Leigh East ARLFC : News

Leigh East 0 Wigan St Pats 20

LEIGH EAST 0

WIGAN ST PATRICKS 20

By Dave Parkinson

A huge effort from Leigh East was not enough to prevent Wigan St Patricks from winning this game on Saturday, but Pats had to work really hard for their victory. On the back of a good win at Wigan St Judes last week, East welcomed several players back into the team and this had a positive effect.

From the outset, East tackled ferociously and attacked with vigour. Second-row forwards Will Ludlow and Ben Sims made positive inroads with Ludlow in particularly good form. Pat Rainford and Louis Else also impressed while Zac Nicholls did an excellent job at keeping the visitors focus elsewhere for much of the opening quarter.

The visitors got their first try after nine minutes when former Leigh and Whitehaven player Dave Thompson cut inside from Sam Arrowsmith's offload to duck beneath a tackle and over the goal line.

Brad Roden entered the fray after 19 minutes but within sixty seconds had been placed in the sin bin for backchat by referee Adam Williams, despite East holding out for the full ten minutes and responding with a couple of good runs by Ludlow and fullback Kieron Prescott, Wigan St Patricks claimed a crucial second try on the half-hour when sprightly substitute Joe Higham burrowed over by the posts in support of Johnny Brown. Stand-off Daniel McGoldrick converted and it was 0-10 at half-time.

Into the second half, Leigh East had some chances only to be thwarted by good defence from the visitors. Pats saw Brad Storey sin-binned but they held out.

Eventually, the breakthrough went the visitors' way. East lost Aaron Noon to injury and a few minutes later Rhodri Carlton Jones scampered down his wing to touchdown at the corner.

Then with three minutes left, a stabbed kick to the in-goal was pounced on by Charlie Mitchell with Joe Prior converting. There was one more chance of points before the final whistle but Prior put a penalty attempt wide with Pats finishing victors by 0-20.

Next week East travel to Pilkington Recs who had another good result at Ince Rose Bridge, winning 42-12.

Team:

PRESCOTT, Kieron

NOON, Aaron

GASKELL, Nathan

FLETCHER, Cobyn

WHARTON, Benjamin

HOLLAND, Adam

GRIFFITHS, Daniel

Nicholls, Zac

RAINFORD, Patrick

ELSE, Louis