Trafford MV’s Tough Season Ends with Heavy Loss to Eccles

Match report by Wilf Dooley

Trafford MV’s season in Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire League was finally resolved last weekend as the team suffered a telling defeat at the hands of a useful Eccles side.

The writing was on the wall from early doors as the home side collected a couple of early scores then it was backs to the wall for the duration of the game. Trafford were hit by player non availability once again and the weaknesses seen in the team all season were exploited by Eccles who fully deserved their 90 – 12 win at the end of the day.

Eccles played with intensity both in attack and defence and took the opportunity to move the ball wide and attack from all positions on a good day for open running rugby. Their defence was fairly solid and limited Trafford to a few attacks and the home try line came close on occasions.

Trafford showed glimpses of what they can do in attack and picked up a couple of consolation tries through winger Laurence Ryan and stand off Aaron Booth but this was little compared to the 14 tries run in by the home team.

The win moves Eccles up to 4th place level on points with Didsbury Toc H while Trafford have drifted further away at the bottom and are now too far away from safety. Wigan, Liverpool S Helens and Aspull still have a game on their hands this weekend with just 2 points between the teams.

Trafford now have just one game left against Liverpool St Helens, so they could still have their input in the relegation battle, if they can get the upset win among the teams just above them. The game will be a home this Saturday with a 3.00pm ko for local rugby supporters.

It will then be time to go away and readdress the season on both the coaching and playing front and begin to strengthen the team for next seasons confrontations in the Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire League with a focus on consolidation, player development and boosting player moral after what has been a very tough season, especially for the younger players in the TMV team that have stepped up into senior rugby,

Photo – Abdul Mirza taking the contact at Eccles

Image: Ian Rogers