|
|
|
|
Atoms slip in the mud Heysham Atoms 8 - Latchford Albion (Warrington) 13 Trys: Lewis Mills Men of the Match: Heysham Atoms narrowly went down to Latchford on Saturday in conditions as miserable as this year's home form. This victory now lifts Latchford into 3rd place, whilst the Atoms remain in 9th position as they head into the Christmas break. The Warrington pack confirmed their greater size from the kick-off, pinning the Atoms in their own half and gaining some instant territorial advantage. The Atoms relieved the immediate pressure with the kick from Walker on the fifth, but Latchford started their first set of six from an extremely valuable position. This was to prove an early set-back for the Atoms, which they ultimately never recovered from. Latchford went on to register the first score of the game after some great work from their forwards down the middle. Not attractive rugby by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly winning rugby.
Liam Hall led the battle for dominance amongst the forwards on behalf of the Atoms. Hall's aggressive driving of the ball constantly had Latchford on the back foot - and along with Man of the Match Bryan Cambidge - the pair once again proved to be head and shoulders above the rest of the Atoms pack. The Latchford forwards slowly began to exert their dominance with simple, but mistake-free rugby, whilst their scrum-half revelled in the territory gained with a skilful kicking game. Repeatedly the number 7 would split the Atoms full back and wingers with searching kicks, tantalisingly failing to go dead, forcing the Atoms into starting their sets of six from their own try line. The wet conditions dictated that points would always be at a premium - it was a case of whichever team adapted to the wet surface would probably go on to win the game. Increasingly, this proved to be the Latchford outfit. Walker clawed back 2 valuable points with an impressive 40-yard penalty, after a Latchford infringement at the play-the-ball. An injury to standoff Andy Helme then forced coach Dave Crow into making a few positional changes and bringing Rob Shaw into the second row.
The latter stages of the first half proved to be the Atoms' most fruitful. Good work by the forwards set up Keith Hartlebury who put Lewis Mills into a gap with a cut out ball. Mills still had plenty of work to do, but made it to the line to ground the ball under pressure from several defenders. Walker dissected the uprights with the easy conversion. At half-time, Atoms were back in the game and confident the storm had been weathered - the competition points clearly were still there for the taking. Steady rugby was called for - but too many mistakes and uncompleted sets meant it was Latchford playing the steady rugby.
The second half proved a frustrating experience for the Atoms' backs. Andy Garnet threatened all afternoon, but, as with the rest of the backs, playing behind a beaten pack meant too little ball, and was unable to add to this season's impressive try-tally. Dave McVernon and Lewis Mills combined to put a crunching hit on the Latchford fullback earning the Atoms some unexpected possession in the Latchford half. Again, the pressure on the Latchford line failed to result in any points for the Atoms. Rory Batson had a solid, mistake free game in the centres, no mean feat considering the conditions, and Mark Allen valiantly tried to inspire the Atoms forwards with strong running, but it was Latchford who extended their lead with a further try before finishing off their scoring with a well-taken drop goal. The hard working Chris Helme was replaced by Mark Blessington after 60 minutes who demonstrated the rapid progress he is making, pressing a claim for a place in the starting 13. The final whistle was blown and the Atoms were left to reflect on numerous
missed opportunities and some naive kicking in the second half. The Latchford
winger seldom dropped back on the fifth tackle, but this weakness was
not exploited. Any one of the chances, if taken, would have been enough
to put the game beyond the reach of the visitors - but tomorrow's chip
wrappers will show that it was the Warrington side which latched onto
the points.
|
|
