Under 18s lose National Cup tie

29 Jan 2017 in News

Under 18s lose National Cup tie Under 18s lose National Cup tie

LEIGH EAST 20

INCE ROSE BRIDGE 24

Leigh East lost out to Ince Rose Bridge in the BARLA National Cup. This was a crackerjack of a tie that had a bit of everything.

A few weeks ago, East were struggling to attract numbers to hold a training session but thanks to the hard work of coach Simon Reynolds there is now a squad of 25 players to select from, all showing plenty of promise. 

This game perhaps came a little early for such a fledgling squad but East made a brilliant start - scorching over for two tries in the first thirteen minutes. Stand-off Brad Whelan looks a capable player and he also has plenty of pace. Quick thinking from him saw a quick tap penalty followed by an 85 metre sprint to the posts at the other end of the field. He converted his own try and East led 6-0.

That lead was soon extended when smartpassing on halfway gave Dale Whitworth the chance to show his speed. Whelan again goaled and it was 12-0.

Ince had two fine second rows in Matty McGeown and Alex McBride and it was the latter that troubled the scorers next from close range, crossing after 16 minutes for McGeown to convert.

A forty metre break from Whelan then put the hosts on the front foot again and East took full advantage when Lancashire Under 18 Harvey Massey cleverly kicked forward for centre Corey Hamer to ground.

Just before the break, the visitors moved within four points when McGeown ran 35 metres and converted and the visitors made a fine start to the new half with a quality try. Hooker Byron Aspinall jumped out of dummy half on the last tackle, McGeown supported and Jake Smith crossed at the corner. The game was locked at 16-all.

It was at this point that a succession of penalties fell the way of the visitors and after the third, they took advantage. Martin Chadwick went in at the corner. East were never out of the contest although both teams became tetchy with yellow cards shown to Smith (Ince) and Whelan (East) within a minute of each other. Easts James Fleming was then binned for an overly aggressive challenge. This seemed to galvanise the hosts and they responded with direct play. Connor Eckersley drove close before  hooker Carter Quigley surged over. With Whelan still in the bin, Massey missed the conversion.

It was now 20-20 with five minutes remaining and both sides readying for the possibility of extra time before visiting scrum-half Matty Horrocks broke Easts hearts with a slight dummy and forty metre dash for the line. That made it 20-24. There was still enough time for Jordan O'Shea to be sinbinned, but Ince Rose Bridge held out to progress.

East: Lewis Clarke, Callum Lewis, Corey Hamer, Lewis Cozens, Josh Grimes; Brad Whelan, Harvey Massey;Callum Bailey, Carter Quigley, Connor Wilcock, Sean Halpin, Cole Bretherton, Dale Whitworth. Subs: Jack Yates, James Fleming, Ethan Fleming, Connor Eckersley.

Tries: Brad Whelan, Dale Whitworth, Corey Hamer, Carter Quigley.

Goals: Brad Whelan 2.

Ince Rose Bridge: Tom Sidebottom, Martin Chadwick, Jake Smith, John Holcroft, Josh Daniels; Jamie Allan, Matty Horrocks, Jack Winstanley, Byron Aspinall, Jordan O'Shea, Alex McBride, Matty McGeown, Brad Atkins. Subs: Dillon Bland, Ben Jones.

Tries: Alex McBride, Matty McGeown, Jake Smith, Martin Chadwick, Matty Horrocks.

Goals: Matty McGeown 2.

Report by Dave Parkinson

Photo courtesy of Brian King (King Pix) - Brad Whelan - on route to his long range score.

Listen to the post game interview: https://clyp.it/yjbypaqm

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