Two From Two

On Saturday Bolton hosted Southport at Avenue Street. Southport, on the previous Saturday, had narrowly lost (28-29) to the league leaders. Bolton had had a good win over Leigh. This, on paper, was going to be a very interesting game. The weather was not great, as the wind blew strongly across the pitch; half way through the first half it rained until the end of the match.
Southport started well. Bolton had a line-out in their twenty-two and a poor catch allowed the Southport number 8 to crash over for their only try after three minutes. Bolton responded well and put Southport under a lot of pressure with some hard running from both the backs and forwards. Southport’s defence stood firm until the twenty-first minute. From a chip ahead Louis Critchlow picked up the ball and was tackled. In the process of making the tackle the Southport player ripped the ball backwards. It went loose over the try line and Chris Cockton scored the try. Lewis Lockett added the conversion. Then the rain started. It made the ball very slippery for both sides. Bolton were very much in charge throughout the scrums and line-outs. In the thirty-eighth minute Bolton were awarded a penalty for a scrum infringement and Lewis Lockett converted it.
Half-time score: Bolton 10 Southport 5
Early in the second half Bolton played good supportive rugby and on a couple of occasions were unlucky not to increase their score. The Bolton defence throughout the team was very solid and Southport were not given any room to play their normal game. The conditions, at this stage, were getting worse and the rain became heavier. A penalty converted by Lockett early in the second half took the score to 13-5. In the fifty-ninth minute Gaz Pritchard scored Bolton’s only try of the half. There was a break up the middle, Ash Cooper took the ball into the melee of Southport players. The ball was re-cycled and passed to Gaz who barrelled over from ten metres. Lewis Lockett added the conversion. The game became a stop/start situation with both sides making handling error due to the conditions. Bolton saw out the game and were awarded a penalty in the seventy-ninth minute which Lewis Lockett converted. Lewis’ kicking was excellent considering the weather conditions.
Final score: Bolton 23 Southport 5
Bolton did the double over a strong Southport team. They controlled the game particularly in the last twenty minutes. There was a lot more calmness and assertiveness about their play. Two victories from two matches – a very encouraging start to 2019.
Man of Match: Niall Murphy