Aldwinians rue soft mistakes

ADM Premier Division: Aldwinians 17-21 Wigan

A close result at the end , but the Audenshaw side will rue letting in two soft tries in the first half and giving away three kickable penalties in the final minutes.

Wigan  had only won away from home this season so far, and they were clearly in the mood to upset the home side here. From their  own kick off they challenged for possession and generated a drive down the right flank. They missed a good chance to score the first try as Aldwinians' defence held firm and responded with a 22 metre drop out. Wigan forwards took the high ball and started another attack with pace and good support that brought them to a scrum 30 metres out. A neat blind side run from the scrum half attracted support from the backs at pace who then passed the ball slickly Crossfield to outmanoeuvre the home defence to score on the left on 6 minutes, duly converted for a  0-7 lead.

The restart allowed the Aldwinians forwards to play in the Wigan half for the first time, but this was shortlived as a knock on and then a penalty gifted Wigan the chance to set up camp again downfield. A drive off a line out and then a high tackle and penalty brought them 15 metres from the home line with some positive rucking.The defence held firm and when back row James Summerscales broke strongly from a line out down to the visitors 22 line the signs were that Aldwinians were  getting into the game. A penalty led to a line out 15 metres out where a take and drive would cause the Wigan defence some problems. A poor throw in thwarted that opportunity as would three more important deep attacking line outs during the game. As a result of the turnover Wigan came back on the attack resulting in a long high kick into Aldwinians' mid 22 area. A miscalculation by centre Wade Martin resulted in a knock on with the ball snapped up by a marauding Wigan player who eased over the try line unchallenged on 24 minutes. Wing Oliver Richardson charged down the conversion attempt to restrict the score to 0-12. From the restart Wigan knocked on but Aldwinians lost the scrum with the Wigan half back mistiming his kick forward. A good pick up by Martin who neatly chipped the ball over the back line allowed rapid winger Richardson to chase after it, kick the ball over the try line and just miss touching it down before it rolled over the dead ball line. Aldwinians had some momentum now despite another missed line out catch. A sequence of drives and mauls followed that stretched the Wigan cover and Wade Martin redeemed himself with a nicely taken try on 34 minutes which Tom Hughes converted. Half-time:  7-12.

Buoyed by this recovery, the third quarter belonged to the home side. Wigan were put under pressure in the scrum by captain Connor Prendergast and his pack. This lead to more front foot play with excellent drives from Summerscales, Harry Catlow and the evergreen Mike Singleton.This brought the backs into the game with Martin again probing the spaces. Matty Ross at scrum half got his backs in motion and sent fly half Alex Hughes on a run to the right of the posts but he drove into the gap rather than feed his midfield. The pressure was still on though and the reward was a 58^th minute penalty for Hughes to narrow the deficit to two points and all to play for at 10-12. A red card for Wigan on 63 minutes seemed to suggest the tide was turning in Aldwinians' favour. Prendergast, leading by example, ripped a ball out of a Wigan players grasp but lack of control elsewhere gifted Wigan a kickable penalty on 67 minutes and to confound their numerical advantage gifted another penalty away on 69 minutes. Wigan ahead by a 10-18 margin with 11 minutes to hold on. With time nearly exhausted an excellent run by James Summerscales created space in front of the last line of defence. He drew them and gave a smart inside pass to the support second row runner , Harry Catlow who raced under the posts to score. Hughes converted and with three minutes left there was nothing in it at 17-18. Try as they certainly did, it was too little too late, killed off with a final indiscretion that gave Wigan another penalty and a winning margin of 17-21.

Lessons are being learned by this young Aldwinians squad in every match, and they will become a better unit  as the season progresses with growing technical discipline to match the flair.

This Saturday, it’s a full house at Audenshaw Park. League Cup rugby takes centre stage for the 1^st team with Trafford MV visiting for a 3pm start.

The 2nds are also at home, facing Littleborough in their Div 2 North league. And the 3rds host Preston Grasshoppers in Div 5North

Trevor Hulmes