Crosfields 14 Oulton Raiders 22 - Match Report:
Both Crosfields and Oulton are in pursuit of a play-off position in Division One of the National Conference League and after serving up an 18-all thriller in April, this always looked like an interesting encounter.
The game start was delayed by fifteen minutes following an accident on the M62, but the visitors showed little after-effects when Division One top try-scorer Adrian Holdsworth swerved away from two tacklers on the right to claim his twelfth try of the season and Kieran Walpole, operating at scrum half, nudged over the first of five goals.
Despite big efforts from the likes of Tom Millington, Sam Hickey, Aaron Holliday, Elliot Liku and fleet-footed Luke Walker, the hosts couldn't turn possession into points and Crosfields had to see out the first half with twelve men after halfback Brad Stanway was sinbinned.
Lewis Hagan went well at fullback for the visitors and Kian Watson was great at halfback before later proving an effective hooker after Nathan Waters was unable to continue.
The game remained deadlocked at 0-6 until well into the second half when the heavens opened and Walpole kicked a penalty to make it 0-8 after 57 minutes, then five minutes later, the visitors took a real stranglehold after some great work from outstanding middles Matty Stableford and Jordan Blagg. Just as Oulton looked to move the ball wide, Holdsworth cut back to the posts and a tackle later Jimmy Ambler ploughed over with Walpole's boot stretching the lead to 0-14.
It got even better for Oulton after 66 minutes when more interplay between the forwards saw them gain some great field position and Tom Lunn touched down for a Walpole-improved score.
Crosfields had little territory until the 68th minute when a short spell of pressure resulted in a try under the posts from Hickey and as the weather brightened up, so did their play with a quickfire double from Tom Ashurst ensuring a nervy end to the game. His second try was a fantastic effort following a pin-point low kick to the corner from Walker.
With the second ticking down, Crosfields gave away a penalty and Walpole coolly slotted home his final goal before the referee's whistle brought proceedings to a close and Oulton had their sixth win of the campaign.
Crosfields: Luke Walker, Nathan Taylor, Tom Ashurst, Ben Lomax, Aaron Holliday; Ben Steele, Brad Stanway; Tom Millington, Jack Williams, Matt Barber, Alex Clutterbuck, Tom Smith, Sam Hickey. Subs: Jack Nolan, Tom Brown, Sam Vernon, Elliot Liku.
Oulton: Lewis Hagan, Kieran Lowry, Adrian Holdsworth, Harry Kendal, Tom Stevens; Kian Watson, Kieran Walpole; Matty Stableford, Nathan Waters, Harvey Williamson, Tom Lunn, Harvey Stevens, Hal Day. Subs: Jordan Blagg, Robbie Powell, Lawrence Dibb, Jimmy Ambler.
By Dave Parkinson
Photo Credit: Crosfields Rugby
