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Thornton Cleveleys V Garstang Match report
david ferridge20 Nov 2016 - 18:12
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TC welcome Garstang to the Windmill ground
Thornton Cleveley’s v Garstang
Due to a flooded pitch the game was reversed and Thornton Cleveley’s hosted Garstang at the windmill ground. With Garstang on the same points as TC it was going to be a difficult game, but with both the thirds and seconds game cancelled, the selection headache for coach Mark Hanson was relieved a little .With an impressive game last week Neil Wright began the game with Ben Calvert & Mark Hanson giving TC an experienced front row .Callum Holland and Joe Connell were the selected second rowers with Jordan Fairlie, Robert Meekins and Andy Williams completing the pack. Tommy Hibbert and Kurt Gledhill were the solid choice as 9/10. Centres were James Cunliffe and Chris Clapp. On the wings were Ross Mellor Clark and William Gardner with Grant Blackshaw as full back. Thornton won the toss and chose to kick away from the Windmill, retaining the ball and within 2 minutes received a penalty in Garstangs 22, with a blustery wind making kicking difficult, the usually metronomic kicking of Kurt was halted as he pulled it wide of the sticks. On the 5th minute Garstang lost a player to a crunching tackle from James Cunliffe (the player had to go to hospital, and we wish him a speedy recovery). Gastang settled quickly and drew a penalty that they converted on the 9th minute. From the re- start TC’s forwards were playing the conditions and pitch well , driving Mauls were calculated and done efficiently , from Garstang’s 22 the ball was passed through the backs with captain , Ross Mellor Clark receiving the ball to score a try close to the posts, giving Kurt an easy conversion . Almost immediately TC were once again in a position to score a forwards try , Only for Neil Wright to be held up (he says it wasn’t, but he would ) With 27 minutes gone And Garstang putting in some good lines of attack they were awarded another penalty to make the score 7-6 . Garstang were being led well from their experienced 10 but TC’s defences were solid. A big blow to TC happened on the 31st minute as Chris Clapp was substituted for Andy O’Brien due to a broken nose, again we wish him well and hope he recovers ok ( though as he is off to Jamaica next week ,no-one really felt that sorry for him). With the rain and wind increasing, on the 40th minute, Garstang slotted a great penalty conversion, giving the half time score of 7-9.
At half time Coach Mark Hanson was substituted for Aaron Farnworth (in an attempt to reduce our penalty count) and Neil Wright for James Gorrie ,this allowed TC to remain with an experienced front row and to have fresh legs, as the conditions worsened and the ground became looser. It was again with a good driving Maul that led to Ben Calvert scoring a well worked try on the 45th minute , again Kurt was unable to convert leaving the score 12-9 . There was a noticeable change in Thornton’s style of play, as we allowed Garstang time at the break down, choosing not to attack and this had Garstang with little options never seeming to get passed the game line. On the 52nd minute Callum Holland (who had ripped yet another pair of shorts) was replaced by Tom Marland and on the 57th minute the flexible Dominic Kelly replaced Try scorer Ben Calvert as hooker. The Defence of Thornton was a noticeable improvement as Garstang, who never gave up, tried in vain to gain any advantage nearly breaking through TC’s defence, only for Grant Blackshaw to absolutely destroy a Flying Garstang winger to prevent a possible match winning try on the 73rd minute. The game ended in a deserved win for Thornton Cleveleys, but all credit to Garstang who played a good and fair game at the windmill ground. After the game Coach Mark Hanson expressed his delight in the Defensive attitude that all the players showed and looked forward to another home game next week.
Due to a flooded pitch the game was reversed and Thornton Cleveley’s hosted Garstang at the windmill ground. With Garstang on the same points as TC it was going to be a difficult game, but with both the thirds and seconds game cancelled, the selection headache for coach Mark Hanson was relieved a little .With an impressive game last week Neil Wright began the game with Ben Calvert & Mark Hanson giving TC an experienced front row .Callum Holland and Joe Connell were the selected second rowers with Jordan Fairlie, Robert Meekins and Andy Williams completing the pack. Tommy Hibbert and Kurt Gledhill were the solid choice as 9/10. Centres were James Cunliffe and Chris Clapp. On the wings were Ross Mellor Clark and William Gardner with Grant Blackshaw as full back. Thornton won the toss and chose to kick away from the Windmill, retaining the ball and within 2 minutes received a penalty in Garstangs 22, with a blustery wind making kicking difficult, the usually metronomic kicking of Kurt was halted as he pulled it wide of the sticks. On the 5th minute Garstang lost a player to a crunching tackle from James Cunliffe (the player had to go to hospital, and we wish him a speedy recovery). Gastang settled quickly and drew a penalty that they converted on the 9th minute. From the re- start TC’s forwards were playing the conditions and pitch well , driving Mauls were calculated and done efficiently , from Garstang’s 22 the ball was passed through the backs with captain , Ross Mellor Clark receiving the ball to score a try close to the posts, giving Kurt an easy conversion . Almost immediately TC were once again in a position to score a forwards try , Only for Neil Wright to be held up (he says it wasn’t, but he would ) With 27 minutes gone And Garstang putting in some good lines of attack they were awarded another penalty to make the score 7-6 . Garstang were being led well from their experienced 10 but TC’s defences were solid. A big blow to TC happened on the 31st minute as Chris Clapp was substituted for Andy O’Brien due to a broken nose, again we wish him well and hope he recovers ok ( though as he is off to Jamaica next week ,no-one really felt that sorry for him). With the rain and wind increasing, on the 40th minute, Garstang slotted a great penalty conversion, giving the half time score of 7-9.
At half time Coach Mark Hanson was substituted for Aaron Farnworth (in an attempt to reduce our penalty count) and Neil Wright for James Gorrie ,this allowed TC to remain with an experienced front row and to have fresh legs, as the conditions worsened and the ground became looser. It was again with a good driving Maul that led to Ben Calvert scoring a well worked try on the 45th minute , again Kurt was unable to convert leaving the score 12-9 . There was a noticeable change in Thornton’s style of play, as we allowed Garstang time at the break down, choosing not to attack and this had Garstang with little options never seeming to get passed the game line. On the 52nd minute Callum Holland (who had ripped yet another pair of shorts) was replaced by Tom Marland and on the 57th minute the flexible Dominic Kelly replaced Try scorer Ben Calvert as hooker. The Defence of Thornton was a noticeable improvement as Garstang, who never gave up, tried in vain to gain any advantage nearly breaking through TC’s defence, only for Grant Blackshaw to absolutely destroy a Flying Garstang winger to prevent a possible match winning try on the 73rd minute. The game ended in a deserved win for Thornton Cleveleys, but all credit to Garstang who played a good and fair game at the windmill ground. After the game Coach Mark Hanson expressed his delight in the Defensive attitude that all the players showed and looked forward to another home game next week.
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