Sat 1 Mar 2025, 15:00
Altrincham Kersal’s last visit to Gorton Street in April 2017 resulted in a 9-29 defeat with Eccles relegated from North 1 West that season. The road back to level 6 has been an arduous journey beset with set backs. Promoted this season, Eccles have struggled from week one with injuries and absences hindering consistency of line up and performance. Without a win since November and facing relegation, Eccles desperately needed a home victory on Saturday. A 24-17 defeat decided by a late controversial try at Stelfox Avenue in November, suggested there wasn’t much between the teams and another close contest could be expected.
In the last four fixtures Eccles have added to their own starting handicap, with a susceptibility for conceding penalties and tries in the opening minutes. Saturday was no different. With winter sunshine and a soft pitch Kersal kicked off. Eccles received the ball just outside their 22 and gave away a penalty at the first ruck. The visitors kicked to the corner, secured possession at the line out and Eccles successfully stopped the driving maul to earn a 5m scrum, from which Spooner carried possession before offloading to Fortune on the wing who kicked into touch. Play remained inside Eccles territory, possession was regained but Eccles elected to run the ball out from inside their 22 and a poor pass on the left wing, thrown behind Bates, presented Kersal with a gift which they gladly picked up and grounded to score the first points.
05’ 0-7 TRY AK.
For the next 10 minutes Eccles took the game to Kersal, regularly winning penalties inside the opposition half, which were typically quickly tapped by Wright for Ayanlaja-Lowo, Spooner, Wilkinson and others to make an initial impact with strong ball carrying, only for momentum and possession to be lost either by sloppy passing or the slow arrival of support at the ruck. The errors were costly and all too often, Eccles desire to pay quickly was undermined by their failure to be ready and in a position to do so. Kersal often used the boot to clear their lines and an accurate 50/22 kick moved play back into Eccles territory where the Kersal #12, who was an attacking threat throughout, charged in and was held up on the goal line by some determined defending. Once again, Eccles attempted to exit their 22 by running the ball out but another passing error out wide gave Kersal a line-out, from where they moved play across the pitch and looked to be certain to score in the corner before knocking on the last pass. Eccles, who so far had invited trouble and created many of their own problems, moved play upfield from the 5m scrum through industry. At 18 minutes Kersal had a player sent to the bench for a deliberate knock-on as Eccles attacked up the right flank. Eccles shifted the direction of attack across the pitch into the 22 but the move was let down once again with the final pass out to the wing. From the Kersal Line-out on the left, Eccles won back possession and with some strong lines of running inside the visitor’s 22, Spooner cut through the defence to score behind the posts; Fortune converted to equal the score.
18’ YELLOW AK.
20’ 7-7 TRY ECCLES (Spooner) CONV (Fortune).
23’ 7-12 TRY AK.
The celebrations were short lived as Eccles errors at the restart resulted in a second try for Kersal. Eccles responded, putting the visitors under pressure at the restart to win a scrum. Slick passing between Wright and Murphy set the platform for centre Mercer to slice through the defence on a great line and a combination of his speed and tenacity carried him to just short of the goal line, resulting in some frantic action in front of the posts and ultimately the Captain grounding the ball for his second score of the afternoon to nudge Eccles in front.
27’ 14-12 TRY ECCLES (Spooner) CONV (Fortune).
The momentum was now with Eccles and following the restart they were soon attacking inside the Kersal 22. As Eccles piled on the pressure in the corner, a second Yellow card was awarded to Kersal at 30 minutes as they defended their goal line. However Eccles failed to take advantage of their field position and numerical advantage with more poor passing out wide wasting the opportunity to score. The game moved into Eccles territory where it would remain until the break. A failure to get onside outside the 22 gave the visitors a penalty opportunity to retake the lead and following further disarray in defence, Kersal scored a third try in the corner as the last play before the interval.
30’ YELLOW AK.
35’ 14-15 PENALTY AK.
40’ 14-20 TRY AK.
HT 14-20.
Eccles started the second half with attacking intent but their urgency to get back into the game meant they were often rushing their play, taking unnecessary risks in attack and moving the ball wide with expansive passing too soon. Eccles stuck to their task but failed to break through and the game was in stalemate with no progress for either team until Coop was sent to the bench for a loss of discipline. From the resulting penalty on the edge of the Eccles 22, Kersal scored a fourth try to extend their lead.
50’ YELLOW ECCLES (Coop).
51’ 14-27 TRY AK. CONV.
Eccles attempted to respond and a series of penalties against Kersal resulted in a line out in the right corner, from where the ball was moved rapidly across the field to the left wing where there ball was knocked on. Though the set piece was not completed and the Eccles passing was erratic, the ambition of the move was appreciated by the home crowd. Replacements Booth, Read and Connor were making good contributions to the persistence of Eaton, Candland, Murphy and Mercer, and Eccles were soon back on the front foot inside the Kersal 22 where strong support running from Coop saw him break through on the left flank to score; converted with backspin by the trusty boot of Fortune.
67’ 21-27 TRY ECCLES (Coop) CONV (Fortune).
For the remainder of the match, Eccles dominated attacking possession to keep sustained pressure on the visitors. On 69’ a penalty for Eccles in midfield was kicked by Wright into the corner and from the line-out Ayanlaja-Lowo charged through to the goal line but was held up. From the drop out the Blindside once again was eager to power through the defensive lines which resulted in a third yellow card against Kersal. Eccles were playing with belief and energy but they lacked composure at the critical moments and when play moved back into Eccles territory a knock on lead to a scrum and in turn this lead to a penalty in front of the posts giving the visitors the opportunity to collect some easy points.
70’ YELLOW AK.
74’ 21-30 PENALTY AK.
From the restart Eccles attacked at speed into the 22 and Kersal were doing their best to hang on. With three minutes of play remaining, the elusive Mercer weaved through the defence and his determined running resulted in a terrific try, scored between the posts and converted to set up an exciting end to the game.
77’ 28-30 TRY ECCLES (Mercer) CONV (Fortune).
With the clock ticking down, Eccles secured possession and once again broke from the back, with Mercer spearheading the attack at speed down the left wing, his progress towards goal line glory was halted by a reckless high tackle. The crowd erupted. No card awarded. Tensions increased. Eccles played on taking the ball infield and a successive penalty was awarded on the 22 line to the left of the posts. With the outcome of the game in the balance, the ground hushed, Fortune stepped up to take the ‘last play’ penalty, the Altrincham Kersal winger charged towards the kicker, the ball went wide of the posts and the match was brought to a conclusion by the referee, sparking loud protests.
FT 28-30.
Another controversial finish in another close contest and a result that leaves Eccles fixed to the bottom of the table with four fixtures remaining: Burnage (A), Widnes (A), Northwich (H), Bowdon (A).
Eccles Team: 1 Sam Simpson #, 2 Ross Eaton #, 3 James Aitken, 4 Martin Coop #, 5 Joe Wilkinson, 6 Damola Ayanlaja-Lowo #, 7 Reece Walker #, 8 Nick Spooner # (C). 9 James Wright #, 10 Harry Murphy, 11 Tom Bates # , 12 Harry Candland # (VC), 13 Marcus Mercer, 14 Chris Fortune, 15 Scott Harrison. Replacements 16 Rhys Connor , 17 Henry Booth, 18 Byron Read.
Congratualtions to the Eccles 3s who earned a comfortable victory over the hosts at Stelfox Avenue, Altrincham Kersal 2XV 5-41 Eccles 3XV.
