Mayfield fail to kill Oulton off
Sophie’s on top of the world again
HOLDERS Mayfield arrived at Oulton full of confidence and warmed up like a team who were out to defend their trophy at all costs.
Oulton had other ideas though and started very strongly tackling everything that moved.
In the end it was their defence and determination that saw them run out winners in what was a tough encounter.
The Oulton defence was the highlight of the game with three and four men in each tackle.
Mayfield started well enough taking the lead after five minutes when Lewis Sheridan kicked through on the first and Matty Ashton raced through to collect and show the defence a clean pair of heels as he raced on to score, Sheridan converted for 0-6.
Within fifteen minutes the ferocious defence had resulted in Mayfield losing two players as first Seta Tala and then Sean Watkins had to leave the field with head and knee injuries respectively.
This upset Mayfield’s rhythm and minutes later an unforced error saw Oulton respond sharply and the winger dived over for a converted try to level the scores, 6-6.
Mayfield came back well and threw the ball about showing glimpses of the rugby they are capable of.
Aidan Gleeson made a good break and found Matty Ashton who in turn found Wayne English in support.
English showed his pedigree as he avoided the defence to go over under the sticks Sheridan again added the two to make it 6-12.
Just as Mayfield were again taking control they lost another player as Kieran Harmer left the field with an ankle injury before they had chance to regroup the home side threw the ball wide and their big centre crashed over for a four pointer to narrow the gap, 10-12.
Mayfield took the narrow lead into the break with Oulton the happier side while Mayfield had shown some good open rugby in patches Oulton had put in a solid steady performance and shown they were a team to be respected.
Whilst the home sides half time talk was all about keeping up the defence and capitalising on any errors they forced Mayfield wanted to improve their game and play their own brand of rugby.
The second half saw them do just that as Declan Sheridan and Munya Samanyanga combined to put Gleeson in out wide, 10-16.
From the next set the same two combined again this time with English the benefactor as he bagged his second try, Lewis Sheridan converted, 10-22.
Instead of putting Oulton to the sword as they should have done Mayfield appeared to ease of the gas and Oulton took the game by the horns as they showed a tremendous resilience scoring two tries to level the score at 22-22 .
Mayfield sensed they were in trouble opting for a long range shot at goal when awarded a penalty 45 yds out which Sheridan expertly slotted over to reclaim the lead for his side.
It didn’t last long though as Oulton took the same albeit much easier option minutes later, 24-24.
With five minutes to go they slotted over a neat one pointer to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Try as they did Mayfield couldn’t get back and Oulton took the game by one point.
They celebrated like they had won the cup and if they keep up the same enthusiasm for the rest of the competition they might well do that.
Mayfield were left counting the cost of not killing the game off when it was well within their capabilities and putting in a poor last 30 minutes that allowed their opponents to capitalise on their ferocious defensive effort.
The Oulton coaches named Dec Sheridan as man of the match. LITTLEBOROUGH’S double Judo Olympian Sophie Cox competed in the Abu Dhabi World Professional UAE Jiu Jitsu Championship, winning the World title with a series of superb performances.
The Championship attracted 7000 athletes from100 counties. The two week festival of Jiu Jitsu involved all belts, juveniles, parathletes, adults, masters and legends. Contesting the adult blue belt lightweight bracket (u-62k) Sophie was delighted to emerge victorious after four tough fights.
Sophie spoke after the competition, saying: “I was really pleased with the way I maintained an intense level of concentration, discipline and patience. This was shown by the fact that my opponents didn’t register a score against me in any of my contests. It was a long and gruelling day from 11am to 5 pm, but a capacity crowd at the iconic IPIC Arena in Zayed Sports City provide an inspiring atmosphere.
“After my European Masters Gold in Lisbon in January I was encouraged by one of my club mates Krishna Chauhan to think about the Worlds, this time competing at adult level. With the support of my coach Adam Adshead at BJJ Factory Stockport I won Gold at the British Pro Championship and Gold at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in London. These successes convinced me that I could be a serious contender at the Worlds.
“My first round opponent withdrew at the last minute so I had to readjust mentally to a long wait before fighting. In the second round Marina Spasovski from Denmark provided determined opposition. I kept tight control throughout the contest for a 3 point to nil plus 2 advantage points victory.
“Brazil dominates the Jiu Jitsu world at the moment so a quarter final win against Thanatos da Costa Manso proved that I could beat the best in the world. I secured an early 2-point score with a judo take down. I grappled hard to get two advantage points and the eventual win saw me through to the semi-final.
“Experience has taught me that your first fight and the semi final of any competition are the most crucial. A semi-final is nerve-wracking. You can go from a possible Gold or silver medal to losing for bronze in the repercharge and ending up in 5th place. On paper I wasn’t the favourite against another Brazilian Thamires Monteiro. However I had confidence in my strength, mental and physical, and my technique. I dominated from the start and won a bruising contest with 3 points and two advantages.
“And so to the final. At 19, Kladia Mitko from Poland is one of the rising young stars of Jiu Jitsu. Technically she is outstanding. Having fought and beaten her in the final of the British Pro I knew I would be involved in an epic encounter.
“I attacked from the onset and gained two points for a take down. During the next five minutes I blocked all her attempted attacks, getting two advantages and giving her no opportunity to counter. The world title was mine!”