Boro can’t hold on to early advantage
LITTLEBOROUGH RUFC came up short last weekend after losing their lead and suffering a defeat at Carlisle.
It was Carlisle who immediately went on the attack and once again Boro showed their quality in defence against a team that was in the higher league last season and had the added advantage of playing on their own ground.
Matthew Goldthorpe made an early wing run for Littleborough, followed by a good line kick into touch by Nathan Coop.
Defence then turned into attack as Boro went up to the home side’s 10 metres line, culminating in a penalty awarded to the away side, which was well slotted over by Dominic Kershaw to put his side in the lead.
Unfortunately this was followed with a knee injury to Sam Dickinson, who had to leave the field and was replaced by Robert Chadwick.
On the re-start, Carlisle continued their pressure and went over in the corner for their first try of the afternoon.
Littleborough looked to hit back as the half went on, and the referee soon awarded them a penalty, allowing Kershaw to once again kick through the posts and put his team back in front after 30 minutes.
Boro were dealt another blow when another injury meant Coop had to be replaced by Aaron Jones, who took the wing position while Kershaw went to fullback.
Carlisle crossed the try line to retake the lead, before suddenly following it up with another try, adding the conversion on this occasion.
A scuffle then caught the referee’s eye just before the interval, resulting in one player from each team being sin binned.
In the final stages of the half, Littleborough then managed to reduce the deficit when they scored two quick-fire penalties through Kershaw, meaning it was 17-12 at the break.
The second half got underway and soon both players who had been dismissed returned to the game and were back involved with the action.
Littleborough did all they could to try and get back on level terms but Carlisle extended their lead with another try after placing a free kick to touch well into Boro’s half.
The away side didn’t give up though, as Goldthorpe almost brought a try for Boro but he was stopped just short of the line. The hosts pushed forward as they looked to add to their tally but were thwarted with a great distance kick to touch by Park.
In the last quarter of the game, play was centred around the halfway line and Boro had to make one or two player changes, whilst captain Andy Bairstow was regularly making several good tackles to keep their opponents at bay.
With only five minutes left, Boro were still pressing forward but Carlisle held on to pick up a 22-12 victory. A number of Littlebrough players showed character, especially Aaron Jones who came on and had an effective game.