Worth Village (A)

By Matt Baldwin

Dominant second half show secures impressive win!

Clayton made it eight wins on the spin, with a dominant second half display against brave 12 man Worth Village. Clayton knew they would have to perform well against a side who had previously only lost once at home in the league this season. The task appeared to have been made easier, with Worth only having 12 fit men, however for the first 40, you wouldn't have known who had the extra man advantage. The second half was a different story though, as Clayton showed the same kind of power and execution they had showed the previous week against Hollinwood, to run out comfortable winners. The first 20 minutes were fitting for the conditions the game was played in, difficult. With the pitch already cutting up, several handling errors resulted in numerous stoppages in play. Clayton had outstanding full back Elliot McElroy to thank on three separate occasions, as he made one on one, ball and all tackles to stop clean breaks. Worth Village were making the hard yards look easy and it took a brilliant try saving diving tackle by Ryan Wilkinson to finally get Clayton going. A fine passing move almost resulted in a try in the corner for Connor Mahoney, only for the referee to pull play back for a forward pass in the build up. A further chance came and went, before star man Elliot McElroy was forced from the field. As a result, a reshuffle was required and Phil Redgrave took to the field, immediately making an instant impact, deceiving the goal line defence before powering over. This settled Clayton down, however the home side hit back impressively, after a spell of good pressure, they powered over on the short side to leave the game nicely poised at 4-4 after half an hour. Clayton were having the better of things now and finally seemed to play to the conditions they were facing. After another spell deep in Worth territory, the ball was passed to John Parkinson 20 metres out. He then went on a rampage of handing off 3,4 maybe even 5 nearby defenders, before showing good footwork to totally bamboozle the waiting full back and dive over the line. With Ryan Wilkinson converting and then adding a penalty on the stroke of half time, Clayton had a 12-4 half time lead, they had barely deserved. They knew what was required in the second half and following coach Scott Pendlebury's instructions, carried it out with aplomb. 5 tries were scored, all showing different ranges of quality and skill, but all excellent in execution. Firstly that man himself led by example, Pendlebury, showing and going close to the try line before sliding over. Ryan Wilkinson then showed great anticipation and pace to pick up a loose carry and sprint 80 metres 'in the mud' to the whitewash. Constant pressure was building now and after another couple of chances came and went, Jamie Waterman showed great strength and pace to power through an initial tackle before sprinting away for another four pointer from 30 metres out. Steve Housecroft then grabbed his first of the season, following up a great chip over by Pendlebury, which Jimmy Waddington showed great awareness to leave from an offside position. Housecroft was quickly doubling his tally, sprinting away from the cover defence from half way, after a great cut out ball by James Flanagan. Ryan Wilkinson finished with six goals from seven attempts, with the final conversation kicked by assistant coach Johnny Alderson (in the hope he makes an appearance in the local paper). An excellent second half display, building on last weeks emphatic victory against Hollinwood. A great team performance with several players standing up to be counted again. Clayton are playing with a confidence and fighting mentality, after securing an eighth successive win.

Key moments

19:00

Try Phil Redgrave scores for Clayton

34:00

Try John Parkinson scores for Clayton

35:00