A BAD DAY FOR BLACKBROOK A

Bamber Bridge played hosts to St Helens based Blackbrook A team in their 6th game of the season and winning 4 from the last 5 the Bamber Bridge lads were in form , however at the last meeting between the 2 sides the Blackbrook lads went to town on the Brig lads with a 50 odd points to 4 victory . Coaches Damian Duncan and Mark Clegg welcoming some new faces into the side and some returning players also available but without regulars , Jackson , Swarbrick and Cadwallader due to personal commitments and injuries . Game underway in good conditions on Withy Park @ 2.30 pm and the hosts were slow off the mark as the visitors gathered momentum and the possession was definitely in favour of the Blackbrook side , they converted their lion’s share of the ball into points on the 8 minute mark and also added the extras as the Brig lads were slow to wake up ,. The next 10 minutes or so filled with silly errors and spilled ball and poor tackling was evident from both sides . After a few half breaks from the Bamber Bridge lads opened up the Blackbrook defence but no one able to convert this into points on the board and to add to the frustration Bamber Bridge went further behind when their visitors scored another try on 20 minutes to extend their lead .Quarter of the game gone and it was 12 points to Nil for the St Helens based lads .This seemed to be the wakeup call the Brig needed and they moved up a gear and started playing to the game plan , not long to wait as Captain Danny Bateson with a barging run caught short of the line , halfback Sean Hall on hand to pick up the play from acting dummy half , dropped his shoulder and stepped the Blackbrook defenders to ground near the sticks to make the extra 2 points a formality for Player Coach Damian Duncan . Too much celebration too early though as Blackbrook hit back on the very next set with a runaway try after Bamber Bridge coughed up early possession the their rivals and approaching half time the visitors pushed their noses further ahead with a try that should have been disallowed for an outrageous forward pass un spotted by the official , Bamber Bridge now trailing by 14 points with 5 minutes to the break . Some great work from the hosts in midfield as the forward ploughed the way through the Blackbrook pack and mark irving , paul cookson ,and Big Ben young were all making the defenders work for their money today , good rotation of the forwards from the touchline by Mark Clegg ensured that the Props got a breather as the second half would be a tough one . After some good support play throughout the first half it was Anton Garcia who was rewarded with a try provided by Duncan to put him through and over the line , Duncan improving the try and at Halftime the score board looked a little more respectable at Bamber Bridge 12 Blackbrook A 24 . . Second half underway and bad news for Bamber Bridge player Callum Brown who was on his way to hospital only to find out that he had picked up a fractured scapula in a tackle , this was a blow for the home side as Browns work rate was always a 120 % and some reshuffling of available players had to be done to provide cover . 5 Minutes into the second half and it was a dream start for the home side as winger Aaron Marshall went over the line in traffic and Duncan added 2 to make the gap just one converted try .The visitors could sense that Bamber Bridge were on the front foot and some indiscipline began to creep into the game as Blackbrook number 11 constantly baiting the Brig lads , to their credit they kept to their game plan and didn’t get drawn into any niggling tackles and lying on etc . The referee having plenty to do as the visitors gave away easy ball to their hosts and after a swinging arm nearly took the head off a Bamber Bridge player it was a free for all as players came running in and fists were flying in a flurry of punching , the ref close to abandoning the game but decided to play on after warning the players that the very next puncher would be off , Blackbrook duly obliged and were down to 11 men as the Number 11 was sin binned previous to the brawl and then the referee red carded the Blackbrook centre for throwing a punch straight after the re start . A Bamber Bridge penalty and Sean Hall again from acting dummy half kept low and drove through the defenders , looking like he was pulled up short but then an arm carrying a ball shot out from the tackle and grounded right on the whitewash in front of the official , Sean Halls second of the day , unfortunately Duncan unable to add the 2 points to get on level terms and the clock ticking slowly down . Bamber Bridge 22 Blackbrook 24 with 15 minutes remaining . Once again though the St Helens were very quick to answer as they posted a further 6 points to make the gap 8 points meaning Bamber Bridge had to score twice in the final period of the game . Taking the lads up from the front Duncan got to within striking distance thanks to a penalty to the home side after the visitors were constantly barracking the referee , Duncan with a Dummy then using his power pushed for the line to narrow the gap to 4 points with 4 minutes to go unable to add to his try with the extra 2 but this would now be a great victory if the home side could keep up the pressure on the Blackbrook side who were beginning to run out of steam . The visitors could sense an upset and the hosts were hunting , a great drive from mark irving who aide valuable yards up field , out to Duncan who made more yards and then the call for the play to head towards the sticks and Sean Hall on hand to grab his hat trick and the winning try for Bamber Bridge under the sticks , Duncan with the extra 2 and the scoreboard showed Bamber Bridge 32 Blackbrook A 30 as the 100 or so people watching cheered a very good result from a very determined squad . A very hard fought 2 points for the hosts as Blackbrook A would have probably had a few first teamers in for a run out as they had no fixture till the Sunday , some indiscipline from the visitors may have cost them the game but taking nothing away from a great team effort from the local lads who never stopped believing they could snatch to victory from the jaws of defeat . Man of the match was Sean Hall a well deserved hat trick and some fantastic footwork m closely followed by Damian Duncan and Anton Garcia , Michael Smith would have made the top 3 but an ankle injury forced him to the touchline . A great effort from the team and some extra ammunition thanks to mark irving and paul cookson up front , the off pitch training from Duncan and Clegg was obviously having an impact on game days and Bamber bridge would play hosts to Cadishead Rhinos next Saturday to attempt to further improve their lot .
Team
Player Coach Damian Duncan , Asst Coach Mark Clegg , Capt Danny Bateson , Callum Brown , Michael Smith , Aaron Marshall , Lee Dolan , Anton Garcia , Sean Hall , mark irving , Ben Young , paul cookson , Matt Mayor , Brandon Dixon ,Ben Whewell , Alex Parkinson , Luke Jackson , Jonathon Clayton .