Sun 17 Nov 2019
REPORT
From kick-off Eccles showed that they were a force to be reckoned with, with Birkenhead dropping the ball under the defensive pressure from Eccles. The Ladies held good possession even from the force of the strong opposition forwards. When Birkenhead held the ball, building play up the field, the Eccles defence was strong and held them back. With the ball back in Eccles hands, a great break from Sarah and good hands out wide allowed Jess W to make ground down the wing and put pressure on the opposition backs. An opportunity for the opposition with a penalty was wasted with their kick to touch instead going to Eccles hands, releasing the Eccles backs again. In defence, there big hits from Jess, Sheena and Sarah, and in attack great footwork and hands from Leah and Georgia. From this a good period of play from teams ensued. A great defensive push from Eccles prevented Birkenhead scoring a try over the line, with a fantastic rip from LJ. From another bout of Birkenhead attack, the ball was lost forward, picked up by Eccles and found its way out the right wing to Jess W who ran ¾ length of the pitch to score the first try of the game. (no conv). Eccles were dynamic going forward with a variety of play and excellent hands from Leah and Sarah. Even several stoppages due to Birkenhead injuries couldn’t stop Eccles and from a scrum quick hands out to Rowanne and then Molly W resulted in the 2ndtry (Conv.). When Birkenhead held the ball, quick line speed from Siobhan, Molly W and Rowanne held the opposition back. Back in Eccles hands, a secured lineout ball made its way to Rowanne who sprinted 2/3 the length of the pitch to score Eccles’ 3rdtry (no conv.). With the ball in Birkenhead’s hands, a build in play from them allowed their big forwards to wear down the Eccles defence and find their way over the line for a try (No conv.).
HT: 17-5
The second half continued the solid Eccles performance, with a strong attack moving play up field and fantastic defence pushing the opposition attacking line backwards. With the Eccles line pushing Birkenhead back, a great turnover allowed strong running lines from Bonnie and Mollie Y to push Eccles forwards. Good tackling from Jess W, Sarah and Mollie Y and an absolutely smashing hit from Holly G, caused the Birkenhead play to become messy and allowed another turnover, setting up a fantastic line break from Siobhan. Eccles never seemed to lack energy, and even when a lineout was lost, the line speed was amazing, with big hits from Sheena and Rebecca R. An Eccles lineout allowed LJ to find space and allow Siobhan and Sarah to push forwards. A ball out to Sheena was offloaded to LJ who found her way over the line for another Eccles try (no conv.). Out of nowhere a fantastic intercept from Sheena opened up space and the ball was passed out to Mollie Y, who ran ½ the length of the pitch to score a try under the posts to end the game (Conv).
FT: 31-5
A fantastic performance from Eccles with a result that was timely and well deserved, with the hard work put in during training paying off.
Forward of the Match: Holly G
Back of the Match: Georgia
