Sun 8 Jan 2023, 14:00
Eccles made the short trip over to Leigh for their first fixture of the new year hoping to work off the mince pies and get some game time under their belts, against a team who were 2 divisions above Eccles, ahead of the upcoming semi final against Widnes.
Eccles took to the field with a few players in different positions due to player availability and welcomed Josh Bentley – Hughes to the fold for his debut. Leigh got the game started and failed to kick the required distance giving Eccles the scrum on half way - the scrums were uncontested due to the Leigh side missing their props although they did still seem to have some able replacements on the pitch. Eccles rustiness was clear to see with a knock on from the first set of possession and this pattern continued with a couple of Eccles penalties conceded early on to give the hosts the advantage both with possession and territory and although Eccles defence stood firm for long periods it was Leigh who opened the scoring to the left of the posts after sustained pressure but the kick was missed 5-0.
This seemed to jolt Eccles into action and some good tackling from Matt H , Max and Cael turned possession over giving Tom W , Chayse and Matt G the opportunity to test the home sides defence which seemed to be showing signs of creaking and more pressure followed giving Joe D the chance to kick through on the Leigh 22 metre line and the Leigh winger made a hash of the bounce and James, ever the optimist, came flying through to gather the loose ball and level the scores with the kick again proving too wide to convert 5-5.
Eccles were growing into the game more with the forwards retaining good ball and the likes of Josh and Max proving hard to handle in attack whilst Cael was relishing the opportunity to clear out the opposition at every ruck. With the forwards on top the backline of Charlie, Josh B, Raff and Evan were finding gaps from excellent sets from Matt R and Joe who was a constant thorn in the Leigh side – the first half drew to a close after what seemed like an age with Eccles on the front foot 5-5.
Eccles brought Alex and Blake into the action at the break in place of Raff and Chayse who were both carrying knocks and Blake was straight into the action , diving on a loose ball to secure possession in the Eccles half which kept the visitors on the front foot with the Eccles right side cutting through the Leigh defence a couple of times with only desperate ankle taps denying Eccles 2 scores. The away support didn’t have to wait long when, after another scything run from Josh B-H saw him go outside the winger only to be stopped by a shoulder to the head by the covering defender which saw the Eccles debutant receive some lengthy treatment although those who have seen Josh play before know this is a regular occurrence with Josh’s all action style. Joe D had been holding onto the ball and as soon as the referee restarted the game Joe took a quick tap and dived over in the corner with the home side caught cold – the kick was missed to give Eccles a 5-10 lead.
Eccles were fully in control of the game and were playing the game in the Leigh half and on their own terms with more strong running from James and Matt G who were linking well causing problems with only a loose last pass stopping Eccles from increasing the score whilst the Eccles defence was standing strong , Lucas again excelling by fielding each and every kick with no fuss and always taking the ball back past the advantage line .
Leigh were chancing their arm with the game slipping away and another kick was left to bounce which saw the home side re-gather the ball and force a drop out for Leigh’s first real period of pressure but the Eccles defence was scrambling well, much to the frustration of the home support who were becoming more vocal which seemed to spur Leigh on who made a half break down the Eccles right who were caught out going for the intercept and the Leigh player took advantage and although the ball didn’t seem to have been grounded cleanly the resulting Leigh celebration convinced the referee to award the points and level the game back up at 10-10.
Eccles didn’t let this deter them from their own performance though with their ball retention being more secure than in a lot of games giving them the platform to build more pressure which forced the home side into more handling errors and Hollywood passes , Eccles were up in the Leigh faces in defence and more ferocious tackling from Matt H and Max backed up by Josh B-H saw the ball spilt by Leigh and Joe gathered the ball cleanly and drew the winger before releasing Josh B-H on the half way line who weaved outside the covering defence before cutting back inside to ghost between the winger and full-back and gallop the remaining 40 metres to touch down unopposed to give Eccles and fully deserved lead of 10-17 with the kick successful from under the sticks.
Josh B-H left the field shortly after the restart to leave Eccles with 14 men but you wouldn’t have thought so with more tigerish defence which was knocking any confidence out of the home side and it was indeed Eccles who looked more likely to extend their lead when Matt G found a gap on the Leigh 22 metre line and jinked in between 2 defenders and with the try line beckoning only a high tackle stopped him and after little deliberation Eccles took the penalty points to move the score to 10-20 which is the way the game ended with Eccles game management seeing out the remaining time with little fuss.
This was a really impressive win with all the team playing for each other along with a depleted match day squad which was further hindered with in game injuries – this should give the lads confidence going into this weeks semi-final against Widnes with the defence improving on this showing.
HIGHLIGHTS
Leigh Senior Colts v Eccles Senior Colts
21' 5-0 Leigh Try (5) no conv
25' 5-5 Eccles Try (James) no cone
HALF TIME 5-5
45' 5-10 Eccles Try (Joe D) no conv
56' 10-10 Leigh Try no conv
60' 10-17 Eccles Try (Josh B), Alex Conv (2). Eccles reduced to 14 players (injury)
63' 10-20 Eccles penalty (Alex)
FULL TIME 10-20 Eccles Win
