U9's Suffer Narrow Defeat

Blackburn U9's once again took to the road to play a strong Rochdale team with whom they had drawn 5 : 5 earlier in the season. The team was boosted however by the return of several players who had missed last weeks victory over Fleetwood.

In strong sunshine and a rising temperature it was Blackburn who had the better of the early encounter although the team was unable to convert both territory and possession into tries. It was obvious from the outset that yet again these were two well matched teams.

The first chance of the game came after a strong run by Cameron who was able to off load the ball to Sam only to be thwarted by a strong Rochdale defence. Good work by Donovan in midfield in securing possession saw the ball fed out to Dominic who was once again prevented from crossing the white wash by determined Rochdale defenders. Blackburn however were not to be outdone in defence with punishing tackles on the Rochdale attack being made by Sam,George and Jack. The game however at the end of the first quarter was still 0 : 0.

Soon in to the second quarter it was Blackburn who were first to register on the scoreboard. Following a good run by Nathan the ball was passed out to the wing where Sam cut back into midfield wrong footing the Rochdale defenders to score the first try of the game. It was not long before Blackburn were to score their second try. A flowing move after George had stripped the ball fed possession to Henry where Dominic was on hand to score try number two. The score at half time 2 : 0.

The second half opened with strong running by the Rochdale players who appeared determined not to let Blackburn increase their lead. Despite some awsome defence by George, Zach and Ben it was Rochdale who eventually made their territorial dominance pay. The ball appeared to have been held up over the Blackburn try line although the ball eventually found its way to the turf. The second Rochdale try soon followed. Sloppy play at the maul allowed the Rochdale defence to steal the ball and make good ground up field. Despite a covering tackle by Ben the supporting Rochdale attacker was able to cross the line unopposed.

The result was now in the balance and it appeared that the game was going to end in a draw. Rochdale continued to press at the Blackburn line although the defence held firm. In the dying moments the referee awarded a penalty to Rochdale when the decision coud really have gone either way. From the resulting tap the Rochdale attacker charge over the Blackburn line although again the defenders managed to ensure that the ball was held up (the ball was resting on Cormack's leg). After what seemed like an eternity and with the Blackburn players believing that the game was to be restarted the ball was placed on the line and the try awarded. There was no time left for Blackburn to respond.

This was a closely fought contest with again some excellent play by Blackburn U9's in both attack and defence. The team should take great pride from their performance against a strong and well organised Rochdale team. The Blackburn man of the match as chosen by the referee was George.

The team should take the positives from the performance of which there were many into next weeks away fixture at Liverpool St Helens.