LEEK v STRATFORD, MATCH REPORT

Adam Kelly, Ed Cheadle and skipper Bobby Cheadle were in the front row. Ed Harrison and Phil Tomczak were at lock. Luke Staton was at No.8 and George Hunt and Andy Thompson were on the flanks.
Dan Needham was back at scrum half partnering Gary McDermott. Bulli and Nick Palmer were in the centre with Sam Horton and James Floyd on the wings. Isaac Reaney was at full back.
On the bench were father and son, Jason and Reece Milner accompanied by Ollie Drew.

On a perfect Autumnal day for rugby Leek kicked off and saw immediately the problem they were to face most of the afternoon as the Stratford backs made 2 strong runs in between Leek kicking the ball to clear. The 2nd of these runs saw the excellent full back sprint in for the opening try on 2 minutes on the left. A superb conversion followed to leave Leek 0-7.
Credit then to Leek’s players who forced their way back into the game and a scrum on Stratford’s 22 on 7 minutes led to the flanker being caught offside and Gary McDermott’s successful penalty reduced the arrears to 3-7.
Leek were pressing on 13 minutes in the Stratford 22 again and the maul was causing problems but as the ball came out Bulli knocked on to stop a promising move.

The game was evenly contested then for the next 20 minutes as Leek’s pack tied up the loose Stratford forwards and negated the ability of the backs to move. Then on 32 minutes Stratford won a penalty for holding on in the tackle but the attempt went wide and 4 minutes later a forward pass on Leek’s 5 metre line prevented a 2nd try for the visitors.
Coach Ian Gittens brought Jason and Reece Milner on at this point and Leek’s next scrum won a penalty. However the pressure was building and on 38 minutes Stratford mauled over the Leek line but couldn’t get the ball down as Reece Milner superbly held the ball up. The resulting scrum was disrupted by Leek but still Stratford were pressing and Bulli was yellow carded on 40 minutes after a series of penalties. Then on 41 minutes another penalty for a high tackle under the posts allowed the simple penalty success to increase the lead to 3-10.
As the half wound down, a Stratford scrum on half way then released the backs and the inside centre made a great step and then a pass to the full back saw him score a great try. The conversion was good and as the half time whistle blew, Leek were 3-17 down and facing an uphill task.

Could Leek respond? 2 minutes into the 2nd half and Leek’s scrum destroyed their visitors put in which resulted in a penalty at the next ruck for not rolling away. McDermott’s 40 metre attempt however went wide.
Bulli came back on but Stratford had another penalty on 48 minutes but it was missed. From a lineout then outside Leek’s 22, a pass off the top had the backs in motion again and the full back scored his 2nd try with Leek’s backs unable to put a tackle in. The conversion missed but at 3-22, Leek needed to score next. The Moorlanders won a penalty from the kick off and they went for the lineout in the 22. A maul then saw the home side unable to release the ball and Stratford cleared on 55 minutes following a front row offence. The line on the half way had Leek running the ball across field. It was dropped and led to the centre pouncing on it and the Stratford 12 went in for his 2nd and the side’s 4th bonus point try as Leek’s day went from bad to worse.

The conversion was good and at 3-28 on 58 minutes, it would take a miracle to get back into this game for Leek.
Finally Leek started showing some ball retention as the forwards produced a series of rucks and on 64 minutes the Stratford No.8 was yellow carded at the end of a series of offences for the away side. McDermott slotted the penalty to get to 6-28.
Still Leek couldn’t take advantage and on 68 minutes they lost the ball on halfway. The scum half chipped the ball into Leek’s 22. The excellent full back retrieved the ball and flicked it up for the wing to score Stratford’s 5th try. The conversion was good.
6-36.

Leek were still not giving up and they were rewarded on 72 minutes with their only try. A ruck on half way and quick hands had Nick Palmer and James Floyd exchanging passes. Then a tap back from a defender had Floyd retrieving the ball and his inside pass to Bulli saw the centre sprint over for a consolation try. McDermott converted to improve the score to 13-36.
A 2nd yellow on 77 minutes for Stratford as Leek’s maul was brought down deep in the 22. A quick tap had the chance for another try but a forward pass stopped the move. Stratford had one last chance as well but a similar forward pass prevented a score.
In the end, Leek were fighting to get out of their own half as the final whistle blew and the home players knew they had been well beaten by a very good side.

This was a hugely disappointing display after last week’s promising draw at Stoke but showed the Moorlanders the required level in order to be competitive in this league. Stratford moved to the top of the league as Burton lost their first game of the season at home to Worcester.
Leek remain in 13th place, one place above Walsall where they travel to this week. Kick off is at 3pm. Please come and support the team.
There is then a free weekend before the Moorlanders are in action at home again when they host Whitchurch on October 24th. Kick off 3pm.