Heysham Atoms 30 - Higginshaw Eagles 6
- North West Counties Division Four

Not since the mid-1990s had these two sides met when Higginshaw were a Premier Division outfit and the Atoms were making steady progress through the leagues.
On that day the Oldham side took the spoils so revenge for the Atoms was sweet, even if it did take a long time in coming.
A late kick-off due to the late arrival of Higginshaw gave the Atoms longer preparation time and this seemed to pay off as they caught the Oldham side cold, going into an early lead.
From a midfield scrum, straight driving took the Atoms into Higginshaw's 20-metre area. The Atoms created the overlap on the next play, but the ball was held on to too long.
Centre Ollie Austin moved into acting half-back and picked up and lunged over the line close to the corner flag.
He smacked over the conversion for good measure giving the Atoms a 6-0 lead.
Higginshaw have struggled in the attacking department this season and average less than 10 points a game.
Although they kept the ball well, it was difficult to see how they were going to break down a confident-looking Atoms defensive line.
Gavin Winder dealt with the high kicks well making some steady yards out of defence in the bargain.Wingers Jo Pyrah and Martin Pike also looked to have an air of confidence about them and they weren't troubled too often during the first period.
Andy Aldren was released back into his loose forward position and he started a move that created another overlap down the left channel.
Scrum-half Keith Hartlebury fired out a cut-out pass to Austin who galloped into a big hole but his 20-metre break was halted close to the line.
The Atoms kept the pressure on but Higginshaw weathered the storm and cleared their lines.
The play became a bit scrappy with an alarming number of turnovers before Austin and Pike lifted proceedings when they chased hard on a downfield kick.
They caught the recipient, driving him into touch to give the Atoms head and feed to the scrum.
Hartlebury broke and fed centre Bryan Cambidge, who took the direct route over his opposite number for his first try of the afternoon, which was converted.
Simon Brooks slotted in nicely to the stand-off role, keeping things simple but direct. Peter Livingstone showed good awareness charging down a kick on the last and recovering the ball. Liam Hall took the ball up before Shane Weed made a break to within 10 metres of the line.
Cambridge picked up and was unstoppable as he headed for the line. Austin's conversion was again good giving a 18-0 lead.
Just before the break, a scrum erupted with both packs trading punches. Once control was resumed, Weed and his opposite number were sent to the cooler for the customary 10 minutes.
Lee Harvey came on at the break for his first outing of the season and he was prominent in attack.
Again the quality of performance dropped as another 15 minutes of stop-start, scrappy rugby ensured.
The Atoms's hopes of 'nilling' the opposition were not to be as Higginshaw capitalised on some lax defence close to the posts.
The concentration levels dropped further as the kick-off went out on the full. Finally, a penalty gave the Atoms a piggy-back downfield.
Rob Shaw took the ball into the the heart of Higginshaw's defence, Livingstone went close before Weed crashed over for a try which the referee then disallowed.
Mike Holmes' brief spell on the pitch included some gutsy runs before he reacted to a high shot and receiving a yellow card.
The Atoms upped their game in the last 10 minutes and made the scoreline look more realistic.
Firstly Walker and Hall combined around the play-the-ball with the latter charging over.
Pike limped off to good applause before Dave McVernon rounded off a powerful performance by blasting his way through some weak tackling before finishing with a swan dive over the line.
Austin completed the scoring with this fifth successful kick out of five attempts.
Livingstone and Aldren topped the tackle count with McVernon, Hartlebury and Cambidge taking the man-of-the-match points.

n BEFORE the Atoms next home game on November 5, Dave McVernon and Neil Walker will perform a pyrotechnic display in aid of charity. All welcome.

Heysham Atoms: Winder, Pyrah, Austin, Cambidge, Pike, Brooks, Hartlebury, McVernon, Walker, Hall, Shaw, Livingstone, Aldren. Res: Harvey, Weed, Holmes, Jackson.

Portrait Pools.com Man of the Match: Bryan Cambidge

Next Match:

Division 4