Folly Lane U15 - 22
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 14

Latchford produced a patchy display and ultimately paid the price for two minutes loss of concentration in a physical encounter.

Latchford conceded too many penalties early on and went behind when the home teams prop barged over from close range after 10 minutes. The Unicorns bounced back to level when Matt Reid crashed over in the corner following a slick passing move which spanned the width of the pitch. The game then ebbed and flowed until just before half time when Follys speedy full back exploited a gap from a scrum and sped 60 metres to score under the sticks. Worse was to follow as the hosts scored on their very next set, crashing over from close range when the referee allowed play to continue after apparently calling the tackle complete. HT 4-16

The second half continued to be very physical with Latchford going further behind conceding another close range try early in the half. Despite the deficit the Unicorns refused to lie down and forced late tries through Fraser Jones-Lake and Feme Adeputan both as the result of excellent handling moves. George Briggs converting one. Back to top

16/09/2007 v Rylands Sharks (home)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 14
Rylands Sharks U15 - 16

Latchford managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a physical derby match. Tries from Krawiecki, Rigby and Jones-Lake with one goal from Briggs saw the Unicorns leading just after half time.

The loss of skipper Rigby with an ankle injury appeared to affect Latchford's fluency however the turning point in the game came when Hardman sprinted 60 metres and was controversially ruled to have not grounded the ball correctly. Rylands rallied to score two late tries to take the points. Back to top

23/09/2007 v Woolston Rovers (away)

Woolston Rovers U15 - 12
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 44

Another physical derby match saw Latchford run out comfortable winners in the end, however they had to work extremely hard to overcome some dogged resistance.

Latchford led 14-6 at the break with two tries from Reid and one from Adeputan with Briggs converting once. Woolston reduced the arrears to two points with a try immediately after the break, however the Unicorns powered forward adding tries from Green, Hardman, Rauhihi, Hesketh and Reid completing his hat trick. Briggs added a further 5 conversions Back to top

07/10/2007 v Halton Farnworth Hornets (away)

Halton Farnworth Hornets U15 - 22
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 14

An excellent all round team performance against strong opposition saw Latchford earn a valuble two points. Latchford fell behind after 7 minutes after conceding a series of penalties, however enthusiastic marker defence from Adeputan saw the big prop rewarded with the equaliser after powering 35 metres to score at the posts. Briggs converted. Jones-Lake added a second try shortly after, crashing over following some flowing team play. Briggs added the extras. Hornets astute kicking game saw them claw their way back however just before half time strong Latchford pressure was turned into points when Reid side-stepped through and raced over from 25 metres. Briggs 3rd conversion gave the Unicorns a deserved 18-10 half time lead.

The second half saw both sides put in huge defensive efforts with Latchford adding to their score when Brazendale scored out wide. With 5 minutes left Halton reduced the arrears but the Visitors were not to be denied the spoils and closed the game down to secure a hard earned victory. Back to top

14/10/2007 v Leyland Warriors (away)

Leyland Warriors U15 - 12
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 42

Latchford ran out convincing winners at the end of a stuttering performance. Following a lethargic start, in which most of the players still looked like they were still watching the previous nights Grand Final, Krawiecki sparked a three try burst in the twelfth minute powering through the Leyland defence. Adeputan and Brazendale from 60 metres added further tries with Briggs adding the extras HT 18-0.

Leyland opened their account immediately after half time, however Reid darted over from the base of the scrum and Hardman added a further score before lazy defence enabled the home side to cross for their second try. Late tries from Adeputan and Phillips completed the scoring with Briggs ending the game with a flawless 7 out of 7 with the boot. Back to top

21/10/2007 v Widnes St Marie's Dragons (away) Lancs Cup

Widnes St Maries Dragons U15 - 34
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 12

Latchford were forced to travel to their old nemesis for this Lancashire Cup game and shocked the Premier Leaguers by taking the lead with a converted try. The lead was retained when Widnes failed to convert their reply try and extended it further with a second converted try. In a very workmanlike performance the first half ended with Latchford leading 12-10.

Widnes replied shortly after the break and the score line remained 16-10 to the home side for much of the half. Tired legs and an incredible work rate took it's toll as Widnes' two forwards found new gaps that had been blocked earlier in the game and the score took on cruel and non-reflective proportions towards the latter stages. The overall performance showed how far this team have come and shocked a few of the home side supporters with how close the games was for the greater part. Back to top

28/10/2007 v Saddleworth Rangers (away)

Saddleworth Rangers U15 - 22
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 24

Latchfords inability to convert a number of first half opportunities into points nearly came back to haunt them as a late try from the home side made for an uncomfortable last few minutes.

A disrupted warm up caused by traffic problems didn?t seem to affect Latchford as trys from Hesketh, Rauhihi and Feather all converted by Briggs secured an 18-10 half time lead although with better execution the visitors could have added a further three scores.

Saddleworths expansive approach tested the visitors defence all over the park and in scoring just after the break the hosts reminded Latchford that they intended to make the journey home even longer. To their credit the Unicorns knuckled down and when Briggs added the extras to Adeputans try with ten minutes to go the points seemed secure against a Rangers team running out of energy but certainly not spirit. Further chances to wrap up the game were spurned by Latchford, ensuring that Saddleworths late try led to an uneasy finale Back to top

04/11/2007 v Hindley (home)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 50
Hindley U15 - 12

Latchford utilised their overwhelming physical advantage to the full against a Hindley side which never took a backward step and to their huge credit competed for the full sixty minutes when lesser teams may have thrown the towel in.

Latchford powered forward from the first whistle with first Krawiecki and then Adeputan (twice) scoring to give the Unicorns a solid platform. Two further tries from Reid and Houghton were added as the home side started to play some expansive Rugby and with Briggs converting two the half time score was 22-0

The home side continued to play expansively after the break and added further tries through Green, Brazendale, Reid, Krawiecki and Phillips with Briggs adding two further conversions and Rauhihi converting one to round off an outstanding personal contribution. Hindley to their immense credit scored an excellent try from Whittles astute kick and captalised on a Latchford handling error in front of their own posts. Back to top

11/11/2007 v Crosfields (away)

Crosfields U15 - 22
Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 26

Latchford nearly managed to lose this game having built up a commanding lead in a very physical derby match.

Latchford got an early wake up call when Crosfields took the lead with a good try after 3 minutes. The Unicorns roared back and following a series of penalties for high shots Adeputan crashed over. Briggs levelled. The hosts tackling technique continued to cause them problems and Latchford exploited the indiscretions when Reid powered onto Rigbys pass to score. Briggs goaled. Crosfields then exposed some shoddy defence with a fine try out wide however Latchford continued to pile forward and just before half time Rigby put Reid into a gap and supported to receive the return pass and scoot under the posts. Briggs converted HT 10-18

Latchford kept turning the screw after the break and good passing saw Jones-Lake step over with Briggs adding an excellent conversion. The same player then added a penalty from in front of the posts to give the visitors a sixteen point lead. Possibly thinking the job to be done Latchford then spent the last 20 minutes defending as Soap threw the kitchen sink at them, scoring three further tries, two of them in the last 5 minutes. However Latchford held on doggedly for the points and ultimately thankful for Briggs 5 out of 5 with the boot. Back to top

18/11/2007 v Leigh Miners Rangers (home)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 18
Leigh Miners Rangers U15 - 22 Back to top

25/11/2007 v Folly Lane (home)

Latchford Albion Unicorns U15 - 12
Folly Lane U15 - 15

Latchford went into this game sitting joint top of the first division. Foly were up their with them but Folly were unbeaten and Latchford had two more games, both defeats. This was to be a good guage of where the Unicorns were at. Early pressure produced several good chances for Latchford to take the lead but the final pass was either too hurried, not accurate enough or simply the wrong option. James Brazendale did managed to get on the end of a move to put the home side in front. Folly came back and scored a try of their own and the conversion gave them a two point lead at the break.

In the second half scoring opportunities again proved rare and it was Folly who grabbed the first without converting. A fabulous break from Brazendale saw him breach the defensive line and sprint in from distance. The conversion brought the scores level at 10-10. Folly, realising that this was a tight game took an early drop goal attempt and pushed themselves a point ahead. Latchford kicked over a penalty for offside to regain the lead by a point. Then in the dying seconds Folly scored out wide on their left giving a touchline conversion attempt that failed but sealed the victory for them in a thrilling game. Back to top