South Lancs & Cheshire Division 1
Bowdon 15 Sale F.C. 14
We came up against unbeaten Bowdon at Clay Lane last Saturday and played the first half as though we were in awe of them! Again, poor handling was the major culprit as we had a number of chances but could not put points on the board.
Bowdon took the lead as early as the sixth minute with a converted try from a five metre scrum, and extended the gap to twelve points with seven minutes remaining in the half from a tap and go in the Sale “22” as their No. 8 barged over. Sale had had chances between these scores put too often we lost possession at critical moments.
Bowdon moved 15 points clear early in the 2nd half and it was not until the hour mark that we had points on the board. A solo break from Mike Raikes was unceremoniously ended with a high tackle, not the first of the afternoon, and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try which Raikes converted. Two minutes later a kick ahead found Tom Lucas winning the race to the touchdown and again Raikes added the extras to put us a point behind.
Despite our efforts, Bowdon held out in the last 15 minutes to keep their unbeaten record
intact, although had we played to our capabilities we could have won the game.
Neil Thallon