Sedgley Park 4th VX 0 – Glossop 3rd XV 27
Saturday 8th March 2008
This week it was Sedgley Park’s turn to play host to the in form Glossop team. The last game Glossop played in the league was the decimation of Eccles away from home and with Sedgley Park being so low in the league the 3rd XV hoped for another high scoring game to improve their points difference. I’m going to try and keep this match report as short as the game ended up being. Running out of the changing rooms at Sedgley Park you are welcomed by an impressive looking pitch. There’s a small stand for fans and a well kept even playing surface that was a joy to run about and warm up on… then we were taken to the pitch we were to play on. It was somewhere between a rugby pitch and a beach with the amount of sand covering almost the entire pitch. The weather managed to hold off as the players ran onto the pitch and the game got underway after a quick and necessary warm up. The first whistle to get the game started not only began the game but also appeared to open the heavens as the players were belted by rain and high winds. It was an annoyance but still playable and Glossop had some points to gain.
To be fair to Sedgley Park they are another side who really don’t look like they should be as far down the league as they are and certainly prove the point It’s not the size, it’s what you do with it that counts as they did seem an imposing team to look at but Glossop’s superior playing power and ability didn’t take too long to shine through. The first ten minutes of the game were fairly evenly tested and most of it was played in the middle of the park. It was a great flowing back move from touchline to touchline that ended in a well worked try for regular scorer Ben Thomasson on the wing that put the first points on the board. From that point Glossop’s heads lifted their heads and everyone rose to the occasion, the forwards commanding the centre of the park, their now trade mark rolling maul doing immense damage almost every time it was employed. After one of the Sedgley Park forwards went down injured, Glossop man Chris Bourke selflessly went over to play for the home side, which worked out well for him as he wouldn’t have had much playing time if he’d come on at half time for Glossop as it turned out. It didn’t take too long for the visitors to go over again and this time it came in the form of second row Rob Smith (me) from about fifteen yards out. Now I’ll take you through this slowly and carefully… only joking. From the base of a ruck scrum half Dave Alderdyce passed the ball out left and from a fly half position Smith side-stepped back inside passed his marker to go over for the try. Whiston playing at fly half made valiant attempts at conversions but in the swirling wind no one could be expected to make the kicks. Park retaliated fairly well putting some pressure on the Glossop try line but they just didn’t have the finishing touch and it was either Alan Barth playing at hooker stealing the ball well in the mauls or poor lineout ball that gave possession back to Glossop almost every time. After a couple of failed penalty attempts it just didn’t seem like Sedgley Park had it in them to break the Glossop defence and put points on the board. Glossop’s next try was another for winger Thomasson who really reacted swiftly to new boy Karl Hart playing at fullbacks well placed kick through. Thomasson ran passed the last Park defender sliding over the line taking the ball with him. The visitors managed one more try before half time and it came in a similar fashion this time from powerful centre Chris Snape showing that he also has a kicking game, chasing his own punt once again sliding over the line. Whiston battled the wind and this time won kicking the conversion. There weren’t too many phases of play after the try and the referee who was struggling to see from behind his glasses in the heavy rain blew for half time.
The pitch by this point was even more like a beach, only this time it had a shore line too. Sections of the playing surface had nearly two inches of standing water. You half expected to find crabs in the pools forming on the pitch and with Ben Thomasson on the park the chance of finding crabs more than doubled. J After maybe five minutes of play in gusts that made every lineout impossible to throw the ball in straight and the pitch becoming more and more unplayable Ian Marshall playing at his preferred position of number eight barged his way over to cap an impressive game with a well earned try. Whiston’s conversion attempt was good and unlucky to come back off the post nearly landing back on the kicking tee. After a consultation with the referee, Sedgley Park offered to call it a day as the conditions simply were unplayable and Glossop had done more than enough to secure the win so the end of the game was agreed.
A special thanks needs to be made to Jordan, Ian Marshall’s son who displayed great commitment to the Glossop side acting as ball and water boy (almost becoming a water buoy in the conditions) who despite the weather stuck at it and was on hand every time when either team needed water for injuries or a simply a drink.
Glossop face the hardest match of the season so far next week in the cup semi-final away at Macclesfield and if this performance considering the conditions is anything to go by they will be a hard team to stop.
Team Sheet
1.Swift (c) 2.Barth 3.Gatsby 4.Smith 5.Wilson 6.Marsden 7.Braughan 8.Marshall 9.Alderdyce 10.Whiston 11.Murphy 12.Parker 13.Snape 14.Thomasson 15.Hart
Subs: 16.Cassell 17.Bourke (played for opposition)