Wirral Triumph in Local Derby

The regular Wirral supporters arrived at Clatterbridge with memories of games in recent years against local rivals Hoylake being tough, niggly and fractious affairs which had ended up in favour of Hoylake. This looked likely again as within the first couple of minutes Hoylake were awarded a penalty 30 metres out and in front of the posts but the normally very reliable Hoylake kicker managed to miss! Wirral from this moment on took over the game.

After 10 minutes a Hoylake lineout on the right in their 22 metres was won by Wirral & the ball quickly moved wide left & from a ruck Rob Pearl raced over & Sam Broadbent converted (7-0).

Play continued to be in the Hoylake half and this pressure resulted in a try after 25 minutes on the right by Tim Hodson as a result of a slick slip pass by his 2nd row colleague, Martin Bennett, just short of the line. Sam Broadbent converted (14-0)

The next score came after 34 minutes when following Wirral switching the play rapidly from left to right left winger, Ollie Atkinson , came into the line on the right-hand side of the pitch and sidestepped both ways to race in from 30 metres a lovely try – Sam Broadbent converted (21-0). Then 3 minutes later left wing Ollie scored another try following a quick penalty on the left which saw the ball passed quickly right & he once again joined the line on the right wing to score – Sam Broadbent converted (28-0). That was the end of the scoring in the first half and the Wirral supporters were for the first time in a few years happy with the way things were going against Hoylake.

The second half started where the first had left off & after 2 minutes no 8, Benjamin Marsh, scored under the posts following a slick move between him, rob Pearl & Ali Childs – Sam Broadbent converted (35-0).

There were to be another 2 Converted tries for Wirral in this half – the first one by Ian White following another excellent passage of support play & passing, the final try & Ollie Atkinson’s 3rd try came he collected a nice chip through by Ian White. The half was littered with missed opportunities for Wirral to score more tries & was therefore very frustrating for their spectators

However it has to be said that this was probably the poorest Hoylake performance that I have seen against Wirral over the past decade or more. Hoylake did have the last say of the game when Wirral allowed a penalty kick to bounce into touch in the last minute and whilst everyone strolled towards the touch the Hoylake players quickly took the lineout & raced in unopposed to score under the posts (49-7)

Team: Matt Brown, Jason Green, Steve Pendergast, Martin Bennett, Tim Hodson, Colin Dyer, Rob Pearl, Ben Marsh, Ali Childs, Sam Broadbent, Ollie Atkinson, Ian White, Adam Stevens, Matt Slater, Danny Harvey : Subs – Tom Clegg, Chris Hughes, Stu Hughes
Leigh Bennett