South Lancs & Cheshire Division 1
Glossop 7 Sale F.C. 17
Sale won a hard fought encounter on a cold and miserable day in the Derbyshire foothills with a combination of fine attacking play in the first half, and resolute defence in the second, as the Glossop strove to get back into the game.
Despite substantial surface water both sides, to their credit, were playing some good rugby in the opening period with us having the better of the territorial advantage, and on 15 minutes scrum half Tom Holloway scampered through the defence for our first try, converted by Mike Raikes. Raikes added a penalty four minutes later and on 23 minutes a fine break by Ciaran Cunningham created the impetus for Andrew Baston to finish off the move with a try under the posts and Raikes added the extras for a 17-0 lead.
Glossop came back strongly using their big pack to good effect but our defence was up to the task as we repelled the attacks and prevented them from scoring before the break, despite losing Alan Yates to the sin-bin.
The hosts opened the second half as they ended the first with pressure on our line but Raikes relieved the situation with a long clearance taking play deep into the Glossop half. The match turned into a keenly contested affair but conditions were not helping either side. Just past the hour a spell of home pressure ended with a converted try for Glossop to narrow the gap to ten points, before they lost their try-scorer with a dislocated knee just minutes later.
Despite the conditions Glossop continued to use their pack well but an excellent defensive performance kept out the hosts as they went down to only their second home defeat of the season.
Next Saturday, we entertain Vagabonds (IoM) at Heywood Road, with a 2.30 kick off.
Neil Thallon