Moore unable to crack Knutsford as they miss out at home again

Moore 14 Knutsford 33 MOORE slipped to a disappointing third loss at home of the season as they fell to fellow promoted side Knutsford 33-14 last Saturday.

The hosts arguably played their worst game of rugby this season as they struggled to get out of first gear throughout the encounter.

A string of simple mistakes saw Knutsford take an early 14-0 lead as Moore made uncharacteristic errors in their rearguard, often leaving huge gaps in their defensive line which allowed the visitors to simply stroll through.

Moore managed to pull back a well-worked converted try.

The ball was shipped well and an excellent overload from Sam Craven to Ben Craven saw Moore get onto the scoresheet to make it 14-7.

Hopes of a stronger showing from the home team were quickly dashed, however, with poor tackling and decision making allowing Knutsford to score two more tries before half-time.

The second half saw Moore looking to come out and overturn the deficit, but again the home XV struggled to make any meaningful impact on the game.

Their task was made harder by an early yellow card for the returning Mike Barr, which saw the team reduced to 14 players just four minutes into the period.

To the credit of Moore they were able to hold out for the yellow card period and indeed much of the rest of the second half.

A lack of incision in attack, though, meant that Moore were unable to make any inroads on the score.

Knutsford extended their lead with a highly-dubious try which contained passes that were contested by the Moore support on the sidelines.

In the final passage of play Moore showed some of the attacking class which had been missing on the day, with some excellent handling allowing Joe Pidgeon to score his ninth try of the season. It was too little, too late, however, and Moore lost out by 19 points in the final reckoning.

Despite their loss, Moore remain in fifth place in Sale Sharks Division Three South and will look to bounce back this Saturday afternoon as they travel to Old Bedians’ second string who also lost their match last weekend, 43-19 at Lymm Eagles. ● Elsewhere last Friday, Moore’s second-team were 25-14 winners over Warrington’s thirds. The seconds are without a game this weekend. SALE SHARKS DIVISION THREE SOUTH