Mossley shade it in the mud

The fixtures do not get any easier for Clitheroe 1st XV who travelled to the Liverpool to play Mossley Hill who have been on top or second in the league for the whole season. Having played the team twice already this season in the cup and league without success, Clitheroe were looking for a more competitive performance to build on the recent improvement in form.
A strong squad was assembled with the pack having a good blend of experience and youthful energy and the backline was at near full strength for the first time in many weeks. Mossley played uphill for the first half and given earlier results against Clitheroe must have felt confident in securing another bonus point home win with which could put them back on top of the league if other results went their way.
The match was fiercely competitive for the full 80 minutes and whilst the final score of Mossley 5 – Clitheroe 3 sounds like a dull affair the gather crowd (swelled by the Mossley Hill 2nd XV having no game) were treated to a highly entertaining match played at a good pace. It was Clitheroe who scored their only points of the game first to go into a slender lead with a converted penalty from the boot of Fitzhenry after a Mossley transgression – bought on by the excellent play of the forwards, notably Chamberlain, Hough and Rigby. The half progressed and the physical game began to take its toll as young prop Holland suffered a shoulder injury as a scrum went down – a shame for the prop as he was more than holding his own at the time. Andrew Thornber came into the fray having speeded from a morning appointment to be available. Mossley Hill have a fine backline with some very dynamic runners and it was the home team who struck next with finely worked score in the corner after the ball was recycled several times by the forwards then spun out wide for the winger to slide over in the corner, conversion missed, the score was now 5 – 3 to the home team – and that is where it stayed for the remainder of the match. Which was a testament to the commitment of both packs who battled for ball against each other all afternoon and both back lines who threw everything at one another – however it was defensive masterpiece from both teams with neither giving an inch in the red zone.
Half time came and Clitheroe restarted the match looking to score some killer points to put their hosts on the back foot, the ball was recycled over and over again by the forwards – Willkinson, Atkinson and Holmes were in among everything on the floor. This gave the backs as good a platform to work off as they have had in recent weeks – Dan Smith at scrum half was marshalling the forwards and Fitzhenry running the backline and distributing the ball well to the hard running centre pairing of Peel and Gary Beery. The game was high energy and changes to personnel were needed by both teams in order to keep up the high level of intensity. Wilkinson was replaced by the hard work Hacking, while Holmes was replaced at hooker by Penny, who was returning from injury.
Mossley Hill had good periods of pressure and at times looked like scoring again out wide, but the last gasp tackling of the back three – Railton, Birch and Waddington – held them out. Clitheroe had chance also as their pressure in the Mossley half led to a couple of difficult penalty chance which sailed agonisingly close to notching the vital points. However as the final whistle went it was Mossley who were victorious 5- 3.
Clitheroe worked so hard in another improved performance with the hard work of coach Steve Llewellyn beginning to pay dividends the 1st XV can look forward to a good run in the second half of the season. Next week they welcome Eagle RUFC to Littlemoor for first time in a number of years whilst the 2nd XV have a big derby game against Blackburn to look forward to.

by O.McE