Trafford MV show fighting spirit despite losing against Didsbury

By Wilf Dooley

After a heavy shower just before kick-off, the weather brightened for a good afternoon of rugby in front of a large crowd at MacPherson Park.

Trafford MV (TMV) considered the game as ‘one that got away!’ It was always going to be a close game for the club, who were a little frustrated with the final result.

The game started pretty well, and TMV certainly had plenty of possession in both the first and second halves, but just couldn’t quite get into the red zone enough to convert pressure into points. Coaching could be seen to be paying off as the defense looked more solid than in recent weeks.

In fact, all three of Didsbury Toc H tries came from the home side’s mistakes. TMV’s defensive shape and tackling were very good, and not once did Toc H break through the middle.

On the other hand, the TMV attack was a little stunted against a decent Toc H defense and couldn’t work out how to get over the gain line on a regular basis. Trafford MV had a first-half try from Aaron Booth to their credit, while Toc H’s converted try had them in the lead at half time, 5-7.

In the second half, TMV managed a second try following good forward pressure for Laurence Ryan to go over in the right corner for Booth to convert. Toc H scored two tries, giving them the victory 12-17.

Dillon McDonald and Jacob Grant made their first-team debuts as products of the TMV youth system, with lots more to come from them. Player of the Match went to hooker James Halsall, another youth team graduate with accurate lineout throwing and plenty of work in loose play.

This coming Saturday, 20th, Trafford MV make the short journey to Broughton Park, who have also lost both their opening League games, whilst TMV have collected 2 losing bonus points. Park prop up the table with zero league points on their scorecard.

Photo – TMV’s Zak Gardner taking on the Toc H defense.