THORNHILL TROJANS 14-22 EAST HULL

Thornhill Trojans pushed league leaders East Hull all the way in this entertaining clash in Overthorpe Park.

So much so that it needed a late penalty goal from East Hull to finally put an end to this brave effort from the Trojans who still find themselves in the relegation zone.

At the hub of this brave effort for the Trojans was man of the match Richard Pachniuk with some telling runs from dummy half. One such run ended with Pachniuk scoring a well deserved try.

The game also featured impressive efforts from young Ben Kendall in the second row and Thomas Marsden on the wing. Kendall was outstanding on both attack and defence and Marsden always looked a threat with ball in hand.

Not only did he bust Easts open with some almighty runs, but also pulled off a string of copybook tackles to bring a stop to several dangerous attacks.


Richard Pachniuk tries to break the tackle of Liam Reed.

Thomas Marsden was a tower of strength of the Trojans out wide and seemed to become more dangerous as the game wore on. Marsden proved to have pace and strength in abundance as he took play forward for the Trojans. For his efforts Marsden ended the game with a brace of tries to his name.

It was just short of the quarter of an hour mark before the game saw its first try. This went to East Hull when a long ball out to the wing overstretched the Trojans. Winger Tommy Brett took the pass and dashed around two stranded defenders to score an unconverted try out wide.

During the opening exchanges Thornhill’s best chance of a try came when Shane Davies was held on his back over the line. A Scott Dyson penalty goal after Easts had been penalised for holding down narrowed the deficit slightly before substitute James Folan entered the game for the Trojans.

Almost immediately after entering the game Folan was penalised for kicking out in the tackle whilst trying to regain his feet. From this penalty Easts pressed for the Thornhill try line. A final burst saw Gary Weymes power over the line for a try taking three Thornhill defenders with him. Gary Blanchard converted.

James Folan was then sent to the sin bin for a professional foul. This came about when Easts were trying to take a quick tap restart. Folan got in the way of the restart and the referee showed him a yellow card.

But it was whilst down to twelve men that Thornhill scored their first try of the game. First Richard Pachniuk made a great run towards the East line. The ball was then worked from right to left down the attacking line. Ben Hardacre appeared to have been tackled in possession but somehow managed to slip a pass out which found Thomas Marsden on the wing. Marsden took the pass and reached over to score an unconverted try in the corner.


Thomas Marsden somehow squeezes over for a try.

 But with Easts hold on the game now reduced to four points Thornhill were caught napping.

Easts were awarded a penalty and ran the ball. The visitors then opted to kick forward on the first tackle and give chase.

The kick was high and the ball bounced awkwardly causing mayhem in the Thornhill defence.

The ball bounced perfectly for Gary Weymes to run onto and go over for a try which Gary Blanchard converted. This try was right on half time.

This close encounter then suddenly boiled over five minutes into the second half. Players rushed in to settle their differences. Once the officials had restored order Thornhill’s Danny Lee and a bleeding Gary Weymes were shown red cards.

It took a while for tempers to settle down but once they had Richard Pachniuk nipped over for an unconverted try from acting half. This try was soon cancelled out with a try from East Hull when they made good use of a penalty situation.

An excellent final pass out to the wing put Tommy Brett away on a run and over for an unconverted try in the corner. This was a real blow for the Trojans, but despite now trailing by ten points they showed grit and determination to keep battling.

This determination to keep battled paid off for the Trojans and they scored the try of the game. First James Craven made a break up the wing to take play towards the half way line. Play was then switched to the opposite wing to Thomas Marsden.

Marsden the broke away and proved to be unstoppable as he powered down the wing, evading several Easts defenders. Marsden crossed for a fantastic wingers try to cut the deficit to six points.

Thornhill battled until the death to try and take something from this game. However, in the final minute a penalty goal from Gary Blanchard made the two points safe for the visitors.

Match report compiled by Andrew Byram. 

Trojans Stats:
1 R Copley
2 J Craven
3 M Roberts
4 B Hardacre
5 T Marsden
6 S Dyson
7 L Morley
8 J Watson
9 R Pachniuk
10 A Harris
11 B Kendall
12 S Davies
13 J Firth
Subs:
14 D Lee
15 K Talbot
16 J Folan
17 M Oldroyd
Scorers:
R Pachniuk 1 try
T Marsden 2 tries
S Dyson 1 goal
Cards:  
J Folan
D Lee
Trojans M.O.M.
R Pachniuk

East Hull Stats:
1 J Abdul
2 S Painter
3 M Johnson
4 D Page
5 T Brett
6 G Blanchard
7 S Yeaman
8 L Brown
9 G Norris
10 P Jordan
11 I Madley
12 L Reed
13 L Lilley
Subs:
14 G Weymes
15 C Bassett
16 L Cator
17 D Blakeley
Scorers:
G Weymes 2 tries
T Brett 2 tries
G Blanchard 3 goals
Cards:
G Weymes
East Hull M.O.M.
S Yeaman

Team P Pts
East Hull 15 25
Leigh Miners 15 24
Leigh East 15 20
Skirlaugh 15 20
Wigan St Pats 15 20
Rochdale 15 16
Castleford 15 14
Siddall 15 14
West Hull 15 14
Hull Dockers 15 13
Oulton 15 12
Trojans 15 10
West Bowling 15 4
Eastmoor 15 4

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