Saints fightback secures victory

AMATEUR RUGBY: OLDHAM St Anne’s ‘A’ displayed a never-say-die attitude to defeat Latchford Albion 28-26 in division one of the Kukri North-West Counties League.
Boasting a 28-8 lead with 10 minutes to go, the Warrington outfit appeared to be coasting, but Saints bounced back with a flurry of points to snatch a dramatic win.

Albion held a slim advantage at the break thanks to two tries and a goal, while Kevin Collins and Ryan Grumbridge went over for Saints.

Desperate for points to avoid relegation, they went further ahead with three tries and two conversions. Victory, at that stage, seemed assured for the visitors.

But, from nowhere, Saints hit top gear. Collins and Grumbridge grabbed their second tries of the afternoon, with Steve McHugh landing the goals.

A rejuvenated Rick Badby then sliced through the Albion defence to narrow the gap to a couple of points.

And it was left to veteran Paul Garrett to complete the comeback after gathering a pass from debutant Musadik Khan.

Like Saints, HIGGINSHAW showed bucketloads of determination for a come-from-behind win against Pilkington Recs ‘A’.

Trailing 13-6 nine with just over half-an-hour to go, title-chasing Higgy stormed back to record a 23-15 victory in front of a large crowd on Oldham Edge.

Michael Cadd, Ryan O’Donnell, David Sweeney and former St Anne’s youngster Jonathan Fullalove, who scored a great individual try and kicked two goals, were outstanding.

The game was played at great pace, and it was Recs who went ahead from an early penalty.

But Higgy responded when Fullalove collected a Sweeney pass before darting through a gap to score out wide.

Recs replied with a try of their own to restore parity, and they continued to press but were denied by good defensive work from Scott Foote, Fullalove and Steven Perry.

However, the visitors upped their game and hit Higgy with a converted try just before the half-hour mark, before increasing their lead with a drop goal.

But Higgy, showing great character, reduced the deficit with a sweeping move. Instigated by Gary Walsh deep inside his own half, the ball went through several pairs of hands before Cadd supplied the finish.

Recs converted a penalty for a 15-10 lead after 65 minutes, but it was all Higgy after that point.

Full-back Mark Ward drew the defence before releasing Scott Hewson for a try under the posts. Fullalove added the goal to edge his side ahead.

O’Donnell then dropped a goal to take Higgy two points clear with six minutes left on the clock.

Higgy sealed victory after prop forward Scott Hewson received the ball from John Duffy on half-way. He beat several men with a 25-yard burst before sending out pass for Cadd to score. Fullalove again converted.

In division three, meanwhile, SADDLEWORTH RANGERS registered only their third win of the season with a 24-8 defeat of Spring View.

But WATERHEAD’S division five title hopes suffered a setback when they went down 36-8 at third-placed St Helens Wild Boar, and ROCHDALE COBRAS were beaten 28-20 at mid-table rivals Eccleston Lions.