Late Broadbent Try Seals Win

With MATT LOON out with concussion, it was STUART DUNBAR who stepped into the role but up until kick off he has doubtful with a potential hamstring problem. There were no other changes with the substitutes being CHRIS HUGHES, JAMES REEVE and KEITH MAHON.
With a strong wind blowing across the field it was Stockport who had the benefit in the first half with Wirral playing towards the main road. The first few minutes saw Stockport camped in the Wirral half with the Wirral defence holding out as the away side handled the ball well and making progress. On 10m a long high clearance kick by MARK WILLIAMS was not dealt with by Stockport which then put them under pressure. With Wirral using their forward power they rumbled towards the whitewash only for the scrum to be brought down which resulted in the opposition second row, Alistair Green receiving a yellow card. From the next scrum, Wirral surged over the line and ROB PEARL was on hand to touch down, the try was not converted. 5-0 13 mins.
With greater possession already evident, Stockport were on equal terms when a missed tackle gave second row , Alistair Green to build up speed and score 15m from the corner flag- the conversion was missed. 5-5 (23 mins). On 31 mins, CHRIS HUGHES and JAMES REEVE came on for STEVE PENDERGAST and PAUL LEWIS respectively.
In the three minutes before half time, Stockport scored two tries, the first from a 5m line out where Callum Baldwin caught the ball and crossed unopposed. This was immediately followed by a 50m break by winger, Myles Hall deep into the Wirral half. There the away side were able to set up an attack down the right which although stopped, enabled Stockport to recycle the ball and full back, Richard Sackville-West (RSW) to cross for the try. None of the tries were converted. 5-15 (HT).
Despite having the wind advantage in the second half, Wirral were not able to capitalise on this as Stockport had the majority of the possession aided by a number of penalties that Wirral gave away. This gave Stockport presence in the Wirral 20m area, twice they were held up over the Wirral line and with the continuing majority of possession and territory it was difficult to see how Wirral were going to get back into the game. The one time we had possession the ball was dropped immediately.
Stockport extended the lead with a penalty from in front of the posts through RSW. On 58 mins DAN HARVEY was yellow carded for a technical offence in the red zone. From the resultant penalty, Stockport put pressure on Wirral and scored from a 5m line out through Kiernan Hobbs to give the away side a commanding lead 5-23.
The Wirral revival started from this juncture, a long kick off downfield gave Sheffield possession on their own line but with Wirral following up caught them close to their line where, CHRIS SPEED ripped the ball off the opposition player and touched down, the conversion was missed. 10-23 (62 mins). STUART DUNBAR came off to be replaced by KEITH MAHON with CHRIS SPEED moving into the centre. Immediately Wirral came back aided by a good run from ALISTAIR BAKER who was tackled metres short of the line but MARK WILLIAMS was on hand to collect and score, the try was not converted. 15-23 (62 minutes). The interesting aspect was that Wirral scored two tries when they were down to 14 players.
With a fair share of possession now being enjoyed by Wirral they were now pressing Stockport and a determined run by KEITH MAHON left the home side close to the line. PAUL LEWIS came on for JAMES REEVE. From the next scrum, the Wirral pack took command and forced the opposition pack over the line and ROB PEARL was on hand to touch down. On a day where kicking was difficult, DAN HARVEY converted from 10 m from the touchline to leave the score 22-23 67 minutes.
Stockport counter attacked and with the aid of a couple of penalties were down in the Wirral 20m area, a further penalty was awarded to them under the posts. A quickly taken penalty by Sean Street saw the scrum half cross the line without being tackled and surprisingly the conversion by RSW just left of the posts was missed. How expensive this miss was to be. 22-28 (73 mins).
With the minutes ticking away, all the pressure was coming from Wirral as they worked their way up field into the 20m area. A clear penalty try was declined when a Stockport player dived in from an of side position, then DAN HARVEY had a try disallowed only for the referee to bring play back and award Wirral a penalty under the posts. From Wirral’s situation any try scored had to be near the posts as they sought a converted try to win the game. Three scrums were reset after Stockport scrum could not stop the Wirral scrum, finally the ball was released and after a couple of thrusts a crash ball saw SAM BROADBENT crash over close to the posts. The important conversion went over from DAN HARVEY to leave the score line 29-28. With darkness descending much as Stockport tried to set up a number of attacks they were held and eventually a player tackled into touch brought the end of the match.
Wirral have now moved up to 4th in the league and next week they are away at Birkenhead Park where there is sure to be a large following for this important game and the last game of 2015 will be a home game against Waterloo, where another large crowd is expected.