Hoylake were lucky to come away with the win despite dominating the majority of the game. Decision making in the final third could have cost the boys in green the win on another day.

There were several changes to the side that were heavily beaten a couple of weeks ago against a well drilled Liverpool St Helens. Jake Woods was back at hooker with the return of No.8 Matt O'Hanlon. Ian Griffiths was back after in the 2nd row and in the absence of Guy Byatt, (who is expecting the birth of his new baby any time now), veteran centre Ritchie Young stepped up to the open side with Mike Russell returning from injury on the other flank. James McLaughlin was at fly-half and so Ben Sparke moved to inside centre. Ben Flint was on one wing and Mike Webster the other. Joe Lavin was in his usual full back position.

With the highest tide of the year there was an on shore wind favouring Manchester and within minutes of the Kick off Hoylake took the lead. Centre Liam Rushworth made a telling break though the middle of the park and linked well withl with Joe Lavin who's pace and elusiveness took him over the line. James McLaughlin converted of the bar to give Hoylake a 7 point lead. With a beefier pack Hoylake's tight play was proving a handful for Manchester with Tom Corkhill and and Matt O’Neill controlling things from the set pieces and with MacLaughlin back at fly half the Hoylake backs were more comfortable with ball in hand but Hoylake gave away too many near their own line and Manchester converted 2 simple penalties narrow Hoylake's lead to 7 – 6 at half-time.

Hoylake opened the second half with conviction and evident determination and had Manchester on their heels. Within 10 minutes, a series of scrums on the Manchester 5m line saw the pressure eventually tell, On the 4th attempt to drive Manchester over their own line, Matt O'Hanlon picked up at the base and fed Joe Lavin who strolled over in the corner, the touchline conversion was missed.

The momentum was now firmly with the boys in red, white and green and following another penalty in the red zone, the decision to go for the touchline rather than the post was the correct one. With the lineout so dominant all afternoon, a simple catch and drive saw Jake woods score under the pile of bodies, again the conversion was missed.

However, the game suddenly shifted in Manchester's favour, the referee took exception to Ian Griffiths handling in the loose and found himself in the sin bin. With legs tiring Hoylake found their defence stretched and after a quickly taken penalty Manchester broke through to score. Ian Griffiths re-joined the fray and there followed a series of penalties in Manchester's 22. Rather than go for goal and possibly stretch their lead to 8 points, Hoylake chose to kick to touch, where surly a catch and drive would result in another 5 pointer. However, rather than simply catch a drive, a over complicated move saw the ball knocked on and the chance to close the game gone.

Minutes later and again the referee took exception to Hoylake's play at the breakdown, this time Matt O'Hanlon was sent to the sin-bin. Despite playing with only 14 men Hoylake managed to hold on and deny Manchester any score during the 10 minutes. Mark Wylie replaced Ritchie Young, who'd had a great game on the back row. As the game went into the last few minutes Hoylake were conceding too many penalties and were hanging on grimly, some last ditch tackling and turnover gave a moment of release, Then right on the stroke of full-time Manchester broke through after several phases of play. The conversion wasn't an easy one but the result hung on it's outcome. As the kick left his boot there was a huge cheer from the Manchester faithful, however, it was optimism over reality. The kick missed, the referee blew for full-time to the huge relief of Hoylake's players and spectators.

Every player in red, white and green played with their heart on their sleeve today, knowing how important this game was to our survival. In the back line, Tom Selby-Milic controlled the game well, keeping Manchester honest with some sniping breaks and tactical kicking, Liam Rushworth and Joe Lavin made several breaks with their elusive running. Jake Woods was his usual self being everywhere around the park and any could have been Man of the Match, that accolade went to 2nd row Tom Corkhill, who controlled the set piece well and made some telling breaks. With players now starting to return from injury and numbers increasing at training, things are finally starting to look up but the hard work must continue.

Despite the win Hoylake remain at the bottom of the league just a point behind Ruskin Park, and 4 points behind Manchester Medics. With Hoylake due to visit both these team in the coming weeks and a game in hand if required, their fate is still a long way from being decided.

Next week Hoylake have another ‘must win’ game as we travel away to 12th placed Manchester Medics, which will require another step up in intensity if we are to get anything from a difficult fixture.