Hat-trick for skipper Simon Wright in exciting win

Matlock 24 v 19 Long Eaton
Matlock welcomed a strong Long Eaton side to Cromford Meadows with the visitors looking to avenge the defeat at their own ground in November. However so far this season the Meadows has proved to be a fortress that is difficult to breach, so this game promised to be another tight and hard fought encounter. For Matlock squad changes from the previous week saw Alex Powell and Tom Lawrence come back into a starting back line with an average age of 30 with Dave Hartley and Luke Howard both unavailable and an even younger Sam Ball who at 17 was again on the bench. In contrast changes in the pack saw a starting front row of Finlay Mosley, John Statham and Conor Loughnane at an average age of only 20. With George Whittaker unavailable Mike Emmerson came onto the bench alongside Ash Statham who was allegedly still waiting for the ink on his leg to dry.
The game kicked off and as expected was by and large very even for the first 15 minutes albeit the visitors were showing a little bit more intensity with ball in hand as they sought to find gaps in a determined Matlock defence. Eventually Long Eaton created the opening score when a neat reverse inside pass saw their fly half scythe through a narrow gap to touch down near the posts for a 0-7 lead. Mike Emmerson came off the bench with Rory Cookman making way. The game continued to be very tight and physical and with Matlock raising their own intensity Long Eaton were penalised around half way in their efforts to slow down the home side at the breakdown. Tom Morton kicked for a line out in the visitors 22 and after a good catch and drive and some pick and goes Conor Loughnane forced his way over for the try. The conversion attempt was wide 5-7 with 25 minutes gone. The game remained tight to half time with no further scores being added. Half time 5-7.
The second half began with both sides looking for the all-important next score. Long Eaton were awarded a scrum on their 10 own metre line but Matlock won the ball against the head thanks to hooker John Statham and a strong drive by the pack which was followed by a good attack up the blind followed by some pick and drives which saw Captain Simon Wright eventually touch down for a 10-7 lead. The conversion attempt was narrowly wide of the target. Long Eaton reacted well to the setback and took only 5 mins to hit back with their second converted try to regain the lead 10-14. With 30 minutes still to play the battle continued. Tom Morton was forced to leave the field, James Young switched to scrum half, James Fairclough to fly half Dan Hooton to his more familiar centre role and Sam Ball came off the bench onto the wing. The game continued to be a tough contest but Matlock were beginning to gain a marginal advantage with strong upfront carries by Simon Wright, Tom Cruttenden and Chris Atkinson and with Ben Neville, Dan Hooton and Alex Powell in the backs all causing the visitors a few problems with good running lines as well as the whole team presenting a hard line in defence. Mike Emmerson demonstrated his formidable engine putting in tackle after tackle and stealing a number of their opponent’s line outs. Matlock should have increased their lead on 60 minutes when after a period of attacking pressure they moved the ball to the narrow side and sharp handling saw Sam Ball draw the last man perfectly before passing to the normally safe handed Ben Neville who juggled the ball a couple of times before dropping it as he crossed the line. However the tide appeared to be favouring the home side and on 70 minutes when Matlock were awarded an attacking scrum on the visitors 5 metre line Finlay Mosley made way for Ash Statham, arguably the cornerstone of the pack to come off the bench to devastating effect. The Long Eaton scrum was marched backwards towards their own try line and they deliberately collapsed the scrum to halt progress. Matlock chose to scrum again and drove the opposing pack backwards at speed and over the line for Simon Wright to touch down. James Fairclough added the extras for a 17-14 lead. Matlock then had a brief period of reshuffling in their back line with Alex Powell moving to fly half and James Fairclough to full back. Only 2 minutes later Matlock found themselves in the same attacking position and again demonstrated the scrum dominance repeating the pushover try, Simon Wright gaining his hat trick in the process. James Fairclough again added the extras for a 24-14 with 8 minutes remaining on the clock. With the game all but won Long Eaton had other ideas and once again upped the intensity and threw everything including the kitchen sink at the home side in their efforts to at least gain a losing bonus point. For their part Matlock defended resolutely and at every opportunity kicked long upfield, backing their defence by inviting the visitors to counter from inside their own half. As the clock wound down Long Eaton created an overlap on half way for their pacey left wing who looked certain to score but for a superb try saving tip tackle by James Harrod who refused to give up the chase. This would prove crucial as Long Eaton’s efforts were eventually rewarded with a try out wide. The conversion attempt was off target 24-19. With one minute remaining at the restart Matlock successfully kept the visitors in their own half and were relieved to hear the final whistle.
A hard fought win for the home side which saw Alex Powell performing at his best. With a number of notable performances it was a difficult decision but Mike Emmerson just edged it as man of the match for his tireless tackle count and lineout performance.

Team: C Loughnane, J Statham, F Mosley, J Harrod, C Atkinson, T Cruttenden, R Cookman, S Wright, T Morton, J Young, D Hooton, B Neville, J Fairclough, T Lawrence, A Powell
Bench: A Statham, M Emmerson, S Ball