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Ormskirk 39 - 10 Littleborough

2/ 9/2008

A POOR performance by Littleborough only added to the misery on a gloomy afternoon in Ormskirk where the visitors crashed out of the Lancashire Plate Trophy at the first hurdle.

Three early tries for the home side, down the right-hand side, set the tone, and Littleborough failed to respond by juggling the ranks.

In fairness, several first-team regulars were absent due to work commitments, holidays, and injuries. That said, the replacements were all seasoned rugby players and train with the senior squad, so selection-wise there was no excuse even though some were operating out of their favoured positions.

From the kick off Boro were pinned back inside their own half, hurredly putting together a defensive wall marshalled by stand-in captain Paul Fino.

The wall was broken, however, when slick handling by the Ormskirk backs almost led to a try. That opportunity was passed up, but a penalty in front of the posts gave Ormskirk their first points.

Next came the traditional kicking for territory by Boro which served only in gifting the ball to the opposition who ran it back with good pace and handling, their right winger finishing off the move.

Soon after the visitors bought a dummy and in ran the Ormskirk number eight for a further seven points to round off a terrible period from which Boro barely recovered.

When Boro conceded another try the travelling supporters wondered what had hit them.

Mark Murgatroyd and Jason Clegg inspired something of a revival, and for a period Boro took the game to their hosts. However, a breakway by Ormskirk saw a length-of-the-field try undermine Boro’s efforts. Murgatroyd’s hard work was rewarded just before the break when he scored a try, though Boro were unable to convert the effort.

Necessary changes at the break saw Chris Collins on for the injured Robert Slavin. In a repeat of the first-half performance, the home team charged down an attempt to clear lines by Andy Walton and gathered the loose ball to score again.

At this point Robert Chadwick replaced the injured Sam Dickinson in the back row, but this was perhaps an opportunity missed to switch Brook Reader from out in the cold on the left wing to his usual position.

Changes by both sides allowed Boro back into the game, but not to the extent that they ever threatened to close the gap significantly. In fact, defence let Boro down again by weak tackling, and the hosts crossed yet again.

John Land then came into the centre and the talented Chris Park was at scrum-half for Boro.  Walton started to let the ball out and both Clegg and Land began making ground. Following this, Graham Shepherd went over for a good try.

Murgatroyd was man of the match for Boro, though Scott Ripley also caught the eye on the right wing.

Boro: M Murgatroyd, M Fletcher, A Bracegirdle, G Shepherd, R Savin, P Fino, D Lord, S Dickinson, S North, A Walton, B Reader, J Clegg, G Bailey, S Ripley, D Holbrook. Subs: C Kolbuck, C Collins, P Jones, R Chadwick, C Parks, J Land, A Stephens