Littleborough 15 - 13 Bolton

Under the shadow of the M62, Bolton started well, but as the game wore on the visitors struggled to continue their style of play with a number of unforced errors at key moments proving the turning point.

Bolton kept possession of the ball in the early exchanges and earned a penalty due to an offside to the right of the upright. The usually trustworthy boot of Mark Doherty was off target and the ball sailed wide giving Littleborough an early let off. Undeterred, Bolton continued to dominate possession and looked to maintain their expansive style. After a number of fast rucks in midfield Mike Mills orchestrated a fine move with his backline that saw Danny Joseph go in at the corner in the first 10 minutes. Again Doherty was off target with the kick.

Littleborough soon came back into the game though and used their heavy back to earn good ground. A penalty at ruck time seventeen minutes in, gave the Littleborough inside centre the chance of 3 points which he duly converted, this as it turns out was to be the difference between the two sides at full time. 3-5.

Bolton did not wait long before coming back though and a scrum inside the Bolton half provided the platform. Quick ball from the set piece was moved wide immediately and Jonny Stanfield made the most of the open space to add another try to his tally this season, in the corner. The conversion, once again, was missed leaving the score at 3-10. At this point it looked like Bolton were on top and looking to play all the rugby, had this momentum carried on then most could be forgiven for expecting a strong victory.

However, that was not to be the case… Bolton allowed the home team back into the match during a 20 minute period in which handling errors and poor decision making, gave up possession and lost the Cherry & Whites’ territory. Two kickable penalties were converted by the Boro 12 and Bolton went into half-time with just a 1 point lead.

Despite some words from Dave Crouch and between the players themselves about going back to basics in the second half, Bolton continued to rack up the unforced error and penalty count as frustration began to get the better of them. The times Bolton did make good ground were often spurned and the home team used the sloping pitch to their advantage to clear their lines and leave Bolton the task of attacking up hill.

The game went down to the last ten minutes; Littleborough converted a penalty to lead 12-10, then Mike Mills stepped up to slot 3 points for Bolton following a Boro infringement at the ruck, taking it to 12-13. In an attempt to let the clock burn down Bolton gave away a final penalty which the home team kicker held his nerve to put through the uprights bringing shouts of jubilation from the sizeable home crowd.

This was a game that Bolton should have won and one that they must look back at to ensure the same does not happen again. One major positive that can be taken from it is that the Bolton defensive line held well and did not allow the home team to cross the whitewash. However Bolton must learn to remain clinical throughout a full game and drastically reduce both error and penalty counts if they are to maintain their league standings.

Credit must go to LIttleborough too, they battled hard and did everything they could to frustrate their opposition throughout. It is likely that a number of higher placed sides will travel to Hollingworth Lake this season and come home empty handed.