Sun 8 Dec 2019, 11:00
Eccles U14s travelled to Liverpool for the first game this decade and delivered an all-round dominant display from start to finish.
Eccles had all the early pressure and it wasn’t long before this pressure turned to points with an excellent try from Matty, Eccles turned the ball over from a Liverpool line out following great pressure from the Eccles forwards and when the ball moved to Lucas he quickly got into his stride and some good drives by the pack allowed Joe to deliver the ball to Sam who found room in a packed midfield before timing his pass to perfection before finding Matty in support who dived over to the side of the posts – the conversion was a formality for Jack
James proved to be a handful at the line outs and Eccles turned over another one when James bundled his opposite number into touch , this was quickly followed by a penalty to Eccles for coming in at the side and when Jack took a quick tap another score looked on the cards with more great support from Matty but a knock on at the ruck gave possession back to the home side.
Liverpool decided the only was they could get out of their own 20 metre line was by kicking but on this occasion Sam returned it with interest, side stepping a couple of defenders before feeding Johnny out wide for him to touch down – Jack pulled his kick slightly to the left of the posts
The final try of the half came as the referee gave a penalty for a deliberate knock on , quick thinking by Jack in taking a quick tap and made good yards before off-loading to Sam who was always in support, Sam then moved the ball to Jack Cos and again Matty was there to add the final touches and dive over - Jack slotted the kick over to make the score Liverpool 0 – 19 Eccles at half time
The second half started in a similar vein with Liverpool concentrating on clearing their lines by kicking and Eccles catching and returning the ball each time ,firstly by Johnny who made good yards but more penalties against the away side made the game a little stop start – the highlight of the early exchanges was a magnificent one handed take by the pitch side reporter which was akin to a grizzly bear catching a salmon
The pattern was set with Eccles piling forward at every opportunity but we fell foul of the referee on a few occasions as pressure mounted when further scores looked likely although the next try came from a Liverpool penalty as the home side decided to run the penalty but lost the ball in contact which left Sam to spot a gap in the defence and kick through and although the home defence scrambled , the pressure by Eccles meant a poor kick was snapped up by Jack who crossed for the 4th try under the posts giving himself the easiest of kicks
Jack Cos took the re-start kick and set up a maul which pushed Eccles over the half way line but another penalty stopped the momentum but only temporarily as Sam was just held up short after a flowing move from right to left which Liverpool again kicked clear , this kick was again caught on the full and some strong running infield meant James could collect the ball 5 yards out to bag himself a well deserved try - Jack again obliged with the extras
Eccles had to withstand some pressure late on but good goal line defence and Ewan diving on a loose ball kept Liverpool scoreless and Fletcher made good yards downfield which set up the final score. The ball was moved from a line out we turned over and Johhny broke through but was pulled back yards short but Joe was on hand to dive over allowing Jack a simple kick to complete the scoring.
An all round emphatic display which kept the home side scoreless and could have been more if Eccles had the bounce of the ball.
