Blues denied in frenzied finale
MACCLESFIELD belied their lowly standing in the league when they travelled the leaders Hull Ionians at the weekend and gave the Yorkshire side a real run for their money.
Coming into the game on the back of victory against third placed Hinckley the week previous, Macc were full of confidence while their opponents had taken a hit with defeat at mid-table Preston.
Hull had the bulk of territory and possession early on as the Priory Park outfit struggled to make an exit set stick and get up the field. But the Blues seemed more than capable of defending the home side’s phases, suffering no penetration.
First blood went to the Yorkshiremen when they settled for three points from a Morgan Bunting drop-goal.
Ionians seemed to have the edge in the kicking battle but Macc seemed to have the edge at the scrum, despite the fact Hull doubled their lead on 12 minutes with a Minkin penalty when the men in blue were deemed to be driving across.
Macc hit back when Thomas Peters was guilty of not rolling away and Tom Morton was able to kick up field. The forwards put their stamp on the game, mauling 20 metres to just short of the line and the backs took care of the rest, Myles Hall the eventual try scorer on 17 minutes.
The Macc lads showed their grit and determination at the other end of the field shortly after, and had to withstand heavy pressure as Hull, who were clearly not in the mood to be embarrassed, found their way into the Macclesfield 22 with some powerful carries and half breaks forcing penalties which afforded them four maul opportunities from five metres out, all of which were repelled by a never-say-die defence, who got their reward by turning over a scrum.
Billy Robinson, Olly Longmore and Tom Mantell in the front row were massive for Macclesfield in that first period and truly led from the front.
Penalties in phase play allowed Morton to put his team into the Ionians 22, where the initial maul proved unproductive before a big scrum earned Macc a free play but the lads couldn’t find away through.
Morton naturally chose to scrum again and the pack didn’t let him down as they ploughed forward. Unfortunately, the scrum was going forward at such a rate of knots the ball was irretrievable as the referee called ‘ Use it’, and with that the chance was lost.
The resulting scrum was torn to pieces by the blue pack and forced back over the Ionians line who somehow got the ball down behind their line to draw the first period to a close. It was a huge effort by the boys who trailed 6-5 at the break.
After weathering a short spell of difficulty after the restart, an offside penalty allowed Morton to relieve the pressure and the pack got to work again, driving back their opponents with another 16 metre push and Macc set up camp in the Ionians red zone.
Multiple attacks came to nothing but territory was not yielded and Morton’s troops had their foot on the throat, eventually earning a penalty from the captain’s boot to move ahead on 59 minutes, 8-6.
Macc were growing in confidence, their defence again pushing their hosts back into their own half and turning over possession, before a patient pattern of phase play saw full back Dan Lomax break through, stride into Ionnians ’ 22 and offload to Dafydd Rees who combined with Hall.
A big carry from the recently introduced Brendan Berry gave further front ball and two phases later Morton was over in the corner. He missed the conversion but the Blues led 13-6 after 64 minutes.
More brick wall-like defence kept the home side at bay and Morton’s game management was just sublime, constantly pegging the table toppers back with his kicking and giving a master class in territorial warfare, eventually slotting another shot at goal after Sam Stelmasek’s pacy break off the back of a scrum ended with stand-in 9, Jordan Simpson, being taken out on 70 minutes. The visitors led 16-6.
Tackle after tackle, Ionians didn’t seem to be getting anywhere until a penalty allowed them to put to the corner in their first visit to the Macc 22 since the opening stages of the second half.
Phase after phase was resisted by the NorthWesterners and it appeared they had sapped enough time out of the game when Rees scored on 79 minutes and a minute later Minikin converted to pull it back to 13-16.
Macc defended a huge set after the kick off which culminated in Parry, Morton and Blackwell tackling Samuel Rees into touch, but he had offloaded and the recipient was also forced out.
The visitors celebrated much to the disgust of the tackled player and a number of his team mates and a short scuffle ensued between the two benches.
But the real drama was yet to come as the referee judged the player to have been dragged into touch after the tackle had been completed and so the game was still alive – penalty to the Yorkshire side.
A hotly contested decision if you were a Macc spectator and a highly relieving one if you were a home supporter. This was one of those decisions that would be debated in the club house long into the night.
When the melee settled down Ionians kicked to the corner and what followed was pure rugby drama. Hull threw wave after wave at the Macclesfield defensive line in an encounter now being played in near dark conditions as the game had over run so long.
Lewis Minikin found a way through to score on the 39th phase in the 95th minute. Players and fans wearing the blue of Macc were left devastated and sickened by the result.
Fair play to Hull Ionians who fought to the end on a day when they were not allowed to put their stamp on the game by a monumental effort from the visitors.
As disappointing as the outcome was, head coach Marshall Gadd must be massively enthused by what he has seen his side produce in the last two games since the narrow defeat away at bottom side Peterborough.
They have more than matches two of the top three teams in the league.
Hopefully the climax to this contest will not break the team spirit because the side really appears to be clicking now after a slow start, which was understandable with the turnover of players in the summer.
Onwards and upwards for Priory Park boys now. They have found something within themselves and their top two inches and look a threat to any side.
Next up for them is Stourbridge on Saturday at home.