Sweet Revenge

One of the most anticipated matches of the season took place at Littlemoor on Saturday as Clitheroe entertained Fleetwood, looking for revenge after the defeat away from home in a fiery match 3 weeks earlier.

To give the day extra special, the team proudly sported the new club strip and with the directors of new sponsors SWAMP on the touchline – a victory was a minimum requirement!
Starting off into the wind Clitheroe put themselves under near constant pressure with little mistakes – with the back line looking for passes that just were not there and the forwards forcing it too much up front. There was an element of all the team trying too hard instead of taking a breath and thinking moves through. However, there were moments of good pressure from the home team and on one such occasion the excellent Watson snatched a drop goal to take a 3 point lead on the 10 minute mark. For the next 20 minutes Fleetwood attacked the Clitheroe line, with the home team struggling to put a string of phases together, the main highlight of the home team play was the dynamic running of Kino blasting into the line from fullback. Having been held up over the Clitheroe line, Fleetwood had a scrum 5 metres out and went for the drive over try, the scrum wheeled and technically should have been reset but play went on and the visitors duly scored and converted to go into 3 – 7 lead. With the wind in their sails Fleetwood came again, rolling a maul up the pitch then flicking the ball out to their bulky centre who crashed in under the posts 3 – 14.
Clitheroe rallied well and pushed into their opponents half and as Fleetwood desparately tried to stop the attacks they conceded a penalty which Kino converted and the teams turned round 6 – 14 to Fleetwood. The Captain’s positive yet blunt team talk asked for calmer play and to build the phases up to get back into the game. With the wind at their backs a long raking kick went out on the 22 metre line in the Fleetwood half, with a move called Rigby soared to gather the ball from the line out, Edmondson slickly took the drop down ball and popped to McEntyre who led by example and palmed off the first defender and bounced the Fleetwood wing out of his way to touchdown in the corner. The conversion was missed but the Maroon & Gold were now in the ascendancy and playing with a more relaxed confidence instead of trying to force the play. After some 20 minutes of good pressure with great running from backs and forwards alike with Smith being his usual industrious, tenacious self. Fleetwood were throwing everything into their defence and eventually overstepped the mark and ice-cool Kino stepped up to the plate with a calmly slotted penalty to level the scores.
Again Clitheroe pressed from the restart spending great lengths of time in the Fleetwood half, roared on by the large home crowd. With 10 minutes to go Clitheroe had a scrum on the 22 metre line, McEntyre picked and popped to Rigby who drove down the pitch, when he was felled scrum half Smith took the pass to make it within a couple of metres of the line only to be dragged down, but only after getting the ball away to blindside Cowgill who shot over the line to put the mighty Maroon & Gold into the lead. Kino slotted a magnificent conversion to take the score to 21 – 14. With 10 minutes to go, Clitheroe closed the game out manfully with the likes of Nuttall, Rigby, Cowgill bewildering the Fleetwood team with wily play and the backline still keen to run it smash the ball up the park.
Captain McEntyre was delighted with the second-half performance and the way his players delivered the grit he asked for – “there is a lot to like about the team this season, their never say die attitude to come from behind and claw back the initiative, then close out games is especially gratifying” he commented after the game.
With all players working hard all throughout the match, the tight 5 taking scrum against the head and getting more and more aggressive in the ruck and maul as the match went on, the back row destructive and dynamic and the backline hammering into the Fleetwood defence, with Basquill, Bartle, Greenwood, Watson and Kino always on the front foot in attack and defence the choice of Man of the Match was always going to be tough, but after much deliberation the Emporium Man of the Match honour was awarded to Ralph Rigby for his excellent work rate throughout the game.
Next week the 1st XV travel away to Bolton while the 2nd XV entertain Chorley at Littlemoor.