Undone once again at Thornton Cleveleys

As ever it was a strong wind that greeted Clitheroe as they made a familiar trip away to Thornton Cleveleys with a squad severely depleted by injuries and absentees for a tough match against a team with some excellent results this season. With the 2nd Team match being conceded by their opposition, the 1st XV at least travelled with a full squad of 20 for what was always going to be a tough encounter.

The opening exchanges were very even and it took 20 minutes for the scoring to be opened as Thornton crashed through the middle with their large centres to score a touch down which went unconverted. Throughout the opening quarter Thornton were repeatedly warned by the referee about killing the ball on the floor and gave out several stern warnings and the threat of a card for a repeat offence – however during the length of the game no cards were seen. For all this the Maroon & Gold forwards won some good ball on the floor and provided some good opportunities for the back line to show their pace and power, especially when they adopted a pick and drive type of game. As they progressed up the pitch the ball was spun out to Bartle launched an attack and passed the ball on to Callaghan who sliced through within inches of the line. After several rucks where the forwards showed good ball retention and it was Carins who drove over under the posts to score on the stroke of half time. First team debutant Danny Cowgill left the field of play just as he was making his mark with a recurring injury at this point to be replaced by the ageless Alan Nuttall.

After the turn round it was Thornton who picked up the pace first, with their No 8 crashing over from a 5 metre scrum, again unconverted but it took them into a tight lead 10 – 7. On the hour, a huge gap opened up in the Clitheroe mid-field and the Thornton stand off could not believe his luck as he dashed through for a try he duly converted add further to their lead, 17 – 7. Clitheroe, by this time having used all bar one of the available replacements saw Holmes and Wood eased into the pack and the hard running Jack Whelans into the centres. Now chasing the game looking for a result which would keep them top of the league, it was O’Connor who show a great piece of anticipation as he intercepted in the Thornton back line to score under the posts, 17 – 14 and it was game on! For the last 20 minutes Clitheroe held the upper hand for the most part and try as they might the final score would not come, with Ernest Thomas now also making his debut on the wing for the last 15 minutes his rapid pace could not be utilised, but he is definitely a face for the future . With this result the Maroon & Golds slipped from top to third in the league, but it is a long season and the wholehearted performance was a credit to the squad and a good sign ready for another tough encounter against Pendle at home next week.