Vale Vikings narrowly miss out on promotion spot after Blackburn defeat

Match Report: Blackburns 3rds 29 Vale 3rds 21

A cloudy day but a buoyant atmosphere greeted the Vale Vikings at the heart of Lancashire.

The Halbro NW League was poised for a showdown, with third place Vale taking on second place Blackburn for a 'winner-takes-all' attempt at promotion.

There was no margin for error. Whoever won this game - were going up.  

Early possession was all Blackburn's with the ball barely reaching Vale's half for 10 minutes. The opening try fell inevitably to the home side.

It shook some resolve from the Vale, who came back strongly. Sharp passing and coordinated forward play took the Vale to the Blackburn 22m line. A burst of energy from the base of a scrum launched by the unstoppable Shannon Morgan, fending off two attempts at tackles he crossed the line for the equaliser.  

The pattern continued, with Blackburn completing a cross-field passing move to score, followed by another equaliser by Vale winger Kev Briston. Full back Ryan Busby converted and the half time score was an equitable 14 apiece. 

The restart brought on Freddie Bartle and Brett Cooper to the campaign. Both sides earned and missed penalty kicks in midfield.

The break went against the Vale when a loose ball from a lineout was picked up by the Blackburn number four who found a gap and touched down to the right of the posts.

All remaining replacements were deployed and the effort level rose, but misfortune thwarted progress. Briston tried to intercept a ball in mid-flight, but was deemed to have knocked on deliberately. Although his intentions were honourable, he was dispatched to the naughty step for 10 minutes. 

Blackburn capitalised by extending their leading the right corner, stretching the shortened Vale defensive line.

The Vale were not done yet. Man-mountain Tom Prieto powered over for his try, and Busby's boot put them back in contention by narrowing the difference to only five points.

Try-saving tackles by Vale backs kept the dream alive, but cracks were beginning to show.

Several Vale players were limping but determined to stay on.

The final points came from a Blackburn penalty kick from 20m, following a contentious high-tackle decision.   

The spoils for the game and the season went to Blackburn, and deservedly so.

They join Fylde RUFC in elevation to the next level.

The Vale Vikings gave a good account of themselves, capping off a fine season. Many of the team will be marking the occasion on the end-of-season tour to Sunderland next weekend. 

Team:  K. Sharples, K. Banga, G. Summers, S. Stewart (c), T. Prieto, J. Sloan-Lewis, P. Scott, S. Morgan, D. Minnikin, O. Cousins, K. Briston, M. Short, G. Simon, J. Summers, R. Busby.    Reps:  B. Cooper, S. Middlehurst, F. Bartle, R. Martin, R. Whitaker.