After the hard fought battle for a win at Middlesbrough the previous week Stockport RUFC went into Saturday’s game with Morley with high expectations. In the event those expectations didn’t materialise. In reality the victory could have gone to either side until with the score at 6-9 to the visitors, their centre Liam Frost intercepted a pass on his own 10 metre line and ran through to score under the posts.
Stockport had started far the faster and more positive and within 8 minutes had notched up two penalties from the boot of Matt Bebbington. That was only part of the story. The truth was that they could have been at least 16-0 up by the same point. If the final passes had gone to hand for two consecutive attacks they would have ended in tries.
The match then went into a period of stale mate with Stockport just having the balance of territory and possession but lacking the ability to mount a sustained siege of the Morley line to break down the tightest defence in the league. After 28 minutes Morley got on the board with a penalty and four minutes later Stockport’s Dave Marwick was on the end of a yellow card. It was soon 14 players for each side as Morley’s Will Nutbeen joining Marwick on the side lines.
Just before half time Stockport scrum half Andy Rimmer was on the end of a dangerous tackle by Morley captain Craig Field. Neither player was to play any further part in the game. Rimmer with a neck injury and Field with a red card.
By the start of the second half and with Marwick restored Stockport had a numerical advantage but it wasn’t to last long. Only three minutes in the half an act of retaliation by Stockport flanker Reuben Harvey made it 14 a-side for the rest of the game.
Half way through the half Stockport’s influential No.8 Ben Blakely caught an accidental blow in the face and had to be replaced by Hugo Corbett. 2 minutes after his arrival the sides were also equal on the scoreboard as well as in players as Morley’s Simon Bradshaw kicked his second penalty goal of the day. Eight minutes later it was a hat trick of penalties for Bradshaw to give Morley a narrow 6-9 lead.
The score remained unchanged until 6 minutes from full time. Matt Bebbington had moved to scrum half with full back Steve Pearson moving forward to 10. It was Pearson’s long pass across the back line that Liam Frost latched onto and with Stockport committed to attack he couldn’t be caught. The conversion was added and there was no way back for the home side.
This Saturday Stockport make their longest journey of the season to Penrith.