On the wrong end of late drama

There was no wind to speak of and the sun was cracking the flags at Wilmslow’s Memorial Ground as life in the North Premier got under way.

Proud Skipper, Bobby McCallum, led his Wolves team out onto the wonderfully prepared pitch and in front of a large crowd of knowledgeable and intelligently biased supporters from both camps.
Whilst the heart of the team was familiar to the faithful, it was a tonic to all to see the returning Chris Jones, once again donning the blue he wore as a younger man. Older and wiser following many years’ service at Macclesfield, his nouse both on and off the pitch will be critical as the season unfolds.

Decked out in their new O’Neill kit, and smartly carrying the moniker of new club sponsor, Neubria, Wilmslow kicked off playing left to right in front of the clubhouse, from which Kirkby made a hash of the gather. In the scramble to secure the ball Wilmslow drove Kirkby off it and the home side had possession in a good attacking position which they used well to pin Kirkby deep in their half for the first fifteen minutes.

But, although they came close the Wolves didn’t use their possession and position well enough to score and when some decent possession came Kirkby’s way they were off with a clever break from Fearon who ran out of his own twenty two. Approaching half way he chipped over the cover defence into space where Kirkby’s pocket rocket number 7 Stu Storey gathered the cruel bounce, knocked a couple of defenders out of the way, made ground into the home twenty two and then slipped the ball inside to Huddleston who scored the first try. It went unconverted but with twenty minutes on the clock Kirkby led 0 – 5 from their first attack.

This seemed to settle the jittery start Kirkby had made, they were coming more and more into the game and should have extended the lead with a kickable penalty but the ball drifted wide. With half time approaching and in the circumstances of new players settling in, Kirkby would definitely have been happy with that lead at the turn round, but Wilmslow got a move going down their left, following a deft inside ball to Jones who crashed forwards into the opposing 22. From the breakdown, Street quickly fed McCallum, who put Sam Beckett scampering in by the flag. The conversion was good and Wilmslow had the advantage at 7 – 5 when the half time whistle went.

Kirkby reshuffled at half time with three replacements coming off the bench but it wouldn’t have been in their plan that Wilmslow scored in the second minute of the second half, after Sam Beckett was once again adept at exploiting the space down the left. The lead was extended to 14 – 5 with the conversion and Kirkby were up against it. But only five minutes later Fearon was again involved in a move down the left which ended in a try for Storey. Again the conversion was missed but Kirkby were back in one score range at 14 – 10, the difference between the two sides at that point being the two missed conversions.

As the end of the third quarter approached Kirkby regained the lead following a sustained period of pressure in the home twenty two and it was new skipper Barton who crossed the line with a bullocking charge. Settling down now, Williams this time added a good conversion to make it 14 – 17 and the match was still very finely balanced.

Wilmslow sent on the cavalry, fresh legs under heavy bodies and their forwards laid siege to the Kirkby line who soaked up the pressure of waves of attack and prevented a score but defenders were drawn in. Wilmslow whipped the ball down the line from their left touchline into mid-field where full back, Ben Day, ran on to a pass at flat out pace and broke through to score a great try under the posts. The new Club Captain enjoyed that one. The McCallum conversion put Wilmslow back in the lead at 21 – 17, with only minutes to play.

Wilmslow caught the Kirkby restart and tried to run the clock down with a series of picks and drives but Kirkby tackled like demons, the home side couldn’t get out of their half and when they infringed Kirkby had the ball and one last chance. The result of this see-saw game was now compressed into these pressure cooker final moments where Kirkby simply had to keep the ball as the game went into time added on. One error and it was over for them but through forwards and backs, they securely and skilfully made progress towards the home line, the winning and bonus point fourth try coming from second row, Craig Galbraith, who forced his way over to ground the ball. Williams conversion sailed through the posts to add the extras as the ref blew the final whistle with the score 21 – 24.

It was an entertaining and engaging encounter on a beautiful afternoon, but whilst the Wolves will feel it was a game there for the taking, we know only too well how dramatic last moments can change the taste of the beer.