Match report 2nd Team v Thornton 11th Dec

Bolton made the trip up to Blackpool for the return match against Thornton. The first leg won by Bolton at Avenue street 24-5. JP managed to get one car lost so kick off was delayed until half 2. Thornton kicked off and managed to catch their kick following a good chase from their pack. Bolton were still half asleep with Thornton’s pack picking and going from the back of every ruck. Their spell of possession was rewarded with 3 points from Bolton giving away a penalty at the breakdown. This woke Bolton up and some good running from Critchlow at outside centre gave Bolton a good field position. From a lineout Bolton set up a rolling maul putting the home side on the back foot before sending the ball wide. Cheetham supported well as was rewarded with the first try of the game, the extras added by Barlow. Another typical display from Bolton 2’s saw them relax after scoring, conceding a try late on in the first half. Bolton worked a good field position just before half time for Barlow to slot a drop goal as the last play of the first half. Half time score 10-8 or 10-10 according to Thornton and the referee.

The second half saw Thornton move their number 8 to prop to try and steady their scrum. However this could not stop Bolton’s rolling maul which again led to a try. It was Mclaughlin this time breaking from the back of the maul to dive over for Bolton’s second, conversion missed by Barlow. The second half was a fairly even affair with Thornton looking like scoring on a couple of occasions but some good tackling from Dave ‘The Volcano’ Evans and the Bolton team kept Thornton out. As the second half drew to a close Barlow chipped over and bounced up for Caswell chasing who offloaded to Sandbrook who didn’t have the gas to go alone and passed the ball back to Caswell to score in the corner, the extras kicked by Barlow. This gave Bolton a much needed 22-8 lead as the Thornton scrum half caught Bolton sleeping and darted into a gap at the side of a ruck to score under the posts and kicking the conversion. Final score 22-15.Leaving Bolton top of the league with Eccles having 2 games in hand.

Tries: Cheetham, Mclaughlin, Caswell

Conversions: Barlow x 2

Drop Goals: Barlow

Fraser Hart MOTM: Sandbrook