Heysham Atoms 24 Cadishead Rhinos 12 (Heysham High)

North West Counties Cup

The Heysham Atoms made it 3 wins out of 4 with a less than convincing victory in the first round of the Cup at Heysham High School. It wasn't until the last 25 minutes of the second half that the Atoms came to life and dominated the game showing again, in patches, how much potential this side possess. The previous 55 minutes had been a stop start affair with the Atoms making too many errors to sustain any kind of pressure on the Cadishead line. The plucky Rhinos side had a simple but effective game plan that seemed to unsettle the Atoms in the early exchanges, with there completion rate far higher than the out of sorts Atoms side. It took eighteen minutes for the deadlock to be broken and this came from a 30 yard break by the inform Atoms Loose Forward Mark Walker. He took play over the half way line and found an Atoms support runner in the shape of Stand Off Sean Weed, who gathered the overhead pass and outpaced the cover in the remaining 30 yards to the try line. Billy Livingstone added the extra two points on offer hoping that this would settle down the Atoms into their own pattern of play.

Although Cadishead rarely ventured out to the flanks they were giving a good account of themselves down the middle of the park being helped by some less convincing Atoms defending. An unforced handling error on the second tackle after the restart gave possession up on the Atoms 20 yard line. A concentrated surge from Cadishead got them within striking distance. A gap in the Atoms defensive line was exposed when the inside man failed to fill in the gap as the line slid across the field. This was all the invitation the Rhinos needed as they brought the scores level with a converted try. The Atoms conceded two penalties in quick succession which piggy backed the Rhinos up field. The second one being in front of the posts and an easy two points was banged over. The Atoms looked to increase the intensity up until the break using their strong bench to liven things up. Unfortunately the Atoms couldn't add to their one score and went in at the break two points in arrears at 8 - 6.

Within 5 minutes of the restart the Atoms had fallen further behind to an unconverted try taking the Rhinos lead to 6 points. If the Atoms were going to progress in this Cup Competition then they were going to have to buckle down and grind their way out of trouble with the emphasis being placed on looking after possession. The momentum started to build, as the pivots of Weed and Hartlebury were able to dictate more of the play. There had been a mini crisis in the centre position but the call was answered by the experienced duo of Simon Brooks and Bryan Cambidge complemented from the bench by Mike Marrin. It was Cambidge who settled a few nerves after Hartlebury and Walker had opened up the narrow side. Over the years Cambidge has been able to sniff out a try from nothing but on this occasion he welcomed the space created for him going over the line in the left hand corner.

The Atoms must have spotted a weakness in this area as most of their attacks were directed in this area. Liam Hall's powerful running got him over the line twice but both were adjudged no tries the second after the Cadishead Full Back had made a stand on his own line. Billy Livingstone was looking increasingly dangerous on the Left wing as more and more space was afforded to him. The crucial move of the game came again from a blind side attack with Livingstone flying in at the corner, which he crucially converted from the touchline. This gave the Atoms the lead one which they never looked back from.

Mark Walker was next on the score sheet diving through a pile of bodies close to the line after good work Richardson and Holmes. Another attacking move nearly ended in disaster as the Rhinos Stand Off intercepted and ran 70 meters down field only being stopped by a covering tackle by Cambidge and MacIntyre. The final Atoms score had class written all over it as firstly Sean Weed got brother Shane into a gap with a sharp move. The prop forward drew the cover and put Simon Brooks over the line with a well-timed pass. It was all about getting the win and this they achieved and although it wasn't the polished performance they were looking for, winning does great things for the confidence of the squad.

Atoms: Richardson, MacIntyre, Brooks, Cambidge, Livingstone, Sean Weed, Hartlebury, Hall, Helme, Shane Weed, Shaw, Sykes, Walker. Res Donnovan, O'Donnell, Holmes, Marrin.

Another hard fought victory.

Caddishead Rhino's gave their all but the Atoms came out on top

Deep into the second half the Atoms trailed by as much as 8 points but were able to score 3 late tries to come away with victory 24- 12

I must admit I have never felt cold like it on Saturday and the weather wasn't conducive to being a really open free flowing brand of rugby league.

It was a real slog and the first half was boring mistake riddled football, our game plan was thrown out the window and the Atoms where playing a game I have never seen before, which for the large amount of spectators that braved the arctic winds and rains probably wondered why they did as well.

The second half everybody played the way we have trained all year, and there was a good structure and a certain flow and our pivots took control of the centre, the way I have been asking for at the 27 training runs that we have currently had this year.

3 really good tries in the second half secured victory for the Atoms and it was very pleasing to the players and spectators alike that we hadn't endured the harsh conditions for nothing.

As I told my players after the game we cannot afford to throw game plans out the window especially when we play sides that are a better equipped then Caddishead.

We are about to embark on a 4 weeks of tough rugby league and 4 very hard games against sides that are well above us on the ladder, we need to be mentally switched on and ready for the challenge ahead of us.

Mark Walker and Guy Richardson were good in attack for the Atoms with Sean Weed and Keith Hartlebury tackling everything that moved

Over the next month leading up to Xmas the players expectations they set for themselves, their team mates and the club must be at the highest level and we must forge other victories before the reindeers arrive.

Until next week go the Atoms !

Scott Saddler