Heysham Atoms   16 points

Vs

Goldbourne Parkside   24 points

NORTH WEST COUNTIES DIVISION 3

February 14th, 2009

After the Atoms hard-fought victory at home to Hindpool 2 weeks ago the Heysham side entered this match full of confidence and determined to turn around a fifty point defeat earlier in the season.  For 60 minutes of the game the Atoms played with great effort, enthusiasm and plenty of width but a poor period of 20 minutes in the first half ultimately decided the contest.  In this period the Atoms put themselves under pressure by conceeding needless penalties and not completing their sets of six.

On the day there were some fantastic team plays involving numerous sets of hands and players working really hard to support the ball carrier.  Individually too there were some outstanding performances with 17 year old Ben Dorrington catching the eye at full back, Mark Walker and Keith Hartlebury showing true consistancy in their all round play and Dan Scanlon who probably had his best game to date in Atoms colours.

The Atoms drew first blood with a penalty on the 10 minute mark, neatly slotted over by Billy Livingstone.  The opening exchanges were competative to say the least with a number of tackles riding higher than the intended target.  Parkside began to exert some pressure and a well placed kick brought them their first score.  The Atoms were struggling to maintain possession which led to a conceedng of field territory.

The Atoms were forced to make 18 tackles on their own line and eventually this wealth of possession brought a second try.  There was a hint of good fortune as the ball was kicked forward bouncing nicely into the standoff's hands who immediately offloaded to his second row who dropped over the line.  At this stage of the contest the Atoms just could not break the stranglehold and a third try was inevitable.  Again the Atoms contributed to their own downfall by failing to clear their lines after some adventurous play under their own posts, led to a Parkside turn over.

Finally, the momentum began to swing back to the Atoms as the completion rate increased.  Mark Walker made some valuable yards taking the responsibility of bringing his side back into the game firmly on his shoulders.

Mike Marrin has been a revelation since his switch to hooker this season and he seized the opportunity to get on the scoresheet 5 minutes before the break.  His good footwork and determination to get to the line brought his side back to 18 points to 8.

A few subtle changes at the half time break gave the Atoms the confidence to go and move the ball around the park with this being an area that they have worked so hard in explanding their game.

Wave after wave of attacks from the Atoms were met with some stout defending from the 13 players of Parkside.  The Atoms were a little guilty of trying to score with every set and over eagerness brought some mistakes.  Ben Dorrington continually `chimed' into the line at pace being brought down agonisingly close on a number of occasions.  The try line was finally crossed as impressive centre Stuart Lacey squeezed in at the corner flag.

The pressure was maintained forcing a couple of goal-line drop outs after some intelligent kicking from stand off Neil Walker.  The next Atoms score was a more direct affair when Shane Weed proved unstoppable from 5 yards out barging 3 defenders out of the way on his way to the try line.

The Atoms were right back in the game now and forcing Parkside to defend with all their know how.  Dave McVernon's return to form continues at a pace and he made one of his trademark breaks down the centre of the field, only to be stopped by a brave full back tackle.

A relieving kick on the half way line again brought some good fortune to the Parkside team.  The ball ricocheted off the back of an Atoms player straight in to the arms of Parkside's impressive scrum half.  He appeared to be in an offside position but was allowed to continue.  The Atoms chasers couldn't catch him and he placed the ball under the black dot.

This took Parkside into an 8 point lead with 7 minutes remaining meaning the Atoms would have to score twice.  This proved to be a task too far as try as they might the Atoms just couldn't break Parkside's line.

Team :

B Livingstone, J Harrison, M Holmes, S Lacey, G Winder, N Walker, K Hartlebury, D McVernon, M Marrin, D Scanlon, C Hall, R Shaw, M Walker (Capt) Res : A Helme, P Livingstone, S Weed, B Dorrington.

Next Saturday :  Away in league to Haresfinch (St Helens)