Glossop 3rd XV - 29 New Brighton 3rd XV – 0
Saturday 26th January 2008
Glossop were confident going into the quarter final match against the travelling New Brighton side. Glossop remain unbeaten since the ill fated Oldham game early in the season and have had a magnificent cup run to date also. They once again showed they were serious contenders to win the cup with a hefty victory over the 5th division west team. New Brighton are struggling a little in their league currently, lying in 9th position but they displayed their intent on continuing an impressive cup run in a hard fought match.
Glossop of late have struggled to get to grips in the opening fifteen/twenty minutes of almost all the games played lately and once again they didn’t quite seem to warm up until about this period this week either. Of course that may be a little harsh on the team as it could be seen that the team are breaking down the opposition during this period as most of Glossop’s opening tries are scored at a similar point in the game and the pressure is released slightly after the first score. The 3rd team pack this season has been prolific in almost every game and the rolling maul has caused many upsets for the Glossop opposition however New Brighton did manage to contain the drives fairly well for most of the first half. It could have been seen as a little unlucky for the visitors when the first points were put on the board as it was some excellent defence against the rolling maul that held the ball up just short of the line forcing it to be played to young Will Reddington who had only just come on to replace Ben Thomasson who had lost a contact lens. Reddington had positioned himself just right of the maul and when the ball was popped out to him he found the gap in the defence to dive over for the try from about five metres out. Reddington has only recently transferred over to Glossop 3rd team from the colts and made his presence felt on the pitch from the moment he entered it showing dynamic pace and strong tackling for someone so young. He followed up his first try with two more in the second half, again his blistering pace too much for the visitors to handle completing a fantastic hat trick. Reddington was given man of the match deservedly for his three tries however it could have easily been given to scrum half Dave Alderdyce who was a real factor in the Glossop victory. His knowledge of the scrum half position and of the game in general is unprecedented within the side and his darting breaks and continuous tackling and support at the break down was just too much for New Brighton. They simply couldn’t handle him and he was rewarded for his efforts with a deserved try of his own. New Brighton certainly didn’t give up, especially in the first half and Glossop went into the break only two tries up from Reddington’s efforts. Where New Brighton were doing well was in the pack which forced Glossop to change their usual game plan and ship the ball out to the backs as often as possible. Glossop’s continuation for the Halbro Plate was confirmed with some incredibly strong play in the second half in the forwards by Henry who replaced the injured Rob Smith at second row and in the backs from Alderdyce at scrum half, Jim Parker in the centre and Reddington on the wing that were really causing damage. Chris Snape added to his mounting tally of tries this season towards the end of the half and put in some massive tackles that really shook the opposition. Glossop were the better team on the day and deserved the win however New Brighton did make a game of it and they seemed to enjoy the game despite losing which was great considering the distance of the journey. Glossop’s defence was once again strong and keep the best defensive record in the cup only conceding fourteen points to date and also they are one of the few teams that have played in every round so far. One other mention for New Brighton is that they did manage to completely out drink the Glossop players after the game with Reddington (who has an excuse of being so young) and Whiston (who is old enough to know better) losing terribly in a downing competition.
Glossop are to face Macclesfield 4th XV in the semi finals in March and this will be a massive test as Macclesfield are currently dominating their league only having conceded fifty eight points in fourteen games. The only saving grace for Glossop with this in mind is that Macclesfield have conceded nearly as many in their cup run which has seen them beat the likes of Ormskirk, Flyde and Old Bedians. Glossop so far have beaten Carnforth, St Mary’s Old Boys and Heaton Moor. Macclesfield may have the home advantage but Glossop certainly won’t be travelling without a fight.