Must-win games don’t really come this early in a season, but with this being the third home game in the opening four fixtures a win was vitally important having gone down in close encounters against Stockport and Morley in the last two weeks.
With the wind gusting and the rain driving in it was never going to be a day for great running rugby and the half-time score-line of 3-0 reflected the sort of the game that this was.
The best scoring opportunities came early on with Paul Moss slotting a long range penalty on 5 minutes before Jamie Connolly looked to win a race to a loose ball for a try only to have referee Wayne Falla signal a 22 drop out.
The rest of the first half saw St Helens dominate possession but never really threaten the try line and West being guilty of not looking after the ball well enough, far too often spurning possession just after it had been won.
Moss looked sure to extend the lead with 6 minutes to play in the half but saw his penalty drift wide. Thankfully it wasn’t long into the second period before the gap in the scores was extended. West pressed into the visitors 22 with some good rolling maul work and when awarded a penalty underneath the posts spurned the shot at goal instead quickly shifting the ball wide where Andrew Cheslin dove in at the corner. Moss added a superb touchline conversion into the wind for a 10-0 lead.
Once again West struggled to generate clear scoring opportunities despite some strong running from Paul Vinnicombe, Jamie Connolly and substitute Darren Thomas. In the end the try came thanks to a superb break from Moss on half way which saw him split the defence and race clear before feeding Gareth Kerr who showed strength in holding off the last defender to score. Once again Moss landed the conversion to effectively seal the game with 15 minutes to play.
West failed to extend the lead in the closing stages, another penalty attempt drifting away in the wind with the last kick of the game. While far from an A* performance, given the conditions and the score-line West will be more than happy with the outcome. A tricky trip to Westoe next Saturday awaits but if today’s performance can be built on there’s no reason why a victory is not possible.
West: I Dixon (Thomas), A Cheslin, Kerr, Connolly, C Cheslin, Moss, Tighe, Carr, A Dixon, Robinson (Stewart), Miller, T Dixon, D Boatman (Sawyer), Myers, Vinnicombe
Tries: A Cheslin, Kerr
Cons: Moss 2
Pen: Moss
West Park: Rosney, Higham, Marsh, Glover, Best, Ovens, Lane, Reed, Bonati, Mayaba, Serge, Hanson, McCloud, Burrows, Sylvester
Referee: Wayne Falla [Northern Group]
Related Links:
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Author: exiled west
Date: 04-10-08 19:13
thanks for the report el pedro wondered if the weather was going to effect the game. well done lads points on the board is what matters at this stage of the season
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