Glossop…20 Ilkeston…11
Perfect conditions greeted the teams in this all Derbyshire affair and an intriguing game was in the offing. It was an eighty minutes dictated by a tale of contrasting set pieces. Glossop took early charge of the scrum and ever the unsung hero, prop-forward Dave Shirt, lead the tight five to devastating effect. It was from the early scrummage ball that Glossop gained the upper hand, forcing the Ilkeston back-row to deal unconvincingly with scrappy ball. The pressure eventually told and Glossop went for the points through the boot of Pickerell, taking the home side into a 3-0 lead.
Before Ilkeston could get a foothold in the game Glossop’s backline combined superbly to put Harrison over in the corner, with Pickerell, and Jon Murphy instinctively using great speed and awareness to pick holes in the scrambled defence. With Glossop leading impressively it was down to Ilkeston to pull themselves back, and that they did. It was the lineout which provided the attacking platform the away side so desperately needed. Ilkeston began to dominate in this area, breaking off the back of the line and producing quick clean ball to their vastly experienced fly-half. Although Glossop were now conceding ground the running lines of the opposition failed to break through as they were met with stout defending form the imposing figure of Dan Chenery at inside centre. Ilkeston managed to convert two penalties as Glossop mainly kept them at bay, the score 8-6. There was still time in the half for Glossop to score for a second time, from the solid base of the scrum an overlap developed on the wing and Jon Murphy touched down deservedly, 13-6.
The second half brought a prolonged onslaught from Ilkeston and their superiority in the lineout saw them force a mistake on the Glossop five metre line, the loose ball was collected and carried over for the try, 13-11. It was only for the heroics of Trinicks try saving tackle that Ilkeston did not add further to their tally. From the restart Glossop decided that playing the game in the Ilkeston half was the only way to hold on to their slender lead. As the game began to slip away the nerves were well and truly settled for the home support as the ever present Gareth Williams pounced to take the final try of the day, the conversion taking the final score, somewhat flatteringly for Glossop, to 20-11. Fortress Hargate Hill once again? Only time will tell.