U15 06-07
10/09/2006 v Langworthy Reds (home)
17/09/2006 v Widnes Moorfield (away)
24/09/2006 v Ince Rose Bridge (home)
01/10/2006 v Waterhead (away)
08/10/2006 v Oldham St Anne's (home)
15/10/2006 v Leigh East (away)
22/10/2006 v Westhoughton Lions (home)
29/10/2006 v Folly Lane (away)
05/11/2006 v Burtonwood Bulldogs (home)
12/11/2006 v Langworthy Reds (away)
26/11/2006 v Ince Rose Bridge (away)
03/12/2006 v Waterhead (home)
17/12/2006 v Leigh East (home)
For games played 2007 use link below
10/09/2006 v Langworthy Reds (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 38Langworthy Reds U15 - 8
After a couple of false starts Latchford finally managed to get onto the playing field to start their season. Having won the toss captain John Hewitt elected to have the Reds play into the sun. However, it was Latchford who dazzled the visitors when, with only six minutes played full back Hewitt ran straight through the heart of their defence to score and then convert. Hewitt was playing his 150th game for the club and had enjoyed the summer having been selected on the Regional training camp. Also on that camp was hooker Adam Yates-Dutton and it was him 9 minutes later who burst out from his own 20m line to run through and score under the posts, which Hewitt duly converted. The Unicorns were completing their sets but more importantly were playing as a unit in defence and it was that strong foundation that the attack was built on. Loose forward Lewis Litherland, supported by second rower Darryl Smith and stand off Jordan Stephenson were notching up tackles throughout the first half. At the twenty minute mark Hewitt made a thirty yard break that ripped a hole in the Langworthy defence, Yates-Dutton was backing up and received the pass that gave Adam his second try. Again Hewitt added the extras. Yates-Dutton went off for a breather and was replaced by Tom McIntosh. Things turned a little sour as prop Adam Barnes learned to his, and the team's cost, that you should not question a referee's decision in 'Wayne Rooney-like' fashion as he was dismissed from the field with 5 minutes of the half remaining. Just before half time with Latchford camped on the Langworthy line the defending side was adjudged to have unfairly ripped the ball free and Hewitt kicked over the penalty to give the Albion a 20-0 lead at the break.
Yates-Dutton returned to the fray for the second half as hard working prop Joe Beswick was spelled. Four minutes after the resumption Hewitt dodged in to score his second try and then kicked over the conversion. With ten minutes of the second half gone Yates-Dutton weved and danced through the defensive line to register his hat trick. Hewitt added the extras. Yates-Dutton and Darryl Smith were replaced by Phil Atherton and Joe Beswick but Adam soon returned to replaced the injured Lewis Litherland. Credit to Langworthy who should great spirit and scored down the Latchford left with 12 minutes remaining. They were also reduced to twelve men as their star loose forward was sin binned for swearing. In the next set of six Hewitt completed his hat trick and kicked over his 7th goal of the game. There was just enough time for Langworthy to score a second try in the same corner before the referee blew the whistle on an emphatic Latchford victory. Top tackler was Jordan Stephenson just ahead of Yates-Dutton, while Tom Wood enoyed a steady debut for the club at scrum half.
Team: -
1. John Hewitt
2. Phil O'Donnell, 3. Jack Murray, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Matthew Curran
13. Lewis Litherland
Subs: 14. Phil Atherton, 15. Tom McIntosh, 16. Adam Coley (not used) Back to top
17/09/2006 v Widnes Moorfield (away)
Widnes Moorfield U15 - 4Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 30
Latchford's meagre squad was a man down before the start with Phil O'Donnell missing out wiith a facial injury. That meant a shuffle round of positions as Jack Murray moved to wing, Lewis Litherland to centre, Matt Curran at loose and Tom McIntosh coming in at second row.
Despite running the risk of losing the coin in the long grass the toss made Latchford kick off against newly promoted Moorfield from Widnes. A good chase forced a knock on but Latchford did the same at the scrum and gave the ball back. A scrappy opening was seven minutes old when Adam Yates-Dutton threw from the base of a scrum inside the Latchford half, the ball moved from Curran to Jordan Stephenson who fed John Hewitt who sprinted 60yds down the left after a couple of forceful hand offs to score the 200th try of his Latchford career, which he duly converted. On the quarter hour mark a great move saw Yates-Dutton involved three times and a wonderful offload from Ash Pilling to give good field position on the last. While all anticipated a kick Hewitt threw short to Stephenson, he gave a splendid pass to McIntosh who cut back inside two defenders to dive over. Six minutes later and Hewitt burst down the left again having fended off several would-be tacklers, near the line his timely draw and pass put Litherland to score. With two minutes of the half remaining Tom Wood turned virtually full circle, sending the defence the wrong way and gave to prop Joe Beswick who crashed over making the half time score 18-0.
Latchford received the kick off and a second set when the Moorfield left wing was penalised. Near the Widnes line the ball moved from Wood through Yates-Dutton to Hewitt who threw out wide. The ball went to ground but as a defender attempted to clear off the oncoming winger, Pilling the Latchford lad gathered and ground the ball for his first ever club try. A momentary lapse of concentration allowed the home side's hooker to run through the defensive line and score in the corner. Phil Atherton came on for hard working prop Adam Barnes but a short while later he returned to replaced McIntosh who picked up a knock. Adam Coley also came on for his first appearance of the season replacing the other prop Beswick, who'd played his heart out. One small faction of the Moorfield team had begun to adhere less to the rules of the game and more to the Queensbury rules but the referee simply punished his team with several penalties, which Latchford capitalised on twice. Once when scrum half Wood scored hist first Latchford try and and then with an adavantage as Yates-Dutton ran down the centre of the pitch to score the final try of the game.
This was a great team effort built on a strong defence led by top tackler Adam Yates-Dutton, Matty Curran and Josh Stanger. On a very wide pitch both wings were commendable with Pilling and Stanger on the left enjoying their best games in a Latchford shirt, Jack Murray on the right working tirelessly and inside him Lewis Litherland put in a faultless display as centre. Such an all-round team effort led to seven tries from seven different players and promises much in the future if they carry on in this vein.
Team: -
1. John Hewitt
2. Jack Murray, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Tom McIntosh, 12. Darryl Smith
13. Matty Curran
Subs: 14. Philip Atherton, 15. Adam Coley Back to top
24/09/2006 v Ince Rose Bridge (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 28Ince Rose Bridge U15 - 16
During the off season there was talk analysis of the previous campaign's defeats to suggest several were more attributable to Latchford losing games rather then the opponents winning them. The positive start to the season seemed to indicate that the team had rectified the silly errors with a very positive outcome. In the first half of this game at home to Ince Rose Bridge there were worrying signs that the errors were creeping back and almost cost the Unicorns dearly. Jordan Stephenson and Tom McIntosh were unavailable leaving the home side with just one substitute.
As the monsoon season struck Loushers Lane and the elements put on a spectacular display of thunder, lightning and rain Latchford struck first in the hurly burly of the very first set. On the sixth tackle Johnny Hewitt's grubber kick from 30 yards out was gathered on the run by Adam Yates-Dutton who scored by the post for Hewitt to convert. The short kick off should have given possession back to the Albion but the ball was allowed to go into touch and Ince crashed through some feeble tackles to level. The game constricted for the next quarter of an hour but not all of the Latchford pack seemed keen to look for work reulting in Adam barnes and Matty Curran putting in overtime carrying the ball up field. This was worrying with Latchford's limited relief on a heavy pitch. Yates-Dutton made a forty yard break to help set up Hewitt for another cross field grubber kick that Phil O'Donnell was able to pounce on as he returned to the side from injury. Hewitt added the extras. Once again Latchford failed to gather the kick off and knocked on. Ince then received a penalty for a high tackle and crashed over out wide that was well goaled to bring the scores back level. A high tackle the other way just a yard out saw the Albion go for the power play but knock on at the fourth tackle leaving the score at half time 12-12.
Eight minutes into the second half and Phil Atherton came on for Adam Coley. A couple of minutes later and with Latchford a good thirty yards out the play-the-ball was passed out to Hewitt who broke the lineto score by the posts and then add the extras. Yet again Ince showed they weren't there for the ride and scored out wide with a good passing move that they failed to convert. Another ten minutes had elapsed before Yates-Dutton broke out of some tackles and ran 35 yards to score but the kick failed. Straight from the kick off Ash Pilling ran the ball back into the centre of the Latchford half, Darryl Smith drove the ball further up field. Yates-Dutton went blind side releasing Curran who smashed into the defensive line before offloading to Yates-Dutton who drew the defenders to send Jack Murray on a 40 yard run to the posts, which Hewitt converted. In the end the score looked quite confortable but it was anything but in the first half. Tremendous credit should go to Lewis Litherland who put in a phenominal tackling display from stand off registering 26 tackles, 3 short of his own record for this team last year.
Team: -
1. John Hewitt
2. Phil O'Donnell, 3. Jack Murray, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Lewis Litherland, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Matty Curran
13. Adam Coley
Sub: 14. Phil Atherton Back to top
01/10/2006 v Waterhead (away)
Waterhead U15 - 40Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 6
The kick off was delayed to allow three of the squad to complete their magical mystery tour of Oldham. As it was Lewis Litherland didn't manage to get there on time and started on the bench. The team was shuffled so that shirt numbers no longer reflected the formation. Latchford won the toss and elected to play into the sun and fierce wind as Waterhead kicked off. The kick was allowed to go into touch giving the advantage back to the home side and set the tone for the early exchanges and neither side completed their tackle sets. A big hit from front rower Adam Barnes caused Waterhead to spill the ball, which Josh Stanger gathered and Latchford marched up field. As they neared the line the ball passed through six pairs of hands before finding those of John Hewitt who crashed over and then converted. Yet again the kick off was allowed to find touch, this time with a helping Albion hand. The resultant drop out was driven back and four tackles later Waterhead equalised out wide but failed to goal. Latchford were then adjudged to be offside at a scrum near their own line and Waterhead scored to take the lead. Tom Wood picked up a knock and was replaced by Litherland. Shortly after a high Waterhead kick sailed well over debutant Luke Ferguson's outstretched hand but the referee saw him touch the ball and awarded the home side a scrum from which they soon scored. With ten minutes remaining Wood came back on for Tom McIntosh, allowing Luke Ferguson to move to a more natural position in the pack. When Latchford regained possession Barnes received a big hit and had to leave the field being replaced by McIntosh, the prop took no further part in the match. Latchford were still very much in the game but were being asked to defend back to back sets, which is always energy sapping but they kept the league leaders out until half time, score 6-16.
Latchford started the second half much the same as the first and after a good set John Hewitt forced his way over the line. Cheers all round were quickly surpressed as the referee said the ball had been knocked on. More decisions forced Latchford onto the back foot and frustration began to emerge in the form of ill-discipline that saw Waterhead awarded a penalty twenty metres out from which they scored. Phil O'Donnell replaced Ashley Pilling but with quarter of an hour of the second half gone Waterhead's number 8 powered his way over the line for his second try of the day. Phil Atherton came on for McIntosh. Not surprisingly Latchford's tackle count was one of their biggest ever with ten of the team in double figures. Highest among them were Jordan Stephenson and Matty Curran, the latter celebrating his 50th appearance for the club. The game was effectively over before Waterhead scored two more well-worked tries. Even so Latchford had a late rally and Hewitt wriggled and stretched around the post to ground the ball. It seemed he took his hand off too quickly as the referee arrived and the try was ruled out for another knock on. Waterhead played very well and will be the team to beat this season and Latchford under performed by the standards they set themselves this season but the scoreline was cruel. On a more positive note Luke Ferguson had a good first game for the club, running onto the ball and performing some big one-on-one tackles.
Team (starting positions not shirt nos): -
1. John Hewitt
2. Jack Murray, 3. Luke Ferguson, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Tom McIntosh
13. Matty Curran
Subs: 14. Lewis Litherland, 15. Phil O'Donnell, 16. Phil Atherton, 17. Adam Coley (not used) Back to top
08/10/2006 v Oldham St Anne's (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 26Oldham St Anne's U15 - 10
After the disappointment of the last game Latchford needed to get back to winning ways, but it was a tough ask against Oldham St Anne's who they haven't beaten in the last four meetings. Latchford kicked off into a strong wind and the opening exchanges saw neither side take a hold on the game. With 12 minutes on the clock John Hewitt kicked on the last out wide left and winger Luke Ferguson showed great agility to catch the ball dodge inside the defender and dive over for his first club try. The wind proved too strong to enable a succesful conversion attempt. Latchford now had the upper hand and got a good roll on in the next set. A head high tackle on the 30m mark gave the home team a penalty and, despite the wind and the good pressure it was decided to kick for goal, which failed. Oldham began to come back into the game and Hewitt had to chase 80m to stop a certain try. An overlap was created and within a couple more tackles Oldham scored on their right wing. Ferguson left the field with a facial injury and was replaced by Phil O'Donnell. Latchford missed a takle in the middle and Adam Yates-Dutton was called upon to perform heroics but it was in vain as Oldham took the lead with a converted try shortly after. With two minutes of the half remaining the ball moved along the line and found Jack Murray who looked to have spurned the chance to give it to the overlapping players out on the right wing, but then he turned back and threw out to centre Josh Stanger who dived in for his first try of the season. Jordan Stephenson converted well as Ferguson came back on and O'Donnell departed. Half time score 10-10.
Joe Beswick took a breather and Tom McIntosh started the second half. A scrappy beginning saw Latchford take the initiative when Lewis Litherland and Jack Murray combined to give Hewitt a score that Stephenson converted. With six minutes gone Adam Barnes was replaced by Beswick. The game continued without further score for the best part of a quarter of an hour but Latchfford began to show some determination which was rewarded when Litherland found Ferguson who danced and wriggled down towards the line and then threw over the head of those tackling him to give Stephenson his first try of the season. It's testimony to the expansive play of this Albion side this year that Stephenson became the twelth player of the squad to score a try. Hewitt added the extras. Latchford were now in the ascendancy and on the next set Ferguson scooted through to score and cap a fine personal performance. Second rowers Daryl Smith and Matty Curran were replaced by Phil Atherton and returning prop Barnes as the game played out its last eight minutes. Just before the end O'Donnel and Adam Coley came on for McIntosh and Ashley Pilling as Latchford claimed their third victory of the season. Stephenson and Yates-Dutton topped the tackle count.
Team: -
1. Jack Murray
2. Luke Ferguson, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Matthy Curran
13. John Hewitt
Subs:
14. Tom McIntosh, 15. Phil O'Donnell, 16. Philip Atherton, 17. Adam Coley Back to top
15/10/2006 v Leigh East (away)
Leigh East U15 - 8Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 24
Latchford travelled to Leigh East bouyed by having won four of their opening five games and knowing their opponents had struggled at the start of this season. However, if they thought this was going to be a stroll in the park they were in for a surprise. True enough the match started well enough for the visitors who forced a handling error to win possession and completed their first set with a fine try as Jordan Stephenson fed John Hewitt and Adam Yates-Dutton hit the gap to score under the posts. Hewitt added the extras with just three minutes gone. Four minutes later second rower received a knock in the eye and left the field, aking no further part in the game. Tom McIntosh replaced him. Neither side managed to complete their next periods of possession and there was no kicking phase at any point in the half. Latchford lost winger Ash Pilling to a leg injury with Phil O'Donnell coming on and then, with 13 minutes gone extended their lead as Yates-Dutton ran through to score his second and allow Hewitt an easy conversion. Some niggle crept into the game, which benefitted the home side more than Latchford as Leigh's number ten scored out wide to make the half time score 4-12.
Not for the first time this season the kick off went into touch giving back possession to Leigh who capitalised immediately after creating an overlap on the Latchford left. A dangerous tackle gave the Unicorns a penalty in front of the sticks and Hewitt's kick created a six-point lead. The game continued in a scarppy fashion and not surprisingly that both sides had a poor completion rate, with Latchford having less carries than in any other game this season. One player on the home side continued to get under the skin of Latchford and managed to temporarily reduce the Albion to 12 players. With 12 minutes left Latchford drove the ball upfield. A great burst from Hewitt was stopped with a fabulous last ditch tackle but the next play saw Tom Wood feed matty Curran who became the thirteenth squad member to score a try this term. The conversion attempt failed but the lead gave some breathing space between the two teams for the first time. Phil Atherton replaced Josh Stanger and was immediately involved with a drive and then a big hit that saw Leigh spill the ball. A short while later and Hewitt suged through the heart of the Leig defence to score under the posts and then convert. Final score 8-24 to Latchford.
A couple of great individual bursts from Hewitt, Yates-Dutton, Luke Ferguson and Joe Beswick were often undone by Latchford's desire to keep the ball alive early in the tackle count. This meant they found themselves defending more than necessary. Topping the tackle count were Yates-Dutton and Beswick just ahead of Hewitt and Lewis Litherland. Not all games can be pretty and sometimes it's necessary to win ugly, this was one of those occasions.
Team: -
1. Jack Murray
2. Luke Ferguson, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Matty Curran
13. John Hewitt
Subs: 14. Phil O'Donnell, 15. Tom McIntosh, 16. Phil Atherton Back to top
22/10/2006 v Westhoughton Lions (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 28Westhoughton Lions U15 - 28
Sometimes it's all to easy to dwell on negatives and in this game there were some, but not too many. Maybe the odd missed conversion, a few telling tackles and even one controversial decision but there were far more positives to take out of the match and it was certainly a great game for any neutrals on the touchline.
This game was a real test for the Unicorns. Westhoughton, like Latchford, had lost just one of their opening six matches. On a dozen previous meetings between the two sides the Lions had always come out on top including a whitewash in the cup last season. This encounter began with Latchford completing their sets and applying early pressure. Despite the set back of losing winger Ashley Pilling with a dead leg, replaced by Tom McIntosh , Latchford took the lead when Jordan Stephenson collected a high kick from John Hewitt to ground near the posts. The conversion attempt failed and Westhoughton came back to take the lead with a well-worked converted try. Matty Curran spelled prop Joe Beswick who'd already regsitered his fair share of tackles. Latchford almost scored in the corner when a neat pass from Stephenson found McIntosh but the diminutive winger was bundled into touch near the try line. Latchford were penalised for a flop and Westhoughton went blind to score and stretch the lead to 12-4. Beswick replaced Adam Barnes as Latchford mounted a counter attack. Tom Wood found Stephenson who fed Hewitt for a score, but the extras went begging. As the half drew to a close the Unicorns mounted further pressure and forced a goal line drop out, four decent drives later Wood drew and passed to give Hewitt his second, which he converted to make the score at the break 14-12 in favour of the Albion.
The second half was was ten minutes old before Latchford got the ball and by that time they had cnceded three tries to make the score 14-28. Westhoughton had managed to find joy out wide for the first, kick over a bunched defence for the second and added a thrid when an offside player did enough to prevent the Latchford defender from getting first to the ball and then to the attacker who scored under the posts. This was now a mountain to climb, almost literally as Latchford had chosen to drive uphill in the second stanza. Some teams might have folded but Latchford buckled down and grafted to get themselves a foothold in the game. That came when Wood, found Stephenson who passed out to cntre Josh Stanger and a timely pass allowed Luke Fergiuson to cross in the corner. Ten minutes were left on the clock and Phil Atherton came on for his 150th club appearance, along with Darryl Smith replacing McIntosh and Barnes. Wood, who had a hand in most of the plays in this game, found Matty Curran who went n a surging run leaving defenders in his wake as he plunged over the line. Latchford were now just one converted try away from Westhoughton. Adam Coley joined the fray for Beswick as Hewitt forced a knock on from the visitors and drove the ball upfield. A couple of drives later and Stephenson gave the ball back to Hewitt to scored his hat trick, the 24th time he has scored 3 or more tries in a game for Latchford. He added the extras to bring the scores level. Time was just about up but the home side mounted another forray upfield and whilst still forty metres out Hewitt tried an audacious drop goal attempt that failed as the final whistle blew with both sides tied at 28 each. The tackle count was again dominated by Adam Yates-Dutton just ahead of Hewitt, Stephenson, Stanger and Phil O'Donnell.
Team: -
1. Jack Murray
2. Luke Ferguson, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Ash Pilling
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Phil O'Donnell
13. John Hewitt
14. Tom McIntosh, 15. Phil Atherton, 16, Adam Coley, 17. Matty Curran Back to top
29/10/2006 v Folly Lane (away)
Folly Lane U15 - 22Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 32
Latchford travelled to Manchester the day after a team-building day of paintballing and they needed all that reinforced spirit to overcome a determined Folly outfit whose performance made mockery of their lowly league standing. Both wingers, Ash Pilling and Luke Ferguson were absent as well as pack regular Matty Curran. That meant a shuffle round with John Hewitt going to full back, Jack Murray and Phil O'Donnell taking over on the wings, Tom McIntosh came in at loose and Phil Atherton was given a rare start in the pack.
It's becoming customary for Latchford to cough up attacking options from kick offs and it was frustrating if not surprising that they knocked on at the start of the game. Folly failed to make the most of an overlap and so a scrappy start was served up by both teams. A couple of penalties kept the momentum in favour of the home side but, despite this pressure Hewitt broke out from his own 10m line and rampaged 60 metres upfield before being stopped by the Folly right winger, Hewitt neatly offloaded to the supporting Jack Murray who was able to finish the try that Hewitt converted. Another penalty was awarded against Latchford who were taken back a further ten for dissent. Folly made good use of the ground gained and scored out on their right. A quarter of an hour had been played when Lewis Litherland pounced on an untidy play-the-ball near the Folly line and within two tackles he was over for a try but the kick failed. Folly came right back and found a gap in the middle of the Latchford defence to score a converted try that gave them a 12-10 lead. A knock on at the kick off gave Latchford back the ball and after two drives Tom Wood threw out to Jordan Stephenson who passed to McIntosh and the recipient managed to wriggle in the tackle to place the ball over the try line and restore Latchford's lead. Hewitt stretched it further with a succesful kick. Another penalty was awarded against Latchford and they found themselves a man down as a dissenter was sin-binned. Irrespective of being shoret handed Latchford managed to get to the kicking stage of their next set for only the second time in the half, the defenders failed to deal with it and Josh Stanger came up with the ball for a new set. Stephenson fed Murray and the winger dived over for his second try of the game to make the half time score 22-12 in Latchford's favour.
The second half was seven minutes old when Adam Yates-Dutton made a tremendous burst threw the opoisition line and ran from just inside his own half down the right to score a try that Hewitt converted. This was Yates-Dutton 200th point for the club. Adam Coley came on as Adam Barnes took a breather. A great tackle from Hewitt saw the opponent lying prostrate with a spilled ball and as they were congratulating themselves on winning the ball back, Folly's impressive stand off gathered and ran through to score. Inside the last ten minutes Hewitt went on a rampaging run, handing off defenders and creating space down the left wing before unselfishly throwing back inside to Litherland who scored his second of the game. The coaches were able to rotate their pack to keep the forwards fresh and were rewarded with some powerful displays by them. In tackles alone Phil Atherton registered 19, Barnes 18 and Joe Beswick 15 in the game. Five other players were also in double figures with top of the count being Jordan Stephenson with 23. Mind you, it's perhaps not surprising that this was the second highest tackle count with a penalty count of 9-3 against them and eight back-to-back sets awarded until Folly scored the last try of the match.
Team: -
1. John Hewitt
2. Phil O'Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Jack Murray
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Philip Atherton
13. Tom McIntosh
Subs: 14. Adam Coley Back to top
05/11/2006 v Burtonwood Bulldogs (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 24Burtonwood Bulldogs U15 - 12
As you might expect this was a local derby played at a high tempo and Latchford had to be at their best to overturn a half time deficit to win and finally put down that old Bulldogs voodoo. The game started badly for the Unicorns as they were starved of possession and, of the opening dozen sets Burtonwood had the ball for nine and capitalised with a converted try with a fine run down the Latchford left from the base of a scrum. After twenty minutes the Bulldogs extended their lead from a good passing move out to the other wing. Finally Latchford got the ball in their hands and, after penalties for holding down and a head high tackle, John Hewitt ran menacingly at the defensive line and over for a try that he converted to make the score at the break 6-10.
Both sides' completion rates were high ensuring that a lot of tackles were required to contain the attacking opportunities. In the second half Latchford rotated their squad, keeping players fresh. Within six minutes they had levelled the scores after Jordan Stephenson intercepted a tired pass and charged upfield. A couple of drives later and the Unicorns were in position to throw the ball out, Stephenson to Hewitt to Matty Curran who found Lewis Litherland with a player outside of him on the left. 'Lith' went himself and the chance seemed lost but he got the ball out to his winger Phil O'Donnell who scored in the corner. O'Donnell ran the kick off back and then Hewitt raced through to put Latchford in the lead with a try that he converted taking his season's tally over the 100 point mark. Burtonwood were not beaten yet and came back with a try of their own. A raised flag as the winger went over in the corner caused some confusion but the visitors happy flag man apparently was simply celebrating his player scoring. With just a two point lead and six minutes left the pressure was eased when Adam Yates-Dutton put in Luke Ferguson to score wide right. On the stroke of full time Stephenson and Yates-Dutton combined to let Jack Murray score the last try of the game and seal a Latchford victory. Defensively Tom Wood and John Hewitt put in their biggest individual tackle counts of the season and it was Hewitt with Stephenson who topped the tackle stats.
Team
1. Jack Murray
2. Phil O?Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Luke Ferguson
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Phil Atherton
13. John Hewitt
Subs: 14. Matty Curran, 15. Tom McIntosh, 16. Ashley Pilling, 17. Adam Coley Back to top
12/11/2006 v Langworthy Reds (away)
Langworthy Reds U15 - 10Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 22
Having had the best start to a season in their eight year existence it is important they embark on the second half of this campaign in a similar fashion. This was a tough ask as the team travelled to face Langworthy Reds on their heavy, boggy pitch. Just five minutes had elapsed when Langworthy went ahead with a converted try. Both teams completion rates weren't great as the ball began to resemble a bar of soap and the mud splattered kits hard to distinguish from each other. Twenty minutes to go and starting prop Phil Atherton made way for Adam Barnes. Four minutes later and, after a good driving set, Adam Yates-Dutton picked up the ball, which then passed through the hands of Jordan Stephenson to Lewis Litherland who fed Phil O'Donnell and the winger dived in the corner to put Latchford on the scoreboard. With two minutes of the half remaining John Hewitt and Yates-Dutton had got the Albion up to the opponents try line. Hewitt found Joe Beswick who ran onto the ball and crashed over under the post to give Hewitt an easy conversion and Latchford the lead at the break 10-6.
Tom McIntosh started the second half in place of Darryl Smith, which started the same as the first as Langworthy were the first to score, this time seven minutes had elapsed as the home side equalised. Shortly afterwards Latchford were awarded their first penalty of the game in front of the posts but spurned the chance of what looked an easy two points in favour of the power play. That fizzled out as the wet conditions put paid to pretty passing moves and the game continued with the sides deadlocked at 10 each. Ash Pilling came on for his first taste of the game as Phil O?Donnell made way with just over ten minutes to go. A couple of minutes later and Yates-Dutton drove on once more before passing to Matty Curran who crashed over for a try that Hewitt converted. Smith returned to the field to give the hard working Beswick a well deserved rest. The prop forward had put in his highest personal tackle count in his Latchford career. There were other personal highs for Josh Stanger, Tom Wood, Luke Ferguson and the outstanding Jordan Stephenson. Jordan went on to become the first player ever in this team's history to register more than thirty tackles in a game and it's not surprising that this was the biggest tackle count of the season so far. One of which forced a knock on over the try line to prevent Langworthy scoring another try and another saw the slightly built Ferguson lift his opponent clean off the ground in the biggest hit of the day. The team also registered the highest amount of carries in a game this season. Five of those carries took Latchford back upfield in the last set of the game. While the opposition might have expected Latchford to drive to the centre for a field goal, Yates-Dutton moved wide right and found Lewis Litherland who scored a try in the corner. Hewitt added the extras to complete the double over a determined opposition who never gave up throughout.
Team
1. Jack Murray
2. Phil O?Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Luke Ferguson
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates Dutton, 10. Philip Atherton
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Matty Curran
13. John Hewitt
Subs: 14. Adam Barnes, 15. Tom McIntosh, 16. Ashley Pilling, 17. Adam Coley (not used) Back to top
26/11/2006 v Ince Rose Bridge (away)
Ince Rose Bridge U15 - 20Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 18
Latchford traveled to fourth placed Ince without powerhouse Matty Curran and the season's top tackler, Jordan Stephenson. Additionally, new recruit Shaun Pilling is still waiting for his transfer to be ratified after submitting the paperwork three weeks previously. A promising start saw the Unicorns force an error in the first set and then apply pressure to the Ince line, followed shortly after by a goal line drop out. Unfortunately this early pressure was not transformed into points and it was the home side that scored first on eight minutes with a neat run down their right. After the kick off Ince were penalized for leading with the elbow and Latchford spurned the possible two points for the power play. This proved to be a good decision when, after good drives by Joe Beswick and Darryl Smith, Tom Wood played in John Hewitt who scored Latchford's 50th try of the season under the posts. Hewitt's conversion gave Latchford a two point lead. Phil Atherton was having difficulty keeping his feet and was replaced at second row by Tom McIntosh. The half played out in staccato fashion due to several stoppages for injury to the same Ince player. The home side had better rhythm to their plays and scored again on the 25 minute mark after creating an overlap on their left wing. A fine goal kick gave them a four point lead but there was no time for a reply as the referee blew for half time under the impression this age group played 25 minutes rather than 30.
After both coaches agreed to stick with an abridged second half, the game resumed with Latchford in better shape attacking-wise by completing their sets. However, it took nearly a quarter on a hour before there was any further score and it was Ince who crossed the whitewash with a neat jink 'round the ruck on the short side to expose a lack of numbers on the Latchford left. Another gap was exploited and Ince were now 14 points ahead with just ten minutes left. A measure of the character of the side this season is shown in how they continued to complete sets, tightened up their defence and launched a counter attack rather than capitulate as they may have done in the past. On the twenty minute mark the Unicorns were awarded another penalty, the goal would not do any good so Hewitt ran it and off loaded to Wood who passed to Lewis Litherland and he found McIntosh who scored wide right. The conversion failed but Latchford were back in the game. With two minutes left Litherland fed his wingman Phil O'Donnell who scored as he has done in each of the previous two games. Again the kick was too close to the touchline and failed. From the kick off Latchford surged back up the field with fine runs from Adam Barnes, Litherland and Adam Yates-Dutton. At the kicking phase the full back knocked on and a scrum was awarded. Yates-Dutton released Hewitt who showed great determination to force his way over for a try. The last kick of the game would have evened the scores, which would have been harsh on Ince who had performed the better for the majority of the game and so when the goal attempt failed it was perhaps right, although if the full thirty minutes were being adhered to it might have been a completely different story. Despite the team's top tackler being absent, and this not being the best defensive performance of the season, there were some great personal efforts from several players, the pick being Beswick who registered over twenty tackles for the second game running followed by Hewitt and Ashley Pilling who put in his highest tackle count of the season playing in the pack.
Team: -
1. Jack Murray
2. Phil O?Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Luke Ferguson
6. John Hewitt, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Darryl Smith, 12. Philip Atherton
13. Ash Pilling
Subs: 14. Tom McIntosh, 15. Adam Coley (not used) Back to top
03/12/2006 v Waterhead (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 18Waterhead U15 - 32
Two months ago Latchford suffered their heaviest defeat of the season away at Waterhead and went into this game knowing their opponents have beaten all comers this season. Jordan Stephenson and Matty Curran came back into the side and Shaun Pilling was able to make his much awaited Unicorn bow as Darryl Smith made way at second row. Shaun became the 73rd player to turn out for this team since it was formed in 1999. This meant Latchford had a glut of five subs, which was a good number for the heavy conditions and strong opponents. Latchford kicked off into a low sun but soon won back possession after forcing a knock on. Penalties for holding down and then offside took the Albion up to the Waterhead line for Joe Beswick to power over for a try that John Hewitt converted. Set completion was looking good as Latchford worked their way through drives and, for some, the tackling was tigerish. Unfortunately the impressive defensive efforts of debutant Pilling, Hewitt, Stephenson and Adam Yates-Dutton were let down by one or two other team members and, with just over ten minutes gone, Waterhead scored after their player evaded several feeble tackles and then offloaded as he fell to ground for a score out wide left. As the kick failed Latchford held a slender 2pt lead. On the quarter hour mark the visitors were again penalized for offside. The resultant tap went through the hands of Tom Wood, Stephenson and onto Matty Curran who released Lewis Litherland for an unconverted try. After twenty minutes those who had driven the ball up and had tackled hard were looking tired, while others were still missing too many tackles. With Latchford not getting off their line and Waterhead running onto passes with gusto Latchford conceded three tries in six minutes to give their opponents a 20-10 half time lead.
For the start of the second half Curran and Adam Barnes were replaced by Darryl Smith and Ashley Pilling but Latchford coughed up possession almost immediately at the resumption and found themselves further behind with just a minute gone. Latchford fought hard and held out for a dozen more minutes before Waterhead scored again to give them a seemingly unassailable lead of 32-10. Barnes and Curran came back on for Shaun Pilling and Beswick who had both earned a rest. With just under 10 minutes to go and the Unicorns still completing their sets to take the game to Waterhead, their efforts were rewarded when Yates-Dutton, Stephenson and Curran moved the ball across the line again to find Litherland who scored his second try of the game. Tom McIntosh was introduced at this point. Five minutes later Stephenson released Jack Murray who burst through the defensive line and scored his 50th career point. There was insufficient time left for any real hopes of a comeback but just enough time for Phil Atherton and Adam Coley to enter the fray. It was not the biggest of tackle counts with an average per player of just under ten and just four players in double figures. Hewitt and Litherland were two, while Yates-Dutton had 16 and Stephenson dominated with 24.
Team: -
1. Jack Murray
2. Phil O?Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Luke Ferguson
6. Jordan Stephenson, 7. Tom Wood
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Adam Yates-Dutton, 10. Adam Barnes
11. Shaun Pilling, 12. Philip Atherton
13. John Hewitt
Subs: 14. Darryl Smith, 15. Ash Pilling, 16. Tom McIntosh, 17. Phil Atherton 18. Adam Coley Back to top
17/12/2006 v Leigh East (home)
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 32Leigh East U15 - 10
Latchford kicked off into sparkling sunlight on a soft pitch but it was not long before the heavens opened and torrential rain threatened to bring an end to free flowing passing moves. Not a bit of it as Latchford registered more offloads in this rain-drenched game than in any other this season and, consequently, went on to score more tries than in any other game this campaign.
Leigh East did not come along just for the ride and their loose forward was in good form. The early exchanges saw Leigh utilizing an early kicking phase but full back Jack Murray was more than a match for it. By varying the direction of the kicks Leigh had more success and gained some early territorial advantage as a result. The stalemate was broken after quarter of an hour when the visitors' number thirteen broke away from the base of the scrum to run through and score under the posts, he then duly added the extras. This jolted the Unicorns into action, who spelled their starting props Joe Beswick and Darryl Smith, replacing them with Shaun Pilling and Adam Barnes. Latchford soon scored a try of their own as Jack Murray burst down the right. Latchford didn't convert any of their eight tries in the game and so were still behind at this stage. With five minutes of the half remaining Latchford again reached the kicking phase of a set and, when it was spilled by the defence, Matty Curran pounced on the loose ball and charged over the line to give the lead to Latchford. That lead was stretched further as John Hewitt gave an inside pass to Adam Yates-Dutton who repaid the compliment releasing Hewitt for the last score of the half, which finished 12-6.
Keeping the pack fresh was the order of the day and at the break second rowers Tom McIntosh and Matty Curran were replaced by Phil Atherton and Adam Barnes, while Adam Coley came on for winger Phil O'Donnell. Just seven minutes had elapsed when the ball was fed to Joe Beswick who crashed over. Smith came back on for Barnes, McIntosh came on for winger Luke Ferguson, Curran returned to the fray shortly after and Shaun Pilling took a breather. At the twenty minute mark Yates-Dutton again handed Hewitt the chance to go over and his captain duly obliged to score his second of the day. O'Donnell and Coley were swapped. Leigh East enjoyed a brief period of pressure and capitalized with a well-worked try out wide on their right. Substitutions were coming thick and fast as the coaches attempted to give everyone sufficient game time and keep their players hungry. It worked well as Latchford finished much the stronger scoring three more tries. First a cross pitch kick from Hewitt was pounced on by O'Donnell, then Curran scooted for his second and finally Shaun Pilling marked his second appearance in a Latchford shirt with his first try for the club. All in all a good day's work with most of the team sharing the defensive duties and the half a dozen players on the scoresheet. Almost inevitably Jordan Stephenson topped the tackle count but close behind were Lewis Litherland, Joe Beswick, Jack Murray and Tom Wood.
Team:
1. Jack Murray
2. Phil O'Donnell, 3. Lewis Litherland, 4. Josh Stanger, 5. Luke Ferguson
6. John Hewitt, 7. Adam Yates-Dutton
8. Joe Beswick, 9. Tom Wood, 10. Darryl Smith
11. Tom McIntosh, 12. Matty Curran
13. Jordan Stephenson
Subs: 14. Adam Barnes, 15. Shaun Pilling, 16. Phil Atherton, 17. Adam Coley Back to top