Fleet go down fighting!

Without a game since early December the travelling players were in need of a game and despite a number of regular players not being present Fleet were confident this game would be there for the taking.
Both teams were evenly matched during the first ten minutes, Fleet showing early dominance in the scrummage whilst Eccles looked to run the ball down the centre of the pitch. The first attempt at a score was a missed penalty from Eccles, however as Fleet had now begun to sit back and invite their hosts to attack the inevitable happened when the home side broke down the blind side to score a try and conversion, 7-0 down. A few minutes later the Green and Golds registered a score, courtesy of a Jackson penalty, 7-3 down. Credit has to be given to the amount of defensive work that Fleet were having to do as Eccles went searching for further tries, debutant flanker Haigh in the thick of it. However, the next try from Eccles was scored at close range from the back of a scrum, the referee awarding it despite the protest from many a travelling player that the effort was short of the line, 14-3 down. With 5 minutes of the half remaining Fleet started to show more desire, the support play and possession was in greater abundance and confidence was now growing as the half concluded.

After words of encouragement from manager Jefferson Fleet started the second half with increased tempo which soon allowed fly half McNish to set centre Fuller on his way, rugby league debutant Skelton was on hand to neatly finish the move and score, 14-8 down. Just as the Green and Golds thought they had clawed their way back into the fray, Eccles notched up another try after a poor defensive clearance, making it 21-8. However, this only spurred Fleet to dig even deeper, young flanker Donoghue raced forward spinning out of tackles and eventually great support play allowed Skelton to bag another, 21-13 down. Then, against the run of play Eccles created another try of their own, plus extras making it 28-13. Surely, by now Fleet had nothing left? Far from it, the forwards were now grinding their opposite numbers down, the man mountain figure of prop Gregson smashed his way over to score from all of 5 metres, Jackson nudging the conversion, 28-20 down with 10 minutes to play. The intent was clear, Fleet were scenting victory as Donoghue came up with a try, no extras added making it 28-25. With a couple of minutes on the clock winger Birks raced down the wing beating a couple of men in the process, a penalty awarded to Fleet for a high tackle. The opportunity to level the game was just out of range for Jackson and with Green and Golds having the momentum the decision was to run the penalty, which unfortunately yielded nothing! Final score 25-28!

This was a game that Fleet could of and should of won! However, at the end the reflections were positive with an acknowledgement that if victories are to be secured going forward then the performances need to be at the level of the second half. Overall, the forwards as a unit performed for most of the game in particular at scrum time, plus the back row of Smith, Donghue and Haigh were always prominent in attack. Young scrum half Kirton 'bossed' the second half along with the centre pairing of Kerr and Fuller who showed promise in attack. The two try hero of Skelton also performed well with his clinical finishing. However, for his tackling, ball carrying and for causing the opposition problems it was the returning youngster Donoghue who was named as man of the match! Next week a much needed home game awaits Fleet who entertain high flying Littleborough to Melbourne Avenue.

Report from Dan Jefferson