Sat 25 Apr 2026
The early season magic was a fading memory as Eccles fought back in the sunshine of the second half but ultimately ended the season with defeat at Aldwinians.
This was not the finale performance that Eccles were hoping for, but a notable absence of backs left the visitors vulnerable to pace. Eccles made a slow start on a warm afternoon and struggled to match the initial intensity of Aldwinians. Following a scrum and a kick to the corner, play was brought back to the midfield for a penalty to the hosts which was dispatched to open the scoring.
3’ 3-0 PENALTY ALDWINIANS (#12 Hughes)
Eccles responded, forcing an error and earning a scrum inside Aldwinians’ territory. With Wright orchestrating the pods, a strong carry from Spooner resulted in a penalty to Eccles. The line out in the corner was caught by Coop and Longford took his opportunity from the maul to drive to the goal line but possession was turned over and Aldwinians cleared upfield with a big boot. Wilkinson, at Fullback, gathered the ball but unfortunately sliced his clearing kick into touch inside Eccles territory. From here Aldwinians cut through the middle with footwork and speed leading to a score between the sticks for their influential centre.
10’ 10-0 TRY ALDWINIANS. CONV (#12 Hughes)
Following the restart another breakdown penalty was awarded against Eccles, giving Aldwinians the opportunity to clear to the halfway line and from here, kick again to the back field where Parkinson successfully dealt with the initial threat but was soon swarmed and, intercepting the pass, Aldwinians moved the ball out to the edge for the winger to sweep in and dot down close to the posts.
15’ 17-0 TRY ALDWINIANS (#11 Dempsey) CONV (#12 Hughes)
Eccles responded, earning a penalty which Tim Cullen kicked to the halfway line, where a quick ball off the top of the line allowed Wright to fire a pass infield to Vidal who burst clean through the line in the middle at full steam and carried the ball to the 22 before offloading to Luke Cullen, alongside in support, who sped away to score between the uprights; converted by Will Parkinson.
17’ 17-7 TRY ECCLES (#12 L Cullen) CONV (#11 Parkinson)
The next 10 minutes featured more penalties and scrums for both teams, with little progress being made in either direction until Eccles missed a tackle out wide and Aldwinians attacked down the wing concluding with a scrum for Eccles in front of the posts and then a scrum for Aldwinians inside the 22. The referee was unhappy with the outcome and another scrum was awarded, followed by penalty to Aldwinians which was slotted home to extend the lead.
30’ 20-7 PENALTY ALDWINIANS (#12 Hughes)
Eccles had spent most of the first 30 minutes defending and attempted to rectify this situation winning a line out inside Aldwinians territory and setting up a driving maul which was penalised by the match official. More penalties followed, with a drive from Longford and a break from Ackers-Johnson offering some respite from the stoppages before another breakdown penalty saw the ball cleared upfield by Aldwinians. A high tackle by Coop saw Eccles reduced to 14 men as the disgruntled game groaned its way to the interval and a penalty in front of the posts delivered a comfortable advantage for the home team at the break.
39’ YELLOW CARD ECCLES (#4 Coop)
40’ 23-7 PENALTY ALDWINIANS (#12 Hughes).
HT 23-7
Eccles had seen very little of the ball in a scrappy first half contest and the small amount of possession they had enjoyed had been lost, with regular penalties disrupting the flow of the game. Hot and bothered and chasing the game, Eccles were eager to make an impact at the start of the second half but were penalised at the first scrum and walked back for dissent. Aldwinians cleared the ball deep into Eccles territory and at 46 minutes, Tim Cullen suffered a concussion in an attempted midfield tackle on the Aldwinians centre. With no replacement backs on the bench, back row Nick Spooner moved to scrum half for the remainder of the game and Eccles reorganised their team with Connor and Manzanares coming on.
Not much was going right for Eccles, and yet, in the face of this adversity they began to find a pace and rhythm in their play with Spooner delivering text book passing from the rucks and Longford making good yards from his drives. Consecutive midfield scrums for Eccles set the platform for attack and a surgical pass from Wright put Ackers-Johnson clean through the middle at speed to score under sticks. Converted by Parkinson.
50’ 23-14 TRY ECCLES (#13 Ackers-Johnson) CONV (#11 Parkinson).
Lifted by this success, Eccles were now playing with greater speed, confidence and belief. In an attempt to move play out of their territory Aldwinians booted up field but Wilkinson was equal to the threat, carrying the ball back to the halfway line, where a penalty to Eccles was quickly taken and Ackers-Johnson and Russell combined to move play into the 22, where a clean pass from Cox set up the finish for the veteran fullback to burst though and show he still had the skills score fine try in the corner; conversion missed.
56’ 23-19 TRY ECCLES (#15 Wilkinson).
The hosts briefly regained composure with another breakdown penalty giving them the opportunity to extend their lead. However, the momentum of the game was swinging in favour of Eccles and with 20 minutes remaining, a fightback looked a possibility as consecutive catch and drive mauls resulted in a card for Aldwinians, a 5m scrum for Eccles and ultimately a close range drive from the captain to score a fourth try, reducing the deficit to 2 points.
65’ 26-19 PENALTY ALDWINAINS (#12 Hughes)
69’ YELLOW CARD ALDWINIANS (#6)
72’ 26-24 TRY ECCLES (#2 Cox)
The opportunity to draw level with the conversion from out wide was missed. Both sets of supporters were now checking their watches. Eight minutes to play. However, despite Eccles’ best efforts (and a timely text from Chris Fortune during the wedding speeches to ask how his team mates were doing and ensure his inclusion in this match report) it was the hosts who went on to secure the crucial points, kicking deep to the back field to create chaos in front of the goal line, resulting in a card for Parkinson and ultimately a try in the corner for the Aldwinians centre, who converted his score.
76’ YELLOW CARD ECCLES (#14 W Parkinson).
77’ 33-24 TRY ALDWINIANS (#12 Hughes) CONV (#12 Hughes).
Eccles were unable to recover from this set back. In the final minutes, they strayed offside at the restart and lost possession of the ball in a scrum, leading to a break for the Aldwinians’ #12 who capped off his man of the match performance, cutting through the open field to score, bringing the game, and the season, to a conclusion.
80’ 40-24 TRY ALDWINIANS (#12 Hughes) CONV (#12 Hughes).
FT 40-24
Eccles team: Follin, Cox (C), Burdon, Coop, Pears, Vidal, Spooner, Longford. T Cullen, Wright. Parkinson, Luke Cullen, Ackers-Johnson, Russell, Wilkinson. Replacements: Cunningham, Manzanares, Connor.
Persistence, endurance and commitment define success. Aldwinians battled to the very end and in the final reckoning, on the last day of the season, this result moved them from 5th to 3rd in the Counties 1 table, with the bonus point confirming a 4th place finish for Eccles.
Eccles began the season in great form with five wins from the first five games, however, player availability played its part in the run-in with two wins from the last five games when Eccles needed but were unable to field its strongest team. Without doubt, the back to back defeats to Wilmslow and Warrington in December and April dealt a blow to Eccles ambitions, but were perhaps not as costly to the final outcome as the four other defeats. One thing that is certain is that the 40 players who pulled on an Eccles 1XV shirt this season can take pride in the fact that they did their best with what they had, and no one can expect or ask for more.
