Eccles 18 -32 Rochdale Mayfield

Hatton’s National Conference League: Division 1 Mayfield took the short journey to Salford on Friday (12 November 2010) night on the back of an impressive four game winning streak and showed enough power and pace to extend the winning run and consolidate fourth place in the league.

Eccles sit second from bottom in the table, but have shown glimpses of the form that saw them promoted as division 2 champions last season. This has been particularly evident at home, where they have picked up their two wins - one against other local rivals, Oldham Saint Anne’s, two weeks ago. this, added to the fact that Eccles are historically tough and uncompromising at home, could have made this a sticky fixture for the Mayfield team missing player coaches Sam Butterworth and Wayne Corcoran through injury.

Mayfield started solidly and the teams exchanged quality first sets until the pace on the fringes started to reap dividends for Mayfield. Damien Gibson, Todd O’Brien and John Foy all made half breaks that gave Mayfield field position for wide passing to the right to find Steve Wood who rampaged through the cover for the opening try.

Aidan Gleeson goaled and added another a couple of minutes later to John Foy’s try - this time from the left centre position following a smart dummy from Gibson, who gave Foy clear ground to run in, and Foy returning from injury, backed his own ability to dummy through the cover to score. 0-12.

Ben Butterworth kept the score board ticking over with a fine individual score on 30 minutes. The half back took a blind side pass dummied and jinked his way through the line and rounded the full back for the try of the game.

Gleeson converted for 0-18.

Flying Fijian Ben Namulatua was next on the score sheet as Simon Moore got on the end of more fast and wide passing, and drew the defence copy book style, to put the winger in untouched for a Gleeson goaled try on 35 minutes.

Confident Mayfield were well in control and Eccles seemed shell shocked but the high standard of this league was illustrated perfectly by an Eccles fight back either side of the half time break.

On 39 minutes Mayfield, for once, failed to clear their lines and a dropped ball in the 25 metre area gifted Eccles the field position they had been deprived of for the rest of the half.

Eccles' prop forward crashed over under the sticks for a converted try that gave them some hope. On 41 minutes, Mayfield again gifted Eccles possession in their 25 and Eccles again took the gift for a converted try.

12-24 and some may have thought Mayfield were rocking - but led by outstanding efforts in defence by Matty Moores, Andrew Moroney and Lee Atkinson, Mayfield regained control and despite handling suffering in appalling conditions, Mayfield looked comfortable as they met the spirited Eccles team head-on.

Benn Coombes and Ben Simpson both put in massive hits to gain field position for Mayfield on 68 minutes and Simon Moore took advantage of incisive passing from O’Brien and Gibson to score a Gleeson converted try.

12-30 was increased by a Gleeson penalty on 70 minutes, and Mayfield had safely bagged the league points, despite the rapidly failing floodlights and the efforts of an Eccles team beaten but not bowed. Eccles finished the brightly in the gloom with a converted try for a final score of 18-32.

Second row Andrew Moroney was best on the night for Mayfield, closely followed by Todd O'Brien and Ben Butterworth.

Team; Robert Kershaw, Ben Namulnatua, John Foy, Steve Wood, Kristian Duffy, Damien Gibson, Ben Butterworth, Benn Coombes, Todd O’Brien, Chris Brett, Andrew Moroney, Matty Moores, Aiden Gleeson, Simon Moore, Saqib Murtza, Lee Atkinson, Ben Simpson.

Tries; Wood, Foy, Butterworth, Namulatua, Moore. Goals; Gleeson 6.