Elements and injuries hamper Trafford MV as they fall short against rivals Eccles

Written by Wilf Dooley

In difficult wet and windy conditions Trafford MV welcomed close rivals Eccles to MacPherson Park on 15 October.

An all too familiar scoreline saw Trafford 1st XV fall short against local rivals Eccles in this ADM Countries 2 League encounter.

Eccles scored a converted try as early as the 3rd minute which seemed to suggest that we were in for another roller-coaster of a ride. TMV’s vulnerability in defence again letting them down on the flank. The conversion gave the visitors an early 0-7 lead. 

Two minutes later the first of many penalties against Eccles was put into the corner by Louis Stubbs and the resulting line out and driving maul led to try converted by Stubbs to level the score at 7-7. In the 12th minute another penalty was put over by Stubbs to nudge MV ahead 10-7.

On the quarter hour a collapsed scrum gave cause for concern as hooker Craig Collier stayed down and was still down 12 minutes later as the physio was caring for him. We are awaiting scan results on this neck injury and wish him a speedy recovery.

This seemed to unsettle MV and a try from the right wing for Eccles gave them the lead again 10-14. Eccles poor discipline was keeping MV in the game and on 22 mins Louis Stubbs converted another penalty 13-14.

Conditions were difficult as intermittent rain made handling difficult and mistakes from both sides led to MV’s Kieran Edgar charging down an attempted clearance, and a kick on and chase saw him score in the corner on 25 mins 18-14.

But MV just could not take advantage of the forwards superiority and again Eccles took advantage on the flanks and scored a converted try on 33 min 18-21.

Danny Burke (MV’s Man of the match) finished off another forwards drive with a gutsy finish on 37′ followed by a Stubbs penalty on 39′ making the half time score 26-21, a roller-coaster of a game indeed.

However Trafford have been here before and a half time lead has become a bit of an Achilles heel. MV were missing the line-out accuracy of Collier’s lineout  throwing and the second half started the way the first had ended and points were conceded by both teams.

Another penalty scored by Stubbs on 41 min 29-21  and then another defensive slip let in Eccles for a converted try on 44′ 29-28. The effective Louis Stubbs then broke through the line on 50′ with a superb try, one of the games highlights 34-28.

The TMV forward pack were superb throughout the match and dominated possession with some great performances but yet another try was conceded by MV and the subsequent conversion on 68′ put Eccles one point ahead at 34-35.

The last 10 minutes of the game was nerve racking and the match could have gone either way. Another penalty conceded by Eccles converted by Stubbs seemed to have clinched it on 73′. A late yellow card for Vatikiotis late on was a cruel conclusion and with 6 minutes to go Eccles scored twice in two minutes at 78 and 79th minute leaving the final score at 37-45.

Trafford MV now move on and must work hard on their defence. An away game this weekend against a pacey Tyldesley could prove problematic for MV if a determined, defensive back line does not stand up. Selection is a problem as injury and poor availability is hampering the team.

The support of local rugby fans is called upon to support a local club battling to turn the corner in a closely fought league.