THORNHILL TROJANS 15-12 OULTON RAIDERS

This was a controversial game to say the least and the unfortunate thing is that the furore surrounding the intervention of the match officials at key stages, masked the fact that this was a much needed win for Thornhill.

Not only did the narrow victory bring an end to Thornhill’s losing sequence, but it ensured that Paul March ended his reign as Head Coach on a high, before he moves on to take up the Head Coach position at York City Knights.

The controversy in this game at times bordered on farcical as the referee chose to show three yellow cards and three red cards to ensure attention was diverted away from two well matched teams of players, onto the actions of the officials.

This was unfortunate as there were some sparkling individual playing performances. The official man of the match was Rob Copley as he proved to be a steadying influence at full back. Copley was a sound last line of defence and linked well with his team mates when joining the attacking line.


Ben Kendall takes on Steve Jakeman and Lee Williamson.

There was also a tremendous effort from prop Shane Davies as he quietly set about his business of making the hard yards for Thornhill in the middle of the field. The good work of Davies was complemented by that of debutant Anthony Harris and youngster Ben Kendall.
The teams remained locked in a stalemate for the opening 25 minutes until a George Mack penalty goal opened the scoring.

The teams remained in an arm wrestle until a slight altercation between James Folan and Carlos Sanchez resulted in the referee reaching for his yellow cards to reduce the game to 12 a side.

Oulton then suffered a one man handicap when the referee chose to sin bin Danny Stanley for throwing a punch. With emotions simmering as the teams turned around at half time, with the Trojans holding a two point lead, no one could have really envisaged how the constant intervention of one touch judge would stir up emotions so much.

Despite being a man down at the second half commenced it was the visitors who scored the first try of the game. This came from a quick play the ball in front of the Thornhill posts. A pass from the acting half position created a gap a mile wide in the Thornhill defence. Darren Robinson took the pass and strode between the posts for a try which he converted himself.

But then the first of three red cards was brandished by the referee. Thornhill’s Scott Redgwick was tackled on the ground close to the touch line and tried to get to his feet despite a defender still grabbing his head. To everyone’s surprise the touch judge entered the field with his flag held high. The referee stopped the game and raised a red card. There was some confusion as to who had actually been sent off but the referee clarified the situation by saying that Scott Redgwick had been seen to raise an elbow and would now no longer take any further part in the game.

A penalty goal from Darren Robinson followed to nudge Oulton further in the lead but then the referee called a stop to proceedings once again. The same flag waving touch judge had once again entered the field of play demanding the referee’s attention. This time the touch judge had spotted Oulton’s Sasch Brook apparently kicking out as he tried to play the ball. On the advice of the touch judge the referee once again reached for his red card to bring a premature end to Sasch Brook’s afternoon of rugby.


Danny Lee dives over for the Trojans opening try after a typical barnstorming run.

 With emotions now running high it is all credit to the way Thornhill remained focused and pressed forward to turn this game around. It was from a penalty situation that Thornhill pressed forward to score their first try of the game.

Danny Lee (left) timed his run to perfection to run onto a pass and go over for a try between the posts.

But then with the Oulton players grouped behind the posts, Thornhill players in their own half ready for the restart and with George Mack lining up the conversion attempt the same touch judge had a whisper in the referees ear.

The referee held up the goal kick while Thornhill’s assistant coach Scott Dyson was sent off for alleged Touch Judge abuse. Off went Dyson and George Mack kicked the goal to level the scores.

With everything now to play for Thornhill suddenly moved into the driving seat when George Mack put over a drop goal to create a one point lead. The victory for Thornhill was then confirmed when a wonderful pass from Richard Pachniuk was flipped into the path of Matthew Roberts. Roberts took the pass to charge over for a try which George Mack converted.

Right at the death, from a scrum down, Oulton flung the ball along the line to overstretch the Thornhill defence. An overlap was created and winger Tommy Griffiths went over for an unconverted try in the corner.

With both teams emotions running high at full time, over the sequence of controversial decisions, it was difficult to differentiate between the winning and losing sides.

Match report compiled by Andrew Byram.  Match Photos Here

Trojans Stats:
1 R Copley
2 C Walker
3 J Firth
4 B Hardacre
5 S Redgwick
6 L Morley
7 G Mack
8 S Davies
9 R Pachniuk
10 D Lee
11 M Roberts
12 V Johnson
13 A Broadhead
Subs:
14 B Kendall
15 J Folan
16 S Woodcock
17 A Harris
Scorers:
D Lee 1 try
M Roberts 1 try
G Mack 3 goals
G Mack 1 dg

Cards:

J Folan
S Redgwick
S Dyson
Trojans M.O.M.
R Copley

Oulton Stats:
1 A White
2 T Griffiths
3 S MacDonald
4 S Jakeman
5 A Holdsworth
6 G Wood
7 D Robinson
8 L Williamson
9 A Bowden
10 C Sanchez
11 B Kershaw
12 O Graham
13 D Stanley
Subs:
14 S Brook
15 M Falkingham
16 S Goodhall
17 I Booth
Scorers:
T Griffiths 1 try
D Robinson 1 try
D Robinson 2 goals
Cards:
C Sanchez
D Stanley
S Brook
Oulton M.O.M.
C Sanchez
Team P Pts
Wigan St Pats 8 14
Leigh East 8 12
Skirlaugh 7 12
Leigh Miners 8 12
East Hull 8 11
Castleford 8 10
Trojans 8 8
Hull Dockers 8 7
Oulton 7 6
Siddall 8 6
Rochdale 8 4
West Hull 8 4
West Bowling 8 2
Eastmoor 8 2

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