Reality check as Clitheroe suffer defeat at home

Clitheroe 1sts returned to league action with their first home game of the new season against Garstang.

Littlemoor was resplendent on a hot September day and with a good crowd in attendance it was hoped the maroons would meet the new challenge with a victory.
However the hosts failed to start at all and conceded a soft try within the first minute. The worst possible start and against this Garstang team it was always going to be tough to recover.
The visitors scored again with a well worked try and the extras were added by the prolific Garstang kicker who didn't miss all day.

Clitheroe got themselves back in the game with a try off a rolling maul scored by Chamberlain and the extras added by the debutant Cuddy. Just as the hosts gained the foothold they were undone by discipline. Slinger received a yellow card and Garstang exploited the overlap to touch down in the corner. The try was converted and a penalty added to give Garstang a 24-7 lead.

At this point the maroons showed what they're capable of and responded with a try worked through the pack scored by Rigby. Cuddy added the extras and slotted a penalty to make it 17- 24 at the break.

All to play for in the 2nd half but Clitheroe simply made too many mistakes. The hosts turned their own ball over far too many times, failed to stick to their game plan and threw too many wayward passes. In addition they lost their discipline again with Rigby receiving a red card following a fracas and inevitably Garstang ran out easy winners 17 - 48.

The positives were that the set piece performed well and Joe Weld Blundell had a great game at 9 as did debutants Cuddy and Harris at 13 and 15 respectively. This Clitheroe team showed no little effort but undid themselves through basic errors that allowed a good Garstang team to dominate with their powerful running and offloading game.

The injury list is long but with players returning and the talent this Clitheroe team has, there is no doubt they will bounce back this Saturday at home to Old Bedians