Sat 19 Oct 2024, 15:00
Eccles architects of their own downfall in a game where rugby occasionally broke out between the penalties.
Gorton Street was bathed in sunshine for the visit of Winnington Park, perfect conditions for what the Eccles faithful hoped would be a return to entertaining rugby and a confidence-building performance against a opponent looking to secure their first victory of the season.
Park kicked off. Eccles, fielding a new line up in search of a winning formula and a solution to injuries, received possession and set a platform with Wright feeding Ackers-Johnson who made ground up his wing before the ball was moved inside where possession was promptly knocked on and a scrum awarded to Park near the half way line- an error that would soon typify the game. Park won the scrum, the ball was carried upfield into contact where a penalty was awarded when Read went off his feet at the breakdown. Kicked to the corner, the subsequent Park line-out catch and maul was stalled by Eccles, but possession was transferred across the pitch to the left wing where Ackers-Johnson rushing up to tackle lost his footing and the loose ball was picked up and passed to the Park winger who scored in the corner with just a few minutes played. 3’ TRY PARK (O’Neill) 0-5.
Eccles restarted, Park secured the ball and after a couple of phases attempted to clear with the boot but did not find touch. Eccles counter attacked but once again the ball was knocked on by Burdon as he attempted to break the line. Park won the resulting scrum but Ackers-Johnson intercepted a pass and took play back into Park territory until a loose carry gave the visitors another opportunity to clear but Eccles succeeded in charging down no less than three attempted kicks and centre Candland was quick to react, picked up the ball and scored in the corner. 7’ TRY ECCLES (Candland) 5-5.
After a frenetic start the game now settled with both sides having a share of possession. Eccles showed some fleeting glimpses of their potential with good breaks from Parkinson and Reed using handling and speed to cut through the middle and Ackers-Johnson threatening from the flank, requiring Park to work hard in defence deep inside their territory. However, Eccles failed to break through and on 18 minutes Park surged forward following a line-out on their 22, once again making good ground up the left wing. Eccles did not react to the threat, Speakman and Ackers-Johnson in the backline found themselves facing a 3v2 overload and Park made good use of their quick support to score a good try in the corner. 18’ TRY PARK (Williams) 5-10.
The next 20 minutes were disrupted by numerous penalties. An Eccles offside offence in front of the posts gave the visitors easy points. 24’ PENALTY PARK 5-13. A similar opportunity a few minutes later for Eccles kept the score close. 29’ PENALTY ECCLES (Speakman) 8-13.
Not much was going right for Eccles. On 33 minutes another Park penalty at the halfway line resulted in a line-out and driving maul which lead to another Park penalty which was kicked for the corner and the subsequent line-out and driving maul was pushed over. 32’ TRY PARK (Kenyon) CONV (Flanagan) 8-20. And following the restart the visitor’s lead was further extended with another penalty. 37’ PENALTY PARK 8-23.
With a few minutes of the half remaining Eccles attacked, won a penalty, kicked for the corner, won the line-out, forwards mauled and the ball was shipped out to the backs where the homegrown centre charged through a gap from close range to score his second. 39’ TRY ECCLES (Candland) CONV (Speakman) 15-23.
Eccles had rescued a lacklustre first half performance to keep themselves in contention but their escalating penalty count had prevented progress and helped to give Park an advantageous platform at the break.
HT 15-23
Eccles kicked off and gave away a penalty. However Park did not find touch and Eccles quickly moved the ball through hands, with a perfectly timed offload from fullback Speakman to Ackers-Johnson on the wing who showed his power from just inside the Park half to cut through and score a great try between the posts. 42’ TRY ECCLES (Ackers-Johnson) CONV (Speakman) 22-23.
With the deficit now just a single point, the pressure was building on Park who were working hard in defence and Russell, who had replaced Coop at the interval, was showing good tenacity around the pitch. At 48’ a penalty was awarded to Eccles who declined the easy points with a shot to the sticks in favour of kicking to the corner for the line out, a decision they would regret as Park closed down the attack. Within minutes, and in contrast, Eccles committed two consecutive penalties which Park happily slotted between the sticks to extend their lead by the 6-points that would eventually secure the victory. PENALTY PARK 50’ 22-26. PENALTY PARK 53’ 22-29.
Disconnected and disorded, Eccles then conspired to loose possession from thier scum inside their 22 and with a couple of swift phases the visitors powered over in the corner. 58’ TRY PARK 22-34.
Eccles had 20 minutes to pull themsleves together and turn this situation around but thier decisons in attack and Park's dogged defense combined to obstruct each opportunity. On 64’ a terrific tackle-smashing break through by Eaton was thwarted when he attempted to offload as he crashed to the ground just a metre short of the goal line, resulting in a knock on and a 5m scrum to Park, which they calmly dealt with. At 73’ Eccles committed yet another penalty just outside their 22 which Park missed. With the clock ticking into the final minutes, Park were caught offside from a clearing kick out of their 22. Speakman caught the ball, took the quick tap catching Park off guard and passed to centre Candland who showed good hands to offload out to Ackers-Johnson on the wing who weaved through the defence to score his second and Eccles fourth and final try. 77’ TRY ECCLES (Ackers-Johnson) CONV (Speakman) 29-34.
This was a frustrating and disappointing performance from Eccles, lacking in accuracy, discipline, desire and good decision making at critical moments. The promoted team secured a losing try bonus point which may well be crucial in the final reconning but they will know they could have done far better, and will need to if they are to succeed in this division. Park had conviction in what they were doing, worked hard for each other and deserved the win to lift them off the bottom of the table. On the back of two consecutive home defeats Eccles must now regroup for the trip to Vale of Lune on Saturday.
FT 29-34
Eccles Team: C Thomas, R Eaton, J Burdon, R Hulbert, M Coop, L Cullen, N Spooner, H Booth; D Holland, J Wright, G Ackers-Johnson, H Candland, B Read, W Parkinson, A Speakman.
