane tore a scorched line through the Burnage defences then supplied a pin-point pass to Mayall to sprint over the line. Burnage soon followed with a brace of tries in the same position and with the same driving maul method.

With only one point in it, to the Vale's advantage, the clock ticked down and play became fraught with the air of brinkmanship. Vale conceded a penalty twelve metres out and the Burnage kicker slotted it home to retake the lead.

The Vale threw everything they had left at the Burnage line. Phase after phase, ruck after ruck in the right corner kept hope alive. When a Burnage man was sent to the sin bin for unacceptably impeding Vale efforts, the travelling crowd called for a penalty try, which would have meant victory. The referee deemed that the position of the other Burnage defenders meant that despite the penalty and the yellow card, there was no imminent try.

It had been a terrific contest between two well-matched sides. Although denied all five league points, the Vale had to settle for two. League results elsewhere push Vale into third spot. Another rest weekend follows, then the Vale face Douglas I.O.M. at home on the 28th of February. Kick off at 2.15pm.

Team: J. Crompton, M. Mount, R. Pillow, H. Fellows, J. Sutcliffe, S. Walton, S. Wallbank, J. Ayrton (c), B. Swarbrick, K. Gledhill, J. McFarlane, J. Mayall, H. Finan, D. Leighton, R. Busby. Reps: E. Abdelghafar, A. Bolton, A. Fowler.