Stockport made the 280 mile round to West Hartlepool on Saturday and returned with mission accomplished. A win, with the important bonus point. That said there was not much to spare. Fly Half Matt Bebbington had been a run of 12 consecutive conversions but in difficult conditions the nearest he came to adding to his tally was when after 14 minutes flanker Reuben Harvey had finished off a catch and drive. The conversion attempt struck the right upright.
It had been all Stockport in that opening period and but attack after attack just fell short until the Stockport pack went into action near the line. It would prove a significant tool throughout the game. The home side enjoyed a 5 minute period of attack next but couldn’t break through and it was Stockport’s Captain Dave Marwick who bagged his 13th try of season from yet another line out catch and drive in the 26th minute.
There were a rash of yellow cards during the game and when wing James Drew got his marching orders after 30 minutes West Hartlepool immediately took advantage of his empty wing to score. 5-10.
Drew made amends for this sin binning when early in the 2nd half he put in a delicate chip ahead for Craig Cooped to chase and touch down. 5-15
It was another forward drive that took Stockport to their bonus point and it was a second try for Reuben Harvey. With 10 minutes to go the teams had exchanged further tries with a second for Craig Cooper. 10-25.
With the clock ticking down Stockport’s concentration slipped which allowed West Hartlepool to score 2 tries and it meant that the visitors were glad when the final whistle came. 22-25.