This weekend Thornton travelled to their furthest away trip, Littleborough, looking to build upon last weeks strong performance vs Garstang. Littleborough have had a good start to their tenure within this league however their results have often been tight affairs and this gave the Thornton boys hope for an upset away from home.

Under the looming dark glare of the bypass the game kicked off and instantly Thornton were in the ascendancy. With a controlled game plan dictated well by number 10 Dan Orwin, Thornton controlled possession for the first 15 minutes of the game. With numerous penalty infringments called Thornton were able to establish strong territory and possession and looked a threat through the middle with strong carries from Ellis Woolstencroft, Rob Meekins and Chris Clapp.

One penalty infringment lef to the first kicking opportunity of the game however with cold in the air the surface was wet and Orwin lost his footing at the vital moment sending his kick wide.

This certainly seemed to kick start Littleborough into life and with the referee beginning to penalise Thornton they gained good field position. With this came the first blow of the game as James 'Danger' Gorrie left the field due to cut sustained below the eye. In his place came Peter Keay making only his third senior appearence playing our fair sport.

As Littleborough attacked the sticks a wild pass out wide was intercepted by Ross Mellor-Clark however the referee was playing an advantage and, with the kick closer to the Thornton sticks, the Littleborough 10 duly converted. 3-0. This commenced a 10 minute period where the game almost got away from from the Thornton boys. A second penalty was conceded and with the 10 in confident form he once again added the points before a chip and chase was collected by the Littleborough winger who scored outwide. Try converted and the score was suddenly 13-0.

Slowly however Thornton managed to regain a foothold in the match and stifle the Littleborough play. The Littleborough kicking game was giving plenty of opportunity to counter and the back 3 made good work of the space available. The forwards, in particular Callum Holland, were making excellent yards around the fringes however Littleborough were still a threat. Again the ball went wide and again Ross Mellor-Clark took an interception, this time however there was no whistle and Mellor-Clark scooted down the field to score. Conversion kicked 13-7.

With the wind in their sails Thornton kicked off and applied pressure however any infringment was being punished by the Little borough 10 who was in fine fettle. Another penalty saw a further 3 points added. 16-7 however from the restart Thornton were immediately given a further advantage from a rather harsh call from the referee.

Orwin sent the re-start close to the 10mtr line and Pete Armstrong gave chase collecting the ball in full flight. Facing him however was the Littleborough prop who commenced to tackle Pete just prior to hitting the floor. A yellow card was the obvious choice however the ref pulled out the red and Thornton were now against 14. Using the advantage Thornton applied the pressure and a penalty was sent down the touchline. Mark Hanson hit the perfect line out throw and the ball was taken into a maul on the Littleborough 22. With the obvious advantage in the pack and the excellent direction of Toby Holder Williams the pack were guided to the cusp of the Littleborough try line where Johnny Cooper duly obliged. There were remenstrations from the Littleborough team that the dive was short of the line however the refereee awarded the try. The conversion however struck the post and the half ended 16-12.

The second half kicked off with Coach Hansons words loud in the ear. Work harded and be more clinical. Littleborough however were clearly in the mood to try and put the game to bed and heaped the pressure upon the Thornton team. A clever substitution saw them bring on an big old head into the second row who they used as a battering ram to great effect. However as per the first half there was the constant wide pass and this time it was club record try scorer Dave Beardsall who siezed upon the lose pass and raced away under the sticks to score. Conversion kicked and Thornton lead for the first time in the match 19-18.

What that signalled however was a spate of consistent pressure from the Littleborough side and using the human battering ram that they had brought on the finally managed to breach an resillient and courageous defence, typified by Tom Bailey and Mark Hanson who both put their bodies on the line time and time again. The Littleborough 10 converted and the score was 25-19.

Thornton responded in kind and this time poured forward in search of the next score. More good work from Callum Holland and also Simon Hoddinot saw Thornton make positive gains up the pitch and the pressure began to rise on the Littleborough players whose discipline began to slip. That said however Clapp, who was playing at scrum half now following an injury to Toby Holder Williams, chose to take the quick tap, when the kick to touch was the better option, and the ball was knocked on in the back line. Littleborough siezed upon possession and following some good phase play marched down the other end of the field to score the final try of the game. Again converted and the full time score was 32-19.

This was a harsh lesson for the Thornton players who on another day could have taken the victory here however the clinical execution of core skills was missing at times and ultimately cost the Thornton team the game. That said the progression of the club is evident, this time 12 months ago Thornton went away to Disbury with a relatively scratch side and were on the receiving end of a royal thumping, this weeking we were narrowly beaten away from home by a top 2 side. There is something building at this club and who knows where we will be with another 12 months under our belts.

A special mention must also go to young Peter Keay. I mentioned earlier that this match was only his 3 appearance at senior rugby level and he certainly met that challenge. Peter provided a strong scrummaging performance throughout and carried well in the loose. With further experience under his belt Peter will no doubt be another member of the exciting crop of youngsters that are currently plying their trade with Thornton RUFC.