Sat 7 Jan 2023, 14:15
02’ 0-3 Penalty Tyldesley
12’ 0-6 Penalty Tyldesley
24’ 0-11 Try Tyldesley
33’ 7-11 Try Eccles ( Javi Mazanares ) converted (Alex Speakman)
40’ 14-11 Try Eccles (Tom Coe) converted (Alex Speakman)
HT 14-11
42’ 21-11 Try Eccles (Tom Coe) converted (Alex Speakman)
50’ 21-18 Penalty Try Tyldesley
62’ 24-18 Penalty Eccles (Alex Speakman)
65’ 24-21 Penalty Tyldesley
FT 24-21
A combination of frozen pitches in December and the Christmas schedule meant the Eccles 1XV had not played for over a month when they faced Tyldesley on Saturday, and this adjournment of rugby showed in the early phases of the game which featured sluggish, disjointed play on a saturated pitch.
The visitors kicked off and achieved a scrum immediately just outside the Eccles 22 for a knock on, which ultimately resulted in another penalty in the middle of the field which was dispatched through the sticks to put the visitors 3 points ahead with 2 minutes played. Following the restart, Eccles enjoyed good possession and territory for 10 minutes but were wasteful with their attacking opportunities. Handling and footing errors were costly and when play returned to the Eccles half a needless penalty at a centre field ruck gifted Tyldesley an opportunity to further extend their lead on 12 minutes with a well struck 40m kick on goal. 0-6.
Once again, Eccles made a good restart and put themselves into promising positions inside the opposition 22 but continued to squander their possession. Excellent kicking from the Tyldesley Fly Half regularly punished the carelessness and released the building pressure for the visitors. Following a deep kick into the Eccles 22, the ball was allowed to bounce and the visitors capitalised on the chaos, pouncing on the loose ball in the in-goal to score a try, somewhat against the run of play, on 24 minutes. 0-11.
A few words behind the posts appeared to galvanise Eccles into addressing the deficit and they went on to dominate play for the next 20 minutes to secure the points that would ultimately determine the outcome of the match. A series of penalties were awarded to Eccles leading to line outs, which were often miss thrown loosing possession, but determined defence kept the ball inside the Tyldesley territory and complaints saw the visitors marched back by the match official. With just over 30 minutes played another penalty was kicked to the right corner by Alex Speakman and the resulting line out was well executed by the forwards pack, with the catch and drive resulting in a try for Javi Mazanares amongst a pile of bodies. 33’ 7-11.
Eccles now had attacking momentum. Repeated penalties 10m out from the Tyldesley line lead to a yellow card for the visitors. Eccles persevered with forward work in the left corner and a sequence of line outs eventually paid off as Captain Coey charged through a gap in the Tyldesley defence to score a second try, superbly converted by Alex Speakman, to put Eccles ahead at the break. HT 14-11.
Eccles kicked off to commence the second half and quickly regained possession through the footwork of openside Reece Walker who collected possession of the loose ball. The point of attack advanced towards the try line on the left flank and then shifted quickly through accurate passing from Long and Speakman to Gavin Ackers Johnson who weaved through two tackles before his progress was halted. George Tyson picked up the ball at the ruck and charged in from the right wing towards the posts. The Tyldesley defender tipped Tyson beyond the horizontal in the tackle 10m from the line and the resulting penalty was kicked again to the right corner by Speakman. The line out catch and drive was well marshalled and lead to a third Eccles Try scored by Tom Coe. Converted. 42’ 21-11.
With Eccles opening up a 10-point lead, fresh replacements entered the field at this point (Cox for Coe, Wright for Candland, Mulligan for Thornton), however handling and line out errors continued to thwart attacking opportunities and following the loss of possession Tyldesley launched a counter attack which ultimately resulted in a 2v1 overlap on the left and a penalty try awarded in the corner with George Tyson given a yellow card for a high tackle on the scorer. 50’ 21-18.
Eccles however, coped with the numerical disadvantage and on 62’ Speakman slotted home a fine penalty kick, from 40m just inside the Tyldesley half (24-18). Just minutes later Eccles gifted an unnecessary penalty to the visitors on the edge of the 22 for a straight forward kick on goal to return the contest to a 3-point game. 24-21.
Eccles were labouring and spending too much time in their own half for the taste of the home supporters and the anxiety increased when on 71’ a miss thrown line out in Tyldesley territory gave away possession and in attempting to win back the ball a penalty for offside provided a golden opportunity for the visitors to score but Eccles were able to regain possession and for the last 10 minutes they demonstrated composed decision-making and good game management to take play up field, to claim the win in an enjoyable contest, which remained close and competitive until the final whistle. FT 24-21.
As a consequence of Heaton Moor loosing at Oldham, Eccles take the top spot in Counties 2.
