SALFORD CITY REDS 5
HARLEQUINS 2
Dave Parkinson at The Willows, Friday.
Salford City Reds welcomed new boss Shaun McRae to the Willows with the first try-less game known in the summer era but crucially, the Reds took victory that hands them a Super League lifeline with ten games remaining. As a result of incessant rain throughout, both teams had to dumb down their plans, which meant flowing rugby was kept to a minimum. None-the-less, the result was a tenacious, committed, forward-led game with some of the clashes that pitted the likes of Michael Korkidas, Andy Coley and Lee Jewitt against Karl Temata, David Mills and Jon Grayshon worth the admission alone.
McRae was first to admit that the game was hardly a classic.
“It was always going to be a grubby affair, there’s no question. It had to be. The conditions just suggested that it was going to be tight, a game where ball control was going to be difficult, relying a lot on the kicking and just being strong and tight defensively. I think both sides did that pretty well. We had chances and I think they had a couple of chances, it was just going to be very difficult to take those chances. All in all, I think the scoreline probably reflected the performance. It could have gone either way.”
“I can’t be critical because it was played in constant rain. In a win like that you talk about the whole team and I just thought that everybody tried hard. Certainly our execution wasn’t as good as it could be but I think we talk about the conditions not allowing us to do that. There is a lot of improvement and I think that is the most important thing. There is a lot of improvement in this team.”
“I wouldn’t say personally that it’s been the perfect week in terms of preparation because there has been so much to do. I’ve got to say I’ve relied a lot on Jimmy Lowes and Steve Simms this week in terms of their guidance. There are players there that I know their names well but did not know them as players. I thank the wisdom of my staff and I give them a lot of credit also. It would be unfair for me to start as a head coach and say that I did all the work because that is never the case if you win or lose. It was a team effort and I just liked the steel and grit that we showed.”
The first opportunity of points came after six minutes when returning City Reds skipper Malcolm Alker linked with Luke Robinson and Luke Dorn before John Wilshere moved into the line to good effect. His run looked like a try-scorer but Tyrone Smith crucially got hands to the fullback and the move was stopped inches out. On their next possession, Harlequins found the going tough and Lee Hopkins was driven into touch by enthusiastic defence.
As the Quins worked their way into the game Smith went close on 11 minutes after good work from Hopkins, Danny Orr and Mark McLinden but the Salford line held firm.
A Korkidas surge at Temata brought the popular side to life but Robinson’s clever pass was put down after fifteen minutes. Robinson continued to probe for an opening and after former Widnes loose forward Simon Finnigan was halted on the line, Alker saw the ball ripped from his grasp. This allowed Wilshere to step up and put the Reds in front with a 19th minute penalty.
A fine piece of deception from McLinden then worked an opening for Tyrone Smith and the Tongan centre roared through on the left before attempting an inexplicable leap over Wilshere. It was hardly a textbook stop from the full-back but the ball was dislodged and the 21st minute opportunity was lost. An unsighted incident was put on report after 23 minutes when Robinson was flattened following a kick downfield. As Chris Melling collected, the new Great Britain cap lost possession and Finnigan touched down only for the move to be brought back for the original infringement. Harlequins then had the best of the next ten minutes with Orr behind much of their good work.
In spite of this it was Salford with the next break as Wilshere and Dorn combined over fifty metres but the Quins chased back in numbers. The visitors ended the half in ascendancy but Salford’s rearguard again held firm. Inspired by the strong kick returns of Melling, Harlequins started the new half positively with Joe Mbu breaking the line after 46 minutes. At the other end, Alker ignored a five to two overlap and the frenetic nature of the game continued with another belligerent run from Smith.
Quins laid siege to the Reds line with Temata, Grayshon and Julian Rinaldi all going close before Korkidas pushed out in the tackle. This allowed Paul Sykes to land the penalty and the game was all square after 52 minutes. Handling errors punctuated the next few minutes with only fleeting attacks from both sides before Steve Bannister and Smith halted Kevin McGuinness on the goal line. The visitors countered with Smith again doing well in limited space before conceding possession in an attempt to lay the ball back. This allowed Salford to move into good field position and an attacking Robinson kick saw Melling concede a drop-out. On their next set, the City Reds drove into the twenty with an almighty charge from the outstanding Korkidas. Jordan Turner then passed to Robinson and the diminutive half-back added a 69th minute drop goal to edge the hosts in front.
Two minutes later, Quins were caught offside and Wilshere added his 47th goal of the season to open a three point advantage. The visitors then threw everything at the Salford defence but the hosts were able to run the clock down. With a minute remaining, Robinson drilled the ball into touch 90 metres from his own line. The visitors moved downfield and McLinden was obstructed in pursuit of his own kick. This allowed one final attack with Orr and McLinden twice spiralling kicks to the wings and although Harlequins forced a drop-out there was not enough time to restart the game and Salford claimed their fifth win of the season.
“There was a lot of effort both offensively and defensively.” Said disappointed Harlequins coach Brian McDermott. “We did try, defensively we were very, very brave and we did what we had to do to keep them try-less. To keep any team try-less you must be doing something right. I suppose we lacked imagination with the ball. We had enough possession near their try line to come up with something but we didn’t and that was disappointing. The conditions were huge, we had a game plan and we had to alter what we did, as I’m sure Salford did, but it wasn’t game plan that let us down tonight. It was disappointing that we came up with the error when Salford needed the error. We gave penalties away when Salford needed us to give penalties away. Yes you will come up with errors and penalties in games but there are sets and occasions in games when that is not the time to do it, they should be aware of things like that.”
GAMEBREAKER: Salfords ability to run down the clock and their try-line defence which held firm during those vital last few seconds.
GAMESTAR: It was a real prop forward’s game and Michael Korkidas was the pick of them – strong and powerful.
TOP TACKLE: Korkidas one-on-one effort on Karl Temata – I’m sure it measured on the richter scale somewhere!
CITY REDS
5 John Wilshere
2 David Hodgson
3 Kevin McGuinness
4 Aaron Moule
19 Stuart Littler
6 Luke Dorn
7 Luke Robinson
10 Michael Korkidas
9 Malcolm Alker
14 Paul Highton
8 Andy Coley
11 Mark Edmondson
13 Simon Finnigan
SUBS (ALL USED)
16 Andrew Brocklehurst
20 David Gower
23 Jordan Turner
24 Lee Jewitt
Goals: Wilshere 2/2, Robinson - Drop-Goal.
HARLEQUINS
16 Chris Melling
2 Jon Wells
3 Paul Sykes
4 Tyrone Smith
18 Matt Gafa
1 Mark McLinden
7 Danny Orr
8 Karl Temata
9 Chad Randall
15 David Mills
12 Lee Hopkins
22 Michael Worrincy
23 Henry Paul
SUBS (ALL USED)
14 Julian Rinaldi
29 Joe Mbu
30 Steve Bannister
20 Jon Grayshon
Goals: Sykes 1/1
ON REPORT – Unspecified player (23 – late tackle on Robinson)
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Reds: Michael Korkidas
Harlequins: Danny Orr
Penalty count: 11-10
GLDO Forced: 2-2
Half-time: 2-0
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 4,067
Story of the game
Mins Score
19 John Wilshere penalty goal (1/1) 2-0 Salford
HALF-TIME
52 Paul Sykes penalty goal (1/1) 2-2 Harlequins
69 Luke Robinson drop goal 3-2 Salford
72 John Wilshere penalty goal (2/2) 5-2 Salford
FULL-TIME
Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Super League 2007 saw some good games. One I reported was WARRINGTON V HUDDERSFIELD
WARRINGTON WOLVES 22 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 34 Dave Parkinson at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Friday.
With play-off time fast approaching, the top six of the Engage Super League is still far from decided as Huddersfield backed up their impressive win over Bradford with victory in a tough encounter at Warrington described as “patient” by Giants boss Jon Sharp.
“It was an important game.” He admitted. “We spoke very much about us having to be patient and build pressure, probably be ready for a really aggressive start from Warrington, which we saw and dealt with pretty good.”
“Overall I thought defensively we were fantastic, very aggressive, had plenty of linespeed about us and our line speed was good.Offensively we didn’t have much to play with and we didn’t have great field position early on, particularly in the first half.”
“This performance was a different type from us it was more dogged and more patient. We hung in there, weathered the storm and silenced the crowd.”
“We are in the top six on merit, but we aren’t there for sure. This group of players has achieved something really special, scoring 25 points, the most a Huddersfield Giants team has ever won in Super League which makes all of us really proud.”
The game gave the perfect opportunity for Chris Leikvoll, Brent Grose and Henry Fa’afili to bring the curtain down on their Warrington league careers. A fairy tale finish certainly looked on the cards early in the game as the Wolves dominated.
Lee Briers kicked a first minute 40-20 and after peppering the try-line without success a loose hand saw the tackle count zeroed. Warrington pushed the ball left and Ben Westwood was held over the line. From the resulting play-the-ball Fa’afili spotted loose markers, dancing past both and through another tackle to ground at the corner.
Ben Harrison knocked on from the restart and the Giants worked the field position well as Ryan Hudson teased a defender out of the line before shooting through the gap to score after six minutes. Thorman converted but the Giants lead was short-lived when Hudson saw the ball go loose in a tackle and Westwood was involved with Adrian Morley before taking a reverse pass to cross out wide. Briers was no nearer with his second conversion attempt.
The game really cranked up after 20 minutes with the arrival of Eorl Crabtree to the field. Immediately the Wolves forwards targeted the England International before he got an opportunity to respond with a crunching hit on Andy Bracek. Another heavy tackle then brought Paul Wood’s game to an end and the prognosis was not looking good according to Paul Cullen after the match.
“He has a very badly bust shoulder. The shoulder came out and we fear he broke it as well.”
As Warrington tried to counter Morley lost possession and from the opportunity Hudson fed Brad Drew and he moved past Leikvoll and inside Grose with ease. Thorman converted but missed a relatively simple penalty goal minutes later following a high tackle by Morley on Stuart Jones.
Although Drew forced a drop-out, Huddersfield could not add to their tally and it was the mercurial Briers who conjured up another touchdown for Kevin Penny. The young winger just can’t stop scoring, although this effort was reviewed several times by video referee Steve Ganson before being awarded. The Giants had one final opportunity of points before half-time but Drew’s attempted drop goal barely fluttered off the damp surface.
Warrington once again started the second half well with Grose carrying the hosts deep into Huddersfield territory and when Rob Parker chased an inch perfect kick, the Giants conceded a drop-out. Parker then rampaged to the line with only desperate defence preventing a try by the former Bradford forward before Rob Jensen intercepted and ran the full length of the field. Referee Richard Silverwood again referred the decision upstairs but the decision favoured the visitors and Thorman again put six points between the teams.
“He’s scored three 90 metre tries in his last four games. Said Sharp of Jensen. “He’s been a super buy for us and we are really excited about his improvement as well. I still believe he can become a better player than he already is.”
For five mad minutes the Wolves discipline faded with both Morley and Paul Rauhihi placed on report. The latter incident on Paul Jackson saw Thorman kick his fourth goal. Just past the hour mark, Huddersfield finally edged away when Drew angled a clever kick to the corner and Jamahl Lolesi got the faintest of touches, again confirmed by the video referee following a lengthy stoppage.
After 67 minutes, Warrington gave themselves a chance with a well worked try at the corner. Following good play from Jon Clarke and Grose, Westwood bulldozed through. Just when a comeback looked on the cards, the deck was toppled. Briers intended pass for Martin Gleeson went straight to Kevin Brown allowing the former Wigan stand-off a clear run to the line from forty-five metres. Thorman converted and although Westwood added a carbon copy hat-trick and goaled superbly, the Huddersfield skipper had the final word with his seventh goal after Lolesi was fouled in stoppage time.
“I think we got what we deserved.” Paul Cullen said. “I think our discipline simply wasn’t good enough. I really do appreciate the efforts of the players, I think we scored five very good tries, lot of width, lot of movement but in between, the discipline wasn’t good enough.
“Everytime we had good field position we gave a penalty away. We surrendered the battle of field position. I’m concerned with every penalty that we’ve given away. We’ve not been composed, we’ve not been disciplined enough and have squandered two points.”
“If we spend too much time looking at tables and numbers we may possibly take our eyes off what needs to be done.”
GAMEBREAKER: The final Huddersfield try put enough daylight between the teams to ensure even Westwood’s hat-trick heroics came to nought.
GAMESTAR: Brad Drew was in fine form and a major inspiration to the entire Giants effort.
TOP TACKLE: Eorl Crabtree’s thunderous effort on Andrew Bracek.
MATCH FACTS:
WOLVES
5 Brent Grose
2 Henry Fa’afili
3 Martin Gleeson
12 Ben Westwood
26 Kevin Penny
9 Jon Clarke
7 Lee Briers
16 Paul Wood
14 Mark Gleeson
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Adrian Morley
21 Andrew Bracek
22 Ben Harrison
SUBS (all used)
8 Chris Leikvoll
19 Steve Pickersgill
15 Rob Parker
29 Lee Mitchell
GIANTS
6 Chris Thorman
1 Paul Reilly
3 Jamahl Lolesi
11 Chris Nero
24 Rod Jensen
4 Kevin Brown
9 Brad Drew
18 Darrell Griffin
19 Ryan Hudson
10 John Skandalis
14 Stuart Jones
12 Andy Raleigh
13 Stephen Wild
SUBS
7 Robbie Paul
8 Eorl Crabtree
15 Paul Jackson
27 Michael Lawrence (Not Used)
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men-of-the-Match:
Wolves: Ben Westwood
Giants: Brad Drew
Penalties: 6-9
GLDO forced: 1-1
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 8,843
Story of the Game
Mins Score
3 Henry Fa’afili try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/1) 4-0 Warrington
6 Ryan Hudson try
Chris Thorman conversion (1/1) 4-6 Huddersfield
10 Ben Westwood try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/2) 8-6 Warrington
23 Paul Wood game ending shoulder injury
26 Brad Drew try
Chris Thorman conversion (2/2) 8-12 Huddersfield
27 Chris Thorman missed penalty (2/3)
38 Kevin Penny try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/3) 12-12 Warrington
HALFTIME
47 Rod Jensen try
Chris Thorman conversion (3/4) 12-18 Huddersfield
54 Chris Morley on report (suspected high tackle)
58 Paul Rauhihi on report (suspected dangerous throw)
58 Chris Thorman penalty (4/5) 12-20 Huddersfield
61 Jamahl Lolesi try
Chris Thorman conversion (5/6) 12-26 Huddersfield
67 Ben Westwood try
Ben Westwood missed conversion (0/1) 16-26 Warrington
70 Kevin Brown try
Chris Thorman conversion (6/7) 16-32 Huddersfield
71 Ben Westwood try (his hat-trick)
Ben Westwood conversion (1/2) 22-32 Warrington
80 Chris Thorman penalty (7/8) 22-34 Huddersfield
FULL TIME
With play-off time fast approaching, the top six of the Engage Super League is still far from decided as Huddersfield backed up their impressive win over Bradford with victory in a tough encounter at Warrington described as “patient” by Giants boss Jon Sharp.
“It was an important game.” He admitted. “We spoke very much about us having to be patient and build pressure, probably be ready for a really aggressive start from Warrington, which we saw and dealt with pretty good.”
“Overall I thought defensively we were fantastic, very aggressive, had plenty of linespeed about us and our line speed was good.Offensively we didn’t have much to play with and we didn’t have great field position early on, particularly in the first half.”
“This performance was a different type from us it was more dogged and more patient. We hung in there, weathered the storm and silenced the crowd.”
“We are in the top six on merit, but we aren’t there for sure. This group of players has achieved something really special, scoring 25 points, the most a Huddersfield Giants team has ever won in Super League which makes all of us really proud.”
The game gave the perfect opportunity for Chris Leikvoll, Brent Grose and Henry Fa’afili to bring the curtain down on their Warrington league careers. A fairy tale finish certainly looked on the cards early in the game as the Wolves dominated.
Lee Briers kicked a first minute 40-20 and after peppering the try-line without success a loose hand saw the tackle count zeroed. Warrington pushed the ball left and Ben Westwood was held over the line. From the resulting play-the-ball Fa’afili spotted loose markers, dancing past both and through another tackle to ground at the corner.
Ben Harrison knocked on from the restart and the Giants worked the field position well as Ryan Hudson teased a defender out of the line before shooting through the gap to score after six minutes. Thorman converted but the Giants lead was short-lived when Hudson saw the ball go loose in a tackle and Westwood was involved with Adrian Morley before taking a reverse pass to cross out wide. Briers was no nearer with his second conversion attempt.
The game really cranked up after 20 minutes with the arrival of Eorl Crabtree to the field. Immediately the Wolves forwards targeted the England International before he got an opportunity to respond with a crunching hit on Andy Bracek. Another heavy tackle then brought Paul Wood’s game to an end and the prognosis was not looking good according to Paul Cullen after the match.
“He has a very badly bust shoulder. The shoulder came out and we fear he broke it as well.”
As Warrington tried to counter Morley lost possession and from the opportunity Hudson fed Brad Drew and he moved past Leikvoll and inside Grose with ease. Thorman converted but missed a relatively simple penalty goal minutes later following a high tackle by Morley on Stuart Jones.
Although Drew forced a drop-out, Huddersfield could not add to their tally and it was the mercurial Briers who conjured up another touchdown for Kevin Penny. The young winger just can’t stop scoring, although this effort was reviewed several times by video referee Steve Ganson before being awarded. The Giants had one final opportunity of points before half-time but Drew’s attempted drop goal barely fluttered off the damp surface.
Warrington once again started the second half well with Grose carrying the hosts deep into Huddersfield territory and when Rob Parker chased an inch perfect kick, the Giants conceded a drop-out. Parker then rampaged to the line with only desperate defence preventing a try by the former Bradford forward before Rob Jensen intercepted and ran the full length of the field. Referee Richard Silverwood again referred the decision upstairs but the decision favoured the visitors and Thorman again put six points between the teams.
“He’s scored three 90 metre tries in his last four games. Said Sharp of Jensen. “He’s been a super buy for us and we are really excited about his improvement as well. I still believe he can become a better player than he already is.”
For five mad minutes the Wolves discipline faded with both Morley and Paul Rauhihi placed on report. The latter incident on Paul Jackson saw Thorman kick his fourth goal. Just past the hour mark, Huddersfield finally edged away when Drew angled a clever kick to the corner and Jamahl Lolesi got the faintest of touches, again confirmed by the video referee following a lengthy stoppage.
After 67 minutes, Warrington gave themselves a chance with a well worked try at the corner. Following good play from Jon Clarke and Grose, Westwood bulldozed through. Just when a comeback looked on the cards, the deck was toppled. Briers intended pass for Martin Gleeson went straight to Kevin Brown allowing the former Wigan stand-off a clear run to the line from forty-five metres. Thorman converted and although Westwood added a carbon copy hat-trick and goaled superbly, the Huddersfield skipper had the final word with his seventh goal after Lolesi was fouled in stoppage time.
“I think we got what we deserved.” Paul Cullen said. “I think our discipline simply wasn’t good enough. I really do appreciate the efforts of the players, I think we scored five very good tries, lot of width, lot of movement but in between, the discipline wasn’t good enough.
“Everytime we had good field position we gave a penalty away. We surrendered the battle of field position. I’m concerned with every penalty that we’ve given away. We’ve not been composed, we’ve not been disciplined enough and have squandered two points.”
“If we spend too much time looking at tables and numbers we may possibly take our eyes off what needs to be done.”
GAMEBREAKER: The final Huddersfield try put enough daylight between the teams to ensure even Westwood’s hat-trick heroics came to nought.
GAMESTAR: Brad Drew was in fine form and a major inspiration to the entire Giants effort.
TOP TACKLE: Eorl Crabtree’s thunderous effort on Andrew Bracek.
MATCH FACTS:
WOLVES
5 Brent Grose
2 Henry Fa’afili
3 Martin Gleeson
12 Ben Westwood
26 Kevin Penny
9 Jon Clarke
7 Lee Briers
16 Paul Wood
14 Mark Gleeson
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Adrian Morley
21 Andrew Bracek
22 Ben Harrison
SUBS (all used)
8 Chris Leikvoll
19 Steve Pickersgill
15 Rob Parker
29 Lee Mitchell
GIANTS
6 Chris Thorman
1 Paul Reilly
3 Jamahl Lolesi
11 Chris Nero
24 Rod Jensen
4 Kevin Brown
9 Brad Drew
18 Darrell Griffin
19 Ryan Hudson
10 John Skandalis
14 Stuart Jones
12 Andy Raleigh
13 Stephen Wild
SUBS
7 Robbie Paul
8 Eorl Crabtree
15 Paul Jackson
27 Michael Lawrence (Not Used)
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men-of-the-Match:
Wolves: Ben Westwood
Giants: Brad Drew
Penalties: 6-9
GLDO forced: 1-1
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 8,843
Story of the Game
Mins Score
3 Henry Fa’afili try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/1) 4-0 Warrington
6 Ryan Hudson try
Chris Thorman conversion (1/1) 4-6 Huddersfield
10 Ben Westwood try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/2) 8-6 Warrington
23 Paul Wood game ending shoulder injury
26 Brad Drew try
Chris Thorman conversion (2/2) 8-12 Huddersfield
27 Chris Thorman missed penalty (2/3)
38 Kevin Penny try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/3) 12-12 Warrington
HALFTIME
47 Rod Jensen try
Chris Thorman conversion (3/4) 12-18 Huddersfield
54 Chris Morley on report (suspected high tackle)
58 Paul Rauhihi on report (suspected dangerous throw)
58 Chris Thorman penalty (4/5) 12-20 Huddersfield
61 Jamahl Lolesi try
Chris Thorman conversion (5/6) 12-26 Huddersfield
67 Ben Westwood try
Ben Westwood missed conversion (0/1) 16-26 Warrington
70 Kevin Brown try
Chris Thorman conversion (6/7) 16-32 Huddersfield
71 Ben Westwood try (his hat-trick)
Ben Westwood conversion (1/2) 22-32 Warrington
80 Chris Thorman penalty (7/8) 22-34 Huddersfield
FULL TIME
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