September 2007

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New Brighton Football Club (R.U.)

Leigh Away - 29th September '07

Report by Steve Dorrington
Team Spirit Sets the Scene for a Great Team Display

Leigh 6 New Brighton 27

The Blues travelled into Lancashire to play newly promoted Leigh in this League 2 North game.

New Brighton exhibited some excellent continuity in the opening minutes of the game and were unlucky not to score very early on when Steve Dean was tackled whilst crossing the line forcing the ball out of his hands. Further pressure by the Blues forwards around the fringe was providing the energetic New Brighton backs space to run into and by 10 minutes the picture of the game was clear in a dominant display by the Blues.

On 11 minutes New Brighton were awarded a penalty 35 metres from the Leigh line which Steve Dean slotted with ease in his usual unflappable manner.

Immediately from the restart the Blues started to explore holes in the Leigh three quarter line and the rampaging Chris Dale was making round for fun. Following three phases of quick recycled ball that man Dean placed a supremely accurate cross kick for "pocket rocket" Alan Hesketh to race on and catch the ball on the full, cross the line and ground the ball for an excellently taken try. Dean again successful with the conversion gave the Blues a 10 point lead.

On 30 minutes Leigh got into the New Brighton 22 for the first time and some ill discipline for the Blues pack allowed the Leigh centre and easy pot at goal to reduce the arrears - Leigh 3 New Brighton 10.

New Brighton almost wounded responded immediately and with some powerful running from stand in No 8 Danny Jones, linking with the fleet footed scrum half Mike Gallimore who was providing offload after, offload to runners Clayton, Campbell, Brotherston, Dorrington, Mullen, Baird and Roberts who were now terrorising the wilting Leigh defence. Unfortunately for the Blues time ran out in the first half and no further score was added. However Leigh must have gone into half time trailing by 7 points but wondering how many they would concede in the second half as they were clearly not a match for the Blues.

Half Time Leigh 3 New Brighton 10

Head Coach Steve Dorrington at half time asked his players for more of the same, but expressed a wish to let the ball out a little quicker in order to explore the space that had become visible out wide.

Leigh started the second half on the front foot and were awarded a penalty from a phase of play that should not have been allowed as the New Brighton touch judge ignored a clear foot in touch, the Leigh goal kicker slotted his opportunity to bring Leigh back into the game. Leigh 6 New Brighton 10.

At this stage in the game last season the Blues would have retracted into themselves and would have gone on to lose. Not so for this current crop of players, and from a Leigh offensive strike the powerful Chris Dale stripped his opposite centre of the ball in between his own 22 and 10 metre lines, burst through 2 tackles and raced the length of the field to score a fine try, which was duly converted by the excellent Dean to extend the Blues' lead. Leigh 6 New Brighton 17.

This latest set back seemed to shatter Leigh and following an extended period of pressure from the forwards Mike Gallimore gathered the ball at the base of a ruck and powerfully set about a 10 yard run to the line and in Gallimore style battered his way over the line using his head as his handing off device, Dean again added the extras to provide The Blues with a comfortable lead. Leigh 6 New Brighton 24.

Leigh to their credit bounced back and sustained a 10 minute period of attack which New Brighton dealt with very well continually turning Leigh ball over. A major force in this area was Beefy King of ................ turning out to be an excellent turnover specialist, ably supported by Jones, Clayton, Ellis and Dale in this area.

New Brighton eventually got out of this period of pressure and set about terrorising the Leigh defence and with seconds left Dean stepped up with his golden boot and added a further 3 points to the new Brighton tally.

Full Time score Leigh 6 New Brighton 27

Head Coach Dorrington stated after the game that he was extremely happy with the win. Steve said that Leigh were a useful outfit and their league position currently will change and they will provide stiff opposition to visiting sides in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Steve gave the man of the match award to the Team as their work ethic and togetherness was simply fantastic. However Steve gave a commentary of his teams performance from 1 to 18:

1 Marco - power in the scrum and some charging runs, holding the Leigh players in his hands like rag dolls

2 Lewis - continues his improvement, confidence is growing and is quite simply a pain in the a... for the opposition

3 King Beef - turnover extraordinaire and made ground for fun. This guy has transformed the NB front row and inspires Marco to play on!

4 Birdy - a youthful powerhouse - what a future this guy has! Improves every day and will never take a backward step!

5 Cammy - provided grit, determination and experience solid game as usual

6 Robbo - stepped up to the mark and as expected did not disappoint - although was knackered after the game (needs some Tuesdays!!)

7 Wayne Clayton - Led the side magnificently and showed Leigh what a 7 should do

8 Gurner - Aggresively Gurned all day and Leigh must have been sick of the sight of him after 80 minutes

9 Gali - Great gas and skill, great try, told the forwards what to do, showed them how to do it and never stopped - i'll bet he is still talking about his try until he scores his next one, hopefully next week!

10 Deany - Classy performace at 10

11 Hesky - Great try, popped up everywhere on the pitch hungry for work - organised very well from out wide

12 Daley - Great game, power, speed, skill and too good for the Leigh centres

13 Seano - First game in the first team at centre and what a game he had looked like he had been there all his life, excellent. This guy is a tackling machine!

14 Ollie - I bet their winger doesn’t want to see Ollie in front of him again, simply smashed his opponent every chance he got with great effect

15 Ricky - Looked class and had lots of time when on the ball, some fabulous injections into the line and distribution thereafter

16 Dan Staff - Energetic display from the bench, clearly wants his shirt!

17 Lazer - Last 20 minutes for Birdy, worked hard and made a right nuisance of himself

18 Stevo - Not required...........although would have added so much more

The Blues are at home next week and will be underdogs against the league leaders Stockport in a double header "League and Cheshire Cup". Stockport did the double over the Blues last season and the Leasowe based outfit will be looking to avenge last seasons record. Lets see if this winning streak and improvement can bring the crowds back, we look forward to seeing the regulars, who we couldn’t do it without and also some old faces who haven’t been round for a while at Hartsfield next Saturday to witness a feast of league and cup rugby in one single game.............2 games for the price of one - what great value for the supporters of both clubs!!

Chester Away

Chester 26 -26 New Brighton

Hare Lane

15th September 2007

Supporters for both teams nodded wisely to each other and declared a verdict of a fair result as Stephen Dean equalled the scores at 26 26 on the 80th minute to round off pulsating match in which the players from both sides had given their all.

Chester started in confident fashion. A closely missed penalty goal was followed on short order by a fine Simon Abiero try, from a move initiated by Gareth Martin and converted by Tom Foden, to put the home side seven points ahead in only the 5th minute. The Blues, when in possession, have some powerful ball carriers in Kati, Paul Campbell, John Brotherton, Danny Jones and Chris Dale who can always cross the gain line but loose balls and turnovers were being exploited by a lively Chester team always looking the more likely to extend their lead. Some good defensive efforts, some in the last ditch category, did keep the score down. But, almost inevitably, a loose ball was picked up and moved in a broken field for Simon Love to beat the cover. Foden duly obliged and though Stephen Dean had kicked a penalty to keep the Blues in touch Chester went into the break leading by 14 points to 3.

As Stephen Dean chipped away at the deficit with a brace of penalty goals within 5 minutes from the restart the mood of the Blues was of a growing confidence as the score was pegged back to 14 points to 9. Converted tries were exchanged by Simon Love for Chester and Mike Gallimore for the Blues, both converted, to rack the scores up to 21 points to 16 and, as the match, entered the final quarter it was very much game on. Both sides had their chances but Chester, with less

than 5 minutes on the clock seemed to have put the game safely away with a try from a well placed cross kick scored by No 8 Matt Sheen to re establish a gap of 10 points.

Needing two scores and the clock running down the final minutes the Blues forced tired bodies into a last final onslaught into the Chester half. The pressure told, the Chester defence cracked and Chris Dale held off a series of tackles to cross the line under the posts. Dean converted but still trailing by 3 points the Blues needed another score. Chester now clinging onto this game by their finger tips committed an indiscretion in the 80th minute and Stephen Dean converted the resulting penalty.

Final Score: Chester 26 26 New Brighton

This is a good start to the season for the Blues. Next week they entertain Tyldesley at Hartsfield. Much will hinge on the injury list after Saturdays draining encounter.

New Brighton 2nd XV lost narrowly to Macclesfield 3rd by 15 points to 16.

New Brighton 3rd XV had an encouraging win against Ormskirk 3rd by 12 points to 8

2nd XV vs Macclesfield Home

NEW BRIGHTON 2NDS V MACCLESFIELD 3RDS (Home) 15/09/07

Result – Lost 15-16

Team.

1.John Williams;2. Colin Jones;3.Conan Grehan;4.Barry Shillinglaw;5.Paul Roberts(c);6.Adam Kettel;7.Aaron Jones;8.Dan Searle;9.Ali Child;10.Jim Yarrington;11.Andy Signal;12.Mike Smith;13.Gav Attwood;14.Adam Pitt;15.Dan Jones

New Brighton welcomed an undefeated Macclesfield for their third league fixture and the home side where in a determined mood to improve on last week’s poor performance.

Thankfully the game was a complete contrast to last week’s! The team prepared well and worked much harder and performed more like the 2^nd team of the latter part of last season. It was made better by the return of Mike Smith at inside centre who, not only scored a fantastic try, cutting a great angle in the first half but for his big tackles in defence throughout the game. A second try for the home side came from an adventurous cross field kick from Jim Yarrington and was scored by Dan Jones playing full back who had a solid game. The inclusion of Ali Child at scrum half was also an added benefit, his control enabled forwards and backs to link well together and the team where able to string good phases of play together. Had it not been for silly mistakes the home side could have finished the first half more than 12-3 ahead.

The second half saw a very determined Macclesfield team and their forwards worked well and they looked more threatening as the game continued. Again New Brighton gave away penalties which allowed Macclesfield right back into the game and they went on and scored a well deserved try in very similar fashion to Mike Smith’s. A converted penalty from Jim Yarrington kept the home side in contention but before much longer the scored board showed the visitors ahead by 1 point and New Brighton realised they had to step it up and again take the game to Macclesfield who by now could sense the game was going their way. Credit to New Brighton who did lift their game again and the last 15 minutes saw some good rugby. New Brighton where camped in Macclesfield’s half but could not break their defences. As the game finished, it was frustration for the home side and relief for the visitors. If not for some silly penalties and poor execution New Brighton could have put an end to Macclesfield’s unbeaten run.

Despite that New Brighton can take heart from a much improved performance and need to take those lessons learned into training and into the game next Saturday.

Next fixture is Whitchurch 2nds away.

Vale of Lune

New Brighton 27 – 26 Vale of Lune

Saturday 8^th September 2007

Doug Thorpe

In scrapping home by the slimmest of margins the Blues had a frustrating afternoon in their opening match of the season at Hartsfield on Saturday against Vale of Lune. Despite being in control of the match for most of the game they were unable to find that elusive killer instinct to deliver the knock out punch and put the game out of sight of their opponents. Poor discipline by both sides, or over zealous refereeing depending on how one views these things, led to an irritating number of penalty awards and no less than 5 yellow cards not to mention the numerous stoppages for injury, and that did not help the flow of the game.

This is not to take anything away from a lively Vale of Lune side whose dogged defence in the face of a more physically powerful pack kept them in the game until the final minutes of added time.

Players making their debut in the Blue jersey were able to show their paces. John Brotherton makes a very welcome addition to a squad where props are dangerously scarce and it is good to see Danny Jones returning in the second row from his extended spell at Birkenhead Park. The mercurial Mike Gallimore at scrum half has the skills, is quick from the base of the scrum and not afraid to put in some defensive big hits. When he settles in and learns how best to use the players around him he could prove to be a major force in the side. Richard Hopkin had a quiet game at fly half but the back line moved in a way not seen for some time and some credit must be due to him for that. Another welcome return to the squad is Stephen Dean, not only for his all round footballing skills but for too long the club has suffered from the lack of a specialist goal kicker. The recently recruited Tongan centre listed on the programme, Fimenone Fling Mau, was unable to start as his registration formalities had not been completed but it will be interesting to see how well he shapes up when he makes his first start.

Winning the toss the Blues chose to play against the wind. Stephen Dean kicked a penalty and New Brighton extended the lead to 8 points on 25 minutes with a trademarked Kati try, barged over from a tapped penalty inside the Vale of Lune 22, while Vale prop Phil Jackson was cooling off in the sin bin.

Although the Blues controlled the play, the pressure had not produced further scores and it was Vale of Lune who hit back hard with four tries in the last 10 minutes of the half. Richards ran in a good try, fluffed control of the ball on the line by the Blues led to a pair of gift tries to Lin and Huntington and Moller rounded off a fine attacking move (and the half) with a try in the corner. Andy Garnett converted three out of the four to give the visitors a comfortable 26 points to 8 lead at the interval. To add to the Blues’ misery yellow cards were shown to both Josh Bates and Chris Dale during this period.

Vale of Lune held the defence of their line for over ten minutes from the restart against the full power of the New Brighton pack before, inevitably, Kati breaking from the base of the scum forced his way over and Dean added the extras. Again the Vale dug deep and with the clock ticking and the score stuck at 15 – 26 into the 70^th minute the Blues had serious problems unpicking this defence. A penalty kick to the corner and a lineout catch and drive eventually broke the deadlock and the deficit was reduced to 6 points as John Brotherton was forced over for his first try for the club.

Well into stoppage time, with Vale of Lune managing to exert a rare period of pressure and Kati despatched to the sin bin, a win for the home side was a rapidly receding possibility. But, Mike Gallimore found the gap he had been seeking all afternoon and he was away. The ball moved through a series of pairs of hands to finish with Chris Dale for a try under the posts for and easy conversion. A great finish and that is the bit of this game to remember.

Final Score New Brighton 27 – 26 Vale of Lune

New Brighton other teams both suffered heavy defeats.

New Brighton 2^nd XV lost away to Wilmslow 2ndXV 71 – 0

New Brighton 3rdXV lost away to Leigh 6^th 62 - 10

Pictures from the Vale of Lune Game

NEW BRIGHTON 2NDS V WILMSLOW 2NDS (Away) 08/09/2007

Result - Lost 71-0

Team.

1.John Williams;2.Colin Jones;3.Conan Grehan;4.Ben Lazenby;5.Paul Roberts(C) 6.Adam Kettel;7.Aaron Jones;8.Dan Searle;9.Dan Jones;10.Jim Yarrington;

11.Mike Markey;12.Gavin Attwood;13.Adam Pitt;14.Andy Signal;15.Brett ?

This was the first away fixture for New Brighton 2nds and was a challenge from the beginning trying to select a full team. With a number of new players stepping up and players having to play out of position, it was always going to be a big ask against a Wilmslow team who traditionally have a well drilled side. This game was to be no exception with the home side fielding, in particularly a strong set of backs.

Despite the score line New Brighton’s forwards showed promise and strength in the set pieces and in the “pick up and go” aspect of their game, an area they should have exploited more. Unfortunately the team where not able to string together any meaningful phases of play and were turned over to easily which gave the Wilmslow time and space to spread the ball wide and exploit a weak defensive line.

Credit goes to all the players for sticking to the task and not losing heart. Players worthy of a special mention are, Adam Kettel, who has not played for a number of years and had to play at both back row and 2^nd row during the game following Dan Searle’s departure in the second half due to a head injury. Dan Jones at scrum half, a position he has played only once before. Brett at full back who all of last season was a 3^rd team player. Adam Pitt, Mike Markey and Aaron Jones who are all in their first full season at senior level having come up from the Juniors and Gavin Attwood who traditionally is a winger who played inside centre.

The game should serve as a harsh reminder to players the importance of training and fitness when playing at this level. This message was stressed by Colin Jones the team coach after the game. He has also made it clear his desire to improve on last seasons standing in the league. Both Colin Jones and Paul Roberts the 2^nd team captain remain confident this can be achieved.

The 2^nd team are at home next week to Macclesfield 3rds. K.O. 3.00pm