Victory On The Road

Holmes Chapel just about edge close quarters encounter
On the back of their recent win in the cup, Holmes Chapel went to Macclesfield this Saturday (24/10/15) with an air of confidence that hadn’t been overly apparent since their first defeat in over a year against Whitchurch. Holmes Chapel had a few changes with the experienced Mike Cottam coming into the back row. Jed Wragg came back into the centres and was noticeably fired up to face his former club.

The game kicked off in fairly good conditions as the rain had just ceased. The pitch wasn’t as wide as Holmes Chapel would have liked and the game was forward orientated. This was to Macclesfield’s liking, as they had a big, boisterous pack. There was few breaks in the first ten minutes; however the first break to put a score on the board was from Holmes Chapel back row and captain Dom Moss. He broke a couple of tackles and somehow managed to keep hold of the ball as he juggled it around behind his back. He managed to fend off a last ditch tackle from the full back and score beneath the posts. The prolific Andy Davies added the extras for one of the simpler two points he has had to deliver for Chapel this season. Macclesfield struck back with a penalty to reduce Holmes Chapel’s advantage and the first half ended. Half time score Macclesfield 4th XV 3 – 7 Holmes Chapel 1st XV.

The second half played out in a similar fashion. The Macclesfield and Holmes Chapel forwards retained a lot of possession and the backs became increasingly frustrated with their lack of ball. Holmes Chapel squandered many good chances when the ball did arrive to their back line with numerous knock-ons and turnovers. When Chapel finally took the right option and flung the ball out wide to Wragg, the pitch seemed to open up in front of him. He cut inside and sold his opposite number, popping the ball to winger Luke Day as he did so. The scrappy Day still had a lot of work to do and he beat two players to have a clear run at the posts. He dived over the line in a display of how relieved Chapel were to rid themselves of frustration rather than any showmanship. Andy Davies converted the try and the game ended. Final score Macclesfield 4th XV 3 – 14 Holmes Chapel 1st XV.

Captain Dom Moss said after the game, “This has been a tough game up front, and we had been working on linking the backs and forwards in training but that didn’t really seem to come off today. What we did show today is a good ability to adapt to what is in front of us, good turning over of ball and a good defence. Our defence was particularly good on our own line and the boys should be happy with this. As always, we will analyse our performance before training on Wednesday and look to work on areas of improvement.” The Man of the match award went to veteran number eight Mike Cottam for rolling back the years and playing the game like he was in his mid-twenties rather than thirties. Holmes Chapel would like to thank Macclesfield for a tough game and great hospitality afterwards, we look forward to the return game at Station Road.