Trafford MV Lose Against Littleborough 28-26

Desperate to pick up some much-needed league points Trafford MV received an early boost when Littleboroughs pitch was affected by heavy overnight rain and a venue change was made to bring the fixture to MV’s excellent playing surface at MacPherson Park.

The good fortune was short-lived however as Littleborough centre Ripley made a good break which resulted in a comfortable penalty kicked by Coop 0-3 after only 5 mins.

MV quickly got back into the game when good forward pressure earned a home penalty which Pat Eccles converted to level at 3-3.

Some good line out work and positional kicking saw the visiting left-wing Kearns chase down and collect a good kick to score the first try of the day, Coop converted 3-10 to  Littleborough after 15 mins.

MV was unlucky as Eccles hit the upright with a penalty attempt however continued pressure forced a second attempt which was this time successful for Pat Eccles 6-10.

The visitors continued to look dangerous and some good handling and support play saw the ball carried out of defence and eventually spun wide left for winger Kearns to collect his second try of the day, a missed conversion made it 6-15.

MV were getting parity in the set pieces and good line out ball brought pressure in the Littleborough ’22 for Eccles to narrow the gap with a penalty again before half time for a score of 9-15 at the break.

The second half-opened with Littleborough again kicking to winger Kearns and keeping good ball eventual forward pressure resulted in a mass of bodies driving over and Bairstow claiming the score for Boro’, Coop converted 9-22.

It seemed as if the visitors were gaining the upper hand but MV were determined and kept getting into enemy territory and creating threats.

Pat Eccles claimed his 4th penalty to make it 12-22 and then the game seemed to take a turn. MV had missed a couple of good opportunities in the first half and had been getting the wrong side of the referees decisions but suddenly there was a glimmer of hope.

A break down the right flank saw good interplay between Ed Brady and youngster Greg Warren who then slipped a pass to winger Chris Eccles who still had plenty to do before crossing the line under defensive pressure, brother Patrick converted 19-22. Game on !

Within minutes MV had struck again when good strong running through the centres again saw a gap open to the left of the posts, this time it was MV’s other young talent Henry Brownlow who dashed through the gap to dive behind the posts for MV to go ahead for the first time in the game, Pat Eccles converted to make it 26-22.

With time running out Littleborough threw everything at MV and despite the huge defensive efforts of Danny Burke and captain Andy Quigley for MV the visiting side forced 2 late penalties as MV’s defence strained.

The kicks by Coop turned MV’s lead over and resulted in a final score of 26-28. MV were gutted losing yet again to a very close margin – crucial points slipping through their grip yet again.

Trafford MV now have to face 7th placed Oldham at MacPherson Park on Saturday and really do need to pick points up to prevent a gap opening between the strugglers and the rest of the league.

MV’s performances are promising, with MV collecting as many bonus points as leaders Carlisle although MV’s are the result of narrow defeats ! However onwards and upwards MV must go and the hard work will be done on the training paddock to turn results around. Kick Off on Saturday is 2.15pm – spectators welcome.

(commentary by Wilf Dooley)

(Photo – Henry Brownlow scoring for MV)