The blacks hopes for avoiding relegation took another blow

The blacks hopes for avoiding relegation took another blow as Rossendale showed Northwich the gulf between the top and bottom of this division. The day started well for Northwich as they held a Vice Presidents event for all past players who had played during the Mid-Cheshire College era. The event was a huge success with over 100 past members enjoying the opportunity to regale past heroics both on and off the field. There were only minor adjustments made to the team that ran out against Sandbach 2 weeks earlier so hopes were high that the blacks could produce a stoic performance against such illustrious opposition.

A converted try for the visitors inside the first 10 minutes looked ominous for the home side. A Rossendale lineout created the platform for the visitors to move the ball to the mid-field where they broke the defensive line with relative ease. The Northwich response was positive as they went on the attack retaining the ball for long periods of time. With 20 minutes gone and against the run of play Rossendale intercepted a loose pass and went almost the full length of the pitch to score under the posts for a simple conversion. Northwich continued to pressure Rossendale and were rewarded on the 30th minute when from a lineout the Fire & Heat Man of the Match Rory Leijdekkers drove over the line for Harry Naylor to convert. The match became a bit of a stalemate until the clock moved into stoppage time and a Rossendale lineout was awarded. As a maul was created the blacks stepped back hoping for an obstruction. However, no obstruction came about, and an easy unconverted try was scored bringing the half to a close.

Despite the 12-point deficit the faithful had seen enough to give them hope of some reward. This optimism was unplaced as the extremely well drilled Rossendale team picked up the pace and started to turn the screw. The black’s energy levels seemed to dip, and Rossendale scored 7 unanswered tries all of which were converted. It could not be argued that Rossendale were the better side but three of the scores were gifts that provided a flattering look to the scoreline. The remaining 2 matches against fellow strugglers Leek and highfliers Blackburn are now even more crucial to survival in this division.

Although there was significant disappointment in this result there was still a lot to be applauded. There is a resilience in the side which will stand them in good stead going forward.

Final score Northwich 7 Rossendale 68
Next Week Northwich travel to Rossendale KO 3.00pm.
Northwich Team
15 Taylor Haugh
14 Tom Husbands
13 Jack Owens
12 Logan Mitchell
11 Austin Fernandez
10 Liam Batt
9 Harry Naylor

1 Callum Hulbert

2 Fraser Dodd

3 Rory Leijdekkers (Capt)

4 Anthony Keller

5 Patrick Douglas

6 Aaron Collins

7 Jonny Pym

8 Richard Dale

Replacements

16 Zac Richardson

17 Sam Naylor

18 Jonny English