Blaydon hold on for narrow win

BLAYDON WIRRAL 29 24

BLAYDON finally got back to winning ways but, having made a blistering start to make it 26-3, gradually saw their lead whittled away, and by the end it was down to a fragile five points.

With their backs running riot, a try scoring bonus point was in the bag after just 18 minutes but, by the interval, the visitors had pulled back two tries and, with a superior pack, were threatening to turn it round.

Alex Clark burst into the Wirral 22 in the third minute to hand on to Dan Marshall, who zipped past a bewildered defence to touch down under the posts for the opening score with Jamie Guy adding the conversion. Six minutes, later Keith Laughlin broke off from a short scrum to send in Marshall for a second try.

On 11 minutes lock-forward Jack Davidson went over from close range, Guy converting, to make it 19-0.

James Annetts landed a penalty for the visitors but Blaydon quickly secured a fourth try after running from their own line, with Jack Appleton racing in from 30m, and Guy once more on target.

And then the cracks began to appear, with Blaydon under the cosh in the scrums and leaking another try right on the interval to make it 26-17.

Guy extended the Blaydon lead with a 53rd minute penalty but the home side lost Dan Taylor to a yellow card.

Scenting victory, the visitors piled on the pressure and were rewarded with a Matt Dalton try and Annetts conversion to narrow their deficit – but Blaydon valiantly held on for a much-needed win.

JOHN BRENNAN