Sat 13 Jan 2024
The Counties 1 fixture between 1st and 3rd got underway at Audenshaw Park on a chilly afternoon to the sound of "Jump Around” playing on the PA, with Eccles knowing they would have to take their chances if they were to take the points in what was expected to be a close contest against a tenacious Aldwinians team who claimed a 5-9 victory in the game at Gorton Street in September.
Eccles had three changes to their line up with Cullen, Frost and Matt Parkinson drafted in to the squad. A pattern for the match was established early on when Eccles, enjoying good attacking momentum and territory, gave away possession with a misdirected pass, resulting in scrambling chaos in the middle of the pitch and a PENALTY for Aldwinians. 6’ 3-0.
Eccles responded positively from the restart with 17 year old number 8 Matt Houghton successfully jackaling the ball in the 22 and earning a PENALTY for Eccles. 8’ 3-3. (Simpson).
For the next 25 minutes Eccles successfully kept play inside Aldwinians territory but were unable to penetrate a dogged and disciplined Aldwinian defence.
Inaccurate line-out throwing from Eccles at 15’ and 17’ squandered two good attacking positions inside the 22. At 20’ Centre Read injured his ankle in tackle and was replaced by Fortune. At 21’ an Eccles attack inside the 22 on the left wing broke down when Will Parkinson lost possession and the game was stopped in order for the fullback to receive physio treatment. Following the restart Eccles regained the ball and continued build attacking pressure. At 27’ Simpson fired an arrow pass to Blindside Cullen who charged in towards the goal line on a superb line, smashing through the tackles he offloaded to supporting Openside Thornton who was stopped 1m short of the line, the ball was quickly recycled and Simpson looked to have slipped through a gap and claimed the try but the ball was judged to be held up. Eccles were banging on the door but could not find a way through. After soaking up this sustained attack, Aldwinians cleared with a big boot up field to the halfway line. Eccles took the line out but the match official saw a knock on and awarded a scrum to Aldwinians, relieving the pressure. From this position Aldwinians mounted their first foray into Eccles territory and, following two penalties in quick succession, Eccles found themselves defending their line under the posts, the host’s moved the ball out to the space on the right and scored with their first attack in the corner. TRY Aldwinians. 8-3 33’
Eccles kicked the restart straight out of play giving possession back to Aldwinians but the loss of focus was short lived and the visitors soon had the ball back and attacking quickly with a line-breaking charge from Spooner supported by Stand Off Simpson who broke into space fending off the defenders taking play closer to posts; the ball was popped up to Cullen who fired through but was stopped a just short of the goal line and a ruck formed. Eccles looked to be going over to score but the match official stopped play for two Aldwinians players who had collided near the halfway line and were already being attended to by physios. The game restarted with an Eccles 5m scrum, the ball was passed out to the right wing where Ackers Johnson was tackled into touch at the corner flag.
Aldwinians had a man yellow carded and with the clock ticking down to the interval, Eccles seized the opportunity to release Simpson with rapid passing. The fly half raced through the middle and was tackled in front of the posts, supporting scum half Long reacted quickly to pick up the ball and dive over the line to score. TRY Eccles. 8-10 39’. (Long) Conv (Simpson).
HT 8-10
Frost replaced Houghton at halftime and Eccles began the second half with good possession but were unable to take full advantage of the extra man with Aldwinians proving a very tough defence to crack. At 50’ a deep clearing kick from Aldwinians was caught in front of the Eccles posts by Ackers Johnson who launched a blistering counter attacking backs move, passing and running up field, gaining speed as they entered the opposition half. Simpson slotted a grubber kick through the defensive line to the left wing resulting in a line-out in the 22 and ultimately PENALTY Eccles. 8-13. 47’
10 minutes later Aldwinians had two scrums inside the Eccles’ 22 leading to an equalising score in the corner TRY Aldwinians 13-13 57’. With an hour played and the game in the balance the referee awarded a PENALTY Aldwinians 16-13. This marked a turning point in favour of the hosts and the events of the next 10 minutes determined the outcome of the game: Aldwinians scrum TRY Aldwinians 23-13 64’.TRY Eccles (Cox) 23-18 65’. YELLOW Eccles (Candland) 68'. PENALTY Aldwinians 26-18. 68'. PENALTY Aldwinians. 29-18. 70’
Things unravelled further for Eccles in the last 10 minutes when they were driven off the ball in an attacking scrum in Aldwinians terriotry and then matched back to the halfway line by the referee for complaints. Eccles regained possession but the match official indicated another breakdown Penalty and marched Eccles back for the second time. In the final minutes Aldwinians were awarded a scrum 10m from the goal line and succeeded in a push-over score and conversion to conclude the result and signal their own ambitions at the top of the table. TRY Aldwinians. 36-18. 79'
FT 36-18
Eccles Team. K Reed, F Cox (C), A Campbell, N Spooner, J Manzanares, L Cullen, R Thornton, M Houghton; S Long, L Simpson, G Ackers Johnson, H Candland, B Read, M Parkinson, W Parkinson. Replacements, R Eaton, A Frost, C Fortune.
