Trafford MV in confident mood despite narrow loss at Heaton Moor

By Wilf Dooley

In bright but breezy conditions Trafford MV made their way to Heaton Moor to take on the league leaders, who had based their position on a sound defence having conceded only 10 points over the opening 2 games.

Trafford MV are a team in transition and several positions still need to be nailed down by those players that want them.

The game opened with good early battles from both sides and it was the home side that started off the scoring as they pressed in the right hand corner and drove over from a maul out wide after 5min, the conversion missed 5-0.

There was little between the teams and Trafford took the play to the home side and it was Kieran Edgar that hit back for MV with a good driving run that saw him crash over with 10 min gone.

The strong breeze was difficult to handle and the conversion was missed by Aaron Booth 5-5. A good contest ensued and both teams were showing their intent and 20 23 min it was MV that scored next when second row Andrew Clegg broke through tackles to score near the uprights, Booth converted for MV to lead 5-12.

Both sets of supporters were enjoying the conest playing out in front of them as both sides strived to be dominant.

Heaton Moor came  back into the game as MV slipped off two tackles to allow an easy unconverted try on 31 mins 10-12. This was immediately added to before MV had time to recover as Moor attacked down the right wing to outflank the covering defence and score to go 15-12 ahead on 32mins.

With the half time break nearing MV newcomer Mica Dyos drove through the heart of the home defence in the defending ’22 zone and touched down, Booth again converted for MV to take a 15-19 lead into the half time break.

Trafford took their momentum into the second period and on 52 mins they extended their lead as centre Zack Fisher broke down the left to get the touch down, Booth went wide with the conversion in the tricky wind for MV to lead 15-24.

The home side kept plugging away trying to get the ball out wide where their threat lay with pace on the wings. Their perseverance paid off as on 63 mins they came within grasping distance at 22-24 with a try and conversion.

MV were hit with injuries to Joe Best and Jack Gobbett plus a yellow card for Sam Sherret, discipline being an area MV have to tighten up on. Heaton Moor struck the killer blow on 72 mins as they attacked with pace down the right flank and once again poor tackling allowed the winger to race away and touch down.

The try was converted for a 29-24 lead and as much as MV tried in the dying minutes they could not get the breakthrough needed to regain the lead.

Heaton Moor, despite winning, slipped off top spot with Fleetwood taking their place. Heaton Moor are now second with Eccles third placed. MV now look ahead to old rivals De La Salle the visitors to MacPherson Park this coming weekend. Only a point separates the two sides with MV looking to leapfrog their opponents.

Trafford MV host the South Of The River Beer Festival on 7/8th October – tickets are now available from the Clubhouse or find our online ticket facility on Social Media.