Heysham Atoms 8 Hindley (Wigan) 24

THE Heysham Atoms entertained champions elect - Hindley in this re-arranged North West Counties Division Two league fixture on Saturday.

The Atoms can feel proud of their performance and at times it was difficult to see who was the side leading the division and who was fighting to stave off relegation.
The Atoms probably made too many unforced errors to have any real chance of causing a shock but they did contribute to an exciting game.
Hindley have been hard to score against all season, boasting a defensive record as good as any in the North-West Counties Leagues.
Over the years they have been very direct in attack but now they have added some craft and skill that will stand them in good stead as they move up a division.
A calm sunny day was perfect for an open game of rugby league. Both sides entered into the spirit of the game with some enterprising play.
The tone of the game was set in Hindley's first set of six, as a couple of sharp passes found their bulky prop forward running well wide of the ruck.
He was smashed to the floor by a bone-cruncher from Dave McVernon who had weighed him up from the start of the piece.
Heavy tackling and the ball being spread wide was the order of the day with both sides trying to stamp their authority on proceedings.
Hindley settled the quicker whereas the Atoms found it difficult to get to the kicks on last, making some uncharacteristic handling errors after finding good field position.
With 15 minutes gone Hindley were eight points to the good with a penalty kick followed by a converted try.
The Atoms had defended well on their line but the defenders shot out to close the kicker down on the last.
Unfortunately Hindley's stand-off was aware and floated out a cut out pass to the loose forward who gratefully galloped into the hole created.
This did not blunt the Atoms' enthusiasm and they continued to put faith in their approach to the game.
A penalty was awarded and taken further into range when a Hindley player made a comment out of turn.
Mike Hope stepped up an put the Atoms on the board.
Andy Aldren pushed his fellow forwards on, despite some close attention from his opposite number.
At last they began to control better and were able to force a repeat set of six after an intelligent kick from stand-off Gary Coward had forced the goal line drop out.
Such intensity in attack usually bears fruit and Mike Hope thought he had wriggled over the line only to be told he had been held up by a well positioned referee.
From the resulting scrum the ball was knocked on and the impetus was lost.
A couple of sloppy play the balls gave possession back to Hindley.
They broke in numbers and the move was finished with a 30 yard burst from their left centre.
This took them in at the break with a healthy 14-2 lead.
Gary Butler and Liam Hall came into the pack and their similar type of 'bump and run' tactics made it difficult to get a clean tackle on them.
This enabled the backs that extra yard of space to try to exploit some gaps.
Rob Freedman on the right wing was eager for work but found it difficult to break off the shackles of a tight Hindley defence.
The alarms started ringing when Hindley scored their third try from nothing when the danger seemed to have been snuffed out It was the left centre again who rounded off the move, taking Hindley 18 points clear at 20-2.
Such was the ferocity of the tackling at some stage it was bound to boil over.
This happened with 25 minutes remaining. Unfortunately it was the Atoms who suffered the worse with Mike Hope being given the red card but his sparring partner only receiving a yellow.
This seemed to spur the Atoms on further and a good looking attack from Hall and then Butler put the Atoms into the Hindley 20 metre area.
Hartlebury, Edwards and Helme combined to put Dave McVernon into a hole. He relishes these opportunities and strode out over the line for his ninth try of the season.
A sustained period of Atoms pressure followed with young second row Hall going close before captain Hartlebury forced his way over.
Again the Atoms were denied by the referee and again the pressure was released b y a poor pass from the resulting scrum.
The Hindley side came up to full strength for the final passage of the game.
The Atoms defended desperately but couldn't hold out close to the left corner flag.
An impressive tackle halted the initial drive but the hooker took full advantage of the lack of cover, pouncing over, from a yard for an easy score.
A nasty leg injury to Liam Hall and an outrageous head high tackle on Keith Hartlebury were the talking points of the final chapter of the game in which the Atoms can be proud of their efforts.

ATOMS: Richardson, Simpson, Hope, Brooks, Freedman, Edwards, Helme A, McVernon, Hartlebury, Helme C, Shaw, Bowman, Aldren. Res: Butler, Hall, Birkett, Mills, Jones.