Sat 11 Mar 2023, 15:00
01' 0-3 | penalty Orrell
09' 7-3 | TRY ECCLES ( Tim Balogun) converted
17' 12-3 | TRY ECCLES ( Fin Cox )
20' 17-3 | TRY ECCLES ( Will Parkinson )
22' 22-3 | TRY ECCLES ( Tim Balogun )
30‘ 27-3 | TRY ECCLES ( Will Parkinson)
34' 34-3 | TRY ECCLES ( George Tyson )
HT 34-3
64’ 39-3 | TRY ECCLES (James Wright)
70’ 39-10 | TRY ORRELL, converted.
79' 39-17 | TRY ORRELL, converted.
FT 39-17
With Eccles challenging for promotion and Orrell fighting to avoid relegation, the outcome of the fixture was vitally important to both teams. The cold, wet conditions did not dampen the spirit of the visitors who started brightly from the kick off and put the first points on the board with a penalty kick before many of the former players at the reunion lunch had chance to button thier coats and take up positions on the balcony.
Eccles took some time to find their feet in the game, creating but squandering good attacking opportunites with careless handling and forced play. The breakthrough was finally initiated by a thumping solid tackle from centre George Tyson on the halfway line, the resulting penalty allowed to Eccles to move the ball quickly accross to the right wing where Tim Balogun was able to outpace the defence and scoot in toward the posts to score and put the home team ahead with about 10 minutes played.
Eccles were looking to play quickly from the restart. Sustained pressure and persistance inside the Orrell 22 lead to a well worked 2nd try, scored in the left corner by the former colt Front Row Fin Cox, who went on to make good contributions around the pitch. Having secured a 9-point cushion Eccles were now playing with more composure after a frenetic start and settled into a good rhythm of forward's strikes and back's expansive passing. Eccles took control of the game with a 5 minute passage of play where they scored two more tries, the first from Winger Balogun in the right corner and the second from Fullback Will Parkinson scored in the left corner following an excellent line break from Tyson.
With Eccles dominating possession and territory, the game was fixed inside the Orrell 22. A try attempt on the left was judged to be held up, but Eccles regained the ball and moved play over to the other coast, with Parkinson finishing the move with a try in the right corner. With 30 minutes on the clock Eccles are 27-3 ahead and there is enough time before the interval for George Tyson to cap off a powerful first half performance with a maurading, swerving run for a fine try to take the score to 34-3 at the break. With 6 tries in one half, there were certainly many aspects of Eccles play to be pleased with but conversation kicking was not one of them.
The second period was an entirely different affair. Whether it was Eccles complacency or renewed Orrell grit that was responsible for a reversal in fortunes is hard to say, but the visitors certainly enjoyed the better of it. Eccles continued to completely dominate the scrums but there were few other highlights to recount, apart from a try on 64 minutes scored by James Wright, operating at scrum-half following an injury to Sam Long. After 15 minutes of careless handling some decent passing released Tim Balogun for a scorching break up the right wing to give the supporters something to cheer. The winger was tackled just 5m short of the goal line but popped the ball up to the supporting Wirght to score. 39-3.
Aside from this, Eccles lost thier fluidity in the second half, the game became messy and there were a lot of stoppages, mostly for knock ons. Orrell, despite loosing a man to a yellow card and loosing a second player to a Red Card, improved their defensive resilence and went on to score two tries in the last 10 minutes of the match, both converted, the second being the last play, to record a scoreline that better reflected their effort and tenacity.
We wish Orrell the very best of luck with the remainder of their season. Next game for Eccles is De La Salle at home, 3pm KO. As things stand Eccles and Heaton Moor remain level on 80 points at the top of the Counties 2 Lancs & Cheshire Divsion.
