Mayfield Mustangs 8 Crosfields Cobras 28
After what had seemed a lifetime the Cobras were finally back in action after the Winter break. Crosfields faced the long trip to Rochdale to reopen their campaign. Having driven in horrible wet conditions the team arrived to a cold yet dry morning on what was a surprisingly firm surface for rugby.
Crosfields won the toss and decided to kick off. The game got underway and you could see the Cobras had some energy to get rid of after the break. Good tackles from Ben Dixon and Josh Little drove the home side back. With the ball back in possession the visitors looked to move the ball with great strong running from Callum Southern and George Brailey only to come up short.
The Mustangs had the ball back and looked to gallop away but Kyle Brown and Alex Tinsley were having none of it and they stopped the threat with good defence. The game had gone into a little slump with a few handling errors coughing up possession for both teams. After more strong defence from Lloyd Halpin and Joe Hands a scrum was awarded. Callum Talbot fed the scrum and with a smart dummy fooled the home side and then raced away half the length of the field to score.
More defence was called for and Thomas Davis and James Kenny both put their shoulders in again to regain the ball. Good hands from the Cobras almost got Danny Robb in at the right corner but he was denined by the sliding defence. Another mistake regained the ball and Daniel James and Sam Martin took the challenge to make yards. Kicking early Callum Talbot saw the gap and the cross field kick was gathered in by Alex Tinsley to score a well worked try.
The game was a challenge now for the visitors would they switch off and allow the home team back in ? With this in mind great defence from Thomas Davis and George Brailey again won the ball. On the next set good runs from Danny Robb and Lloyd Halpin on the fifth got the field position and Josh Little put up a great bomb which fooled the home side but not Ben Dixon who carried on running to dive and score a great try.
With time running out in the first half the home side were not going to let their heads drop and on the last set good defence from Callum Southern and Sam Martin came up short. The Mustangs number 2 saw his opportunity and jinked his way around the line to score in the right hand corner.
HT4-18
The second half was a much better defencive display by both sides and obviously the cobwebs had been blown away. With the ball in hand the Cobras were running hard, good drives from James Kenny and coach’s award winner Callum Southern gained good advantage. Callum Talbot ran at the line from pivot and spotted the gap which allowed him chance to open up and score a good try and seal his man of the match performance.
On the next set the Mustangs were met by tackles from Ben Dixon, Kyle Brown and Thomas Davis who all looked like they were up for the battle, with Ben Dixon later collecting the top tackler award. As the game drew on the home side were looking more dangerous and the big number four took his chance from good field position and despite good attempts from Sam Martin and Danny Robb he went in to score a well deserved try.
The game was almost at an end but not before Daniel James and Joe Hands made good yards. Quick play the balls allowed Alex Tinsley to drive at the line and hit and spin releasing a ball for Lloyd ’DISCO’ Halpin to dance his way to the line beating almost the whole oppostion team and scoring on the right hand side.
The game showed what a good weeks training can do. All the TEAM trained really hard this week and with this sort of display the team will be successful more often than not.
FT8-28
Try’s – Callum Talbot (2), Alex Tinsley, Ben Dixon, Lloyd Halpin
Con’s – Callum Talbot, Alex Tinsley, Ben Dixon, Lloyd Halpin
MOM – Callum Talbot
Coach’s Award – Callum Southern
Top Tackler – Ben Dixon
Popularity: 2% [?]
