Saturday 3rd December 2022

Regional 2 North Midlands

Belgrave 0

Leek 20

Leek won their 6th league game in a row with a hard-fought victory against a Belgrave side which battled hard all afternoon but which was undone by the fleet footed, Jack Newton Taylor, who registered his third hat trick of tries in the last 3 games.

Lee William, Oli Powell and Joe Newton Taylor started in the front row with Joel Hine and Joel Booth at lock. Joe Gorman was starting No.8 for the first time with George Hunt and Billy Kidd on the flanks.
McDermott brothers, Liam and Rob, were at half back with Jack Newton Taylor and Josh Nadin in the centres. Joe Byrne, Sam Brereton and Tom Scragg made up the back 3. Reece Milner, Jacob Armstrong Bainbridge and Kin Critchlow were on the bench.

Leek had the elements and slope with them in the first half but made heavy weather of controlling the ball against a brave defence and let several chances go begging with impatience and inaccuracy.
As early as the 2nd minute, a high tackle penalty had Leek with a lineout deep in Belgrave’s 22, but a poor pass led to a lost ball and Belgrave cleared. 4 minutes later and a scrum in the 22 led to a series of rucks before the ball spilled forward.
On 8 minutes, with Leek pressing again in the 22, an offside decision allowed Liam McDermott to kick a penalty to open the scoring. 0-3.
4 minutes later and another lineout deep in the Belgrave 22 was lost before a kick into the dead ball area gave Belgrave a 22 drop out on 14 minutes. The ball was scooped up by Jack Newton Taylor on the Belgrave 10 metre line and he darted through the defence to score under the posts. Liam McDermott successfully kicked the conversion and Leek led 0-10.
2 later chances went begging as Leek didn’t control the ball in the 22 before Belgrave had their first serious possession on 32 minutes. It led to the forwards being held up over the line and a goal line dropout for Leek.
As the half closed, Belgrave were running the ball out of their 22 but spilled the ball forward and Jack Newton Taylor gathered 30 meters from goal. His weaving run kept him clear of defenders and he touched down for his and Leek’s 2nd try on the left. The conversion missed but Leek led 0-15 as half time came.

The 3rd quarter was played out in midfield generally with Leek probing and Belgrave with more possession but unable to create pressure until the 63rd minute when the home side won a penalty for not releasing and chose to go for the lineout. Leek defended the drive and won the scrum.
4 minutes later and Josh Nadin broke up the left wing, but the dangerous move was foiled by a forward pass as the ball was moved to the right and then on 70 minutes Belgrave might have scored but for a final pass overthrown with the Leek defence stretched.
On 73 minutes, a strong maul into Belgrave’s 22, led to a penalty and lineout but the ball was lost. Still Leek pressured Belgrave and a clearance kick on 76 minutes found Joe Byrne on halfway. His pass to Jack Newton Taylor saw the speedy centre dart through a gap and out pace the last defender to score his 3rd try on the left. The conversion missed but at 0-20, Leek had a few minutes to try and win the bonus point.
Fair play to Belgrave though, the team worked hard to thwart Leek and their defence was excellent in the face of repeated runs from the Moorlanders.
The game ended in the gloom on halfway with Belgrave stopping another promising Leek move.

Final score – Belgrave 0-20 Leek

This was a tough game for Leek and mirrored the game earlier in the season at Leek with Belgrave denying Leek a 4th try then with their tenacious, organised defence. The win for Leek keeps them in 1st place on 48 points, but Long Eaton and Sutton Coldfield both had bonus point wins and move to within 2 and 3 points of Leek respectively. Melbourne drew at Matlock and remain 5 points away in 4th place.

The next 2 Christmas weekends see Leek playing at Esterchem Park on both occasions.
On 10th December, Sutton Coldfield visit for a huge game for both teams, and you are encouraged to come and support the team for what should be a great game.
Then on 17th December, Leek closes out 2022 with the visit of Leicester Forest. Both games KO at 2.15 with the latter match followed by Christmas festivities in the clubhouse.