Bowdon v's Hoylake 1st XV

Bowdon 21
Hoylake 20

With just 10 minutes remailing in this fixture, Hoylake looked home and dry, leading 20-7 after tries from Rich Young, Liam Rushworth and Steve Young. However, what proved to be the deciding factor was the missed conversion in front of the posts following Hoylake's first try, scored by veteran centre, Rich Young.

Hoylake have shown in recent fixtures that they are more than generous to opposing sides in the second half of matches and on this occasion, it proved costly as the Bowdon outside centre cruised his way under the posts with almost the last play of the game.

Up until then, Hoylake were good value for the lead and really should have taken four points from the game rather than the single bonus point they ended up with. Hoylake's physicallity was superior to the hosts in most aspects of the game, but Bowdon always posed a threat with ball in hand.

All in all, a disappointing result after a solid performance by the team but hopefully lessons have been learned.

Hoylake welcome Glossop on Saturday for what is always a closely contested fixture. In fact, it was the visitors impressive second half performance at Melrose Avenue last season that spurred them on to a lengthy unbeaten run, ultimately resulting in their league survival. Hoylake's forwards will need to be on their metal but the backs know also that the Glossop backs can also pose a threat on their day.

An enteratining game is expected!