Wasps sting Southport
THE Wasps from Cumbria were the visitors to Southport at the weekend with Broadly Developments sponsoring this mid-table clash which delivered a closely fought tussle.
Cockermouth won the fixture in Cumbria earlier in the year but Southport were playing on their home ground with an energetic young team.
The pack remained largely unchanged from last week with Sam Lawrenson the only new addition in the back row.
The backs were strengthened with the return of Charlie Attis who slotted in at fullback with Jake Mann moving to the wing opposite Tom Rowe who was brought in on the other wing.
Southport got things underway and kicked off with a very strong wind and it was evident quite early on that Cockermouth had some solid ball carriers and their continuity and ball retention being a strong feature of their play.
An early penalty for the Wasps was slotted with a strong kick giving them a 0-3 lead.
The visitors were controlling the play and Southport were unable to get into the game and following good interplay Cockermouth scored a converted try increasing their lead to 10 points.
Towards the end of the half Southport were able to force their way back into the match with Callum Tootle barging his way over the line however the conversion was unsuccessful and the score line read 5-10 at the halfway point.
Although the wind was easing slightly it was going to be tough for Southport to work their way back into the match as Cockermouths defence was impressive however within a couple of minutes of the restart Joe Parkinson with some quick thinking and elusive running managed to score in the corner. The conversion, into the wind, and from the touchline was a tough ask and the scores remained tied at 10 all. Cockermouth were quick to answer with a try of their own.
Some good strong running and the successful conversion left them seven points clear.
The home team were coming into the game with the larger visitors seemingly running out of steam although their defence remained stout.
The Bailey brothers, playing in the centres for Southport, were breaking the gain line with increased regularity but couldn’t quite beat the last man.
The penalty count was also on the increase which eventually led to one of the opposition players spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Southport for all of their possession and play couldn’t quite make the final pass and even when penalties were awarded choose to kick for the corner rather than taking the points. In the end Cockermouth with a rare incursion to the Waterloo end were awarded a penalty close to the posts and increased their lead to 10 points.
With only a minute remaining Southport finally got their rewards with Ryan Bailey scoring a consolation try which was unfortunately unconverted.
The final score ended up 15-20 with Southport at least scoring a losing bonus point.
Man of the match was again the ever reliable Ryan “Forrest” Bailey who was a constant threat to the opposition but Southport will be rueing what might have been with their dominance in the second half.