REMARKABLE GAME OF RUGBY

In 80 minutes there was hardly a dull moment with a total of 95 points scored with both sides running in 7 tries. When the final whistle went it was the visitors who had come out ahead by a single point and Stockport were left wondering how they had managed to lose in the dying seconds but nevertheless being grateful for the two bonus points that had look extremely unlikely at halftime .
An early Stockport penalty signalled a wakeup call to the Hoppers, whose backs sprang to life with two quick converted tries for a 3-14 lead after 10 minutes. Stockport then came back into the game and registered their first try of the day with their forwards driving over from close range. 8-14. That goaded the visitors into another scoring frenzy with two more converted tries for a 8-28 lead in the 34th minute. Then came a big turning point in the match, just before half time Preston lost two players to the sin bin. This immediately gave Stockport a lift and they narrowed the deficit to 13-28 at the break with an unconverted try before the break.
At this point there would still not have been a single person connected with the Stockport club who would not have taken 2 bonus points had they been offered. The scoring of 2 more tries and getting within 7 points of Preston still looked very unlikely.
As the game restarted, Stockport took full advantage of the numerical imbalance and over the next 27 minutes added 24 points to their tally without reply. This included prop James Watson completing his hat-trick , Number 8 Dan Eccles finishing off a Preston comedy of errors in front of their posts and a 1st Stockport try for 18 year old wing Elliot Fetcher. Fly half Alex Zavallis-Roebuck added 3 conversions and a drop goal for a 42-28 lead.
The Stockport faithful held their breaths. Even after being restored to 15 players, Preston had appeared to have completely lost the plot and the lead remained with 5 minutes left. Then the visitors went on a final assault and quickly scored 3 more tries but only one of which was converted. This gave them a 42-45 lead as play entered injury time. Stockport still had time to come back and centre Sam James crashed over in the right corner to score. 47-45.
In their previous home game Stockport had had a win snatched away when they strayed offside 25 metres out in front of their posts. There was a strong feeling of déjà vu and despair for the home fans as the referee signalled for a Preston penalty in the identical spot. Sean Taylor, the visitor’s man of match with a total of 28 points kicked the penalty for a final score of 47-48.

Stockport may have been left thinking what might of been but there were a lot of positives to take out of the game. One of which was the return of the Captain , Andy Fuller, to full action and making it an historical day as he and his father Mike became the first father and son to have both captained the side. Stockport travel to Westoe this Saturday for their first game against one of the league’s bottom three.