Fixtures between Eccles and Wilmslow stretch back over 125 years to the 1897/98 season when Eccles had their headquarters and changing facilities at the Blue Bell Hotel, Monton. The most recent meeting between the clubs at the Memorial Ground in September suggested the return game at Gorton Street would be a contentious contest and so it proved to be. Eccles made a poor start at the kick off, with the visitors securing a converted try in the opening minutes of play whilst spectators were still settling into their covered vantage points out of the rain (2’ 0-7). The wet and windy weather deteriorated along with the ability of both teams to keep hold of the ball long enough to cause each other any problems and it would be quarter of an hour before Eccles succeeded in building sufficient attacking momentum to respond to the early set back and move themselves into a striking position inside the Wilmslow 22. Good industry from the Eccles forwards maintained the pressure and with quick passing Keiron Reed, the young homegrown loosehead, rode the tackles to charge in and score to the left of the posts; his try converted by homegrown Fly-Half Leon Simpson (19’ 7-7). The chaos continued at the restart when Eccles failed to deal with a high ball and knocked on deep inside their 22 resulting in a Wilmslow scrum 15m from the goal line. An early push from the visitors returned possession to Eccles who successfully moved the ball up field towards the halfway line before a subsequent knock on whilst crashing through the Wilmslow line brought play back into the Eccles 22. This pattern of errors, with accompanying jeering and confrontation between the players, typified the exchanges of an irritable first half. With 30 minutes played, the match official had a conversation with the captains regarding discipline and awarded a penalty to Wilmslow inside the Eccles 22. The kick hit the post and Cox collected the loose ball and made good yards up the right flank towards the halfway line before a penalty awarded to Eccles slowed play down once again. Heavy rain was now making handling difficult for both teams and the game was in danger of descending into a midfield wrestle until an effective line break took Eccles into the opposition 22 where they increased the speed of play, with the forwards pods combining through the middle to sustain the attack and take the ball close to the posts. As the Wilmslow defence scrambled to protect their goal line, the ball was distributed quickly by Long and Simpson out to the left where Fullback Parkinson crashed through to score the try (33’ 12-7). Eccles were now playing with more assurance and, recycling the ball quickly at the rucks, succeeded in increasing the pressure on a determined and resolute Wilmslow defence. Multiple penalties inside the visitor's 22 lead to a yellow card for Wilmslow. From the base of the resulting Eccles scrum, 17-year old Matty Houghton picked the ball and charged towards the goal line. What followed at the breakdown was a confusing sequence of events with Wilmslow first awarded a penalty, then a reversal penalty to Eccles, leading to heated tempers and a red card to Wilmslow at 38’. The remaining minutes of the half passed without further incident or score. At the break Eccles were ahead in a feisty contest in filthy weather. HT 12-7 Eccles began the second period playing positive, cohesive rugby. Within a matter of minutes the forward's pistons were bursting through the Wilmslow lines on the left flank. The ball was swiftly moved across the back line to the right and Centre Byron Read received possession 10m from the goal line and powered through the tackles to score to the side of the sticks, giving Simpson a straightforward conversion which he dispatched for the extras. (43’ 19-7). With the advantage of the wind at their backs, fresh replacements on the field (Manzanares for Cunningham and Evans for Booth) the extra man and the early try, a successful second half looked to be on the cards for Eccles. However, the hosts failed to build on this platform and as the game progressed it was the visitors who showed greater determination to get off the line in defence and better judgement to play simply in attack, according to the conditions. Eccles made hard work of things and began to play as individuals, with the ball rarely making its way out to the fringes where wingers Ackers-Johnson and Ayanlaja-Lowo found themselves largely redundant as passes were blown wayward by the wind and speculative kicks were gathered up by the defending backs. The flow of the game lost momentum through stop start penalties in midfield. Flanker Thorton received a yellow card and a Wilmslow try (50’ 19-12) reduced the deficit. Eccles grip on the game was slipping and as the match entered the final minutes Wilmslow scored and converted an equalising try (73’ 19-19). There was still more drama to come. With 5 minutes to play Wilmslow were awarded a penalty inside the Eccles half, which looked to be sailing through but dropped short of the posts. Shortly after Eccles were awarded a penalty inside the Wilmslow 22 which Simpson appeared to successfully kick through the posts to retake the lead however, the referee did not agree and awarded a 22-metre drop-out to Wilmslow. This event was still being debated when the final whistle concluded a fractious match, which left players and supporters of both teams with plenty to talk about in the bar. All square. FT 19-19 Photos: Phil Saunders Hall
