Glossop retained possession of the ball and attacked relentlessly from the kick off and the pressure led to an early penalty which Glossop number 10 Liam McGovern converted to give the home side a 3-0 lead.
The visitors then got themselves back into the game and were particularly impressive in the scrums. However on the halfway line Glossop managed to steal a ball against the head and scrumhalf Chris Sonczak raced in unopposed. McGovern converted to push the Hillmen into a 10-0 lead. The visitors then got a penalty of their own to reduce the deficit to 10-3.
The Glossop forwards made some punishing runs, with prop Jack Bailey to the fore but
both defences were on top and cancelled each other out for a spell before Glossop centre Zak Round, scythed his way through, under the posts for an easy conversion. Glossop now looked comfortable at 17-3. Both sides then swapped penalties to see the half time score 20-6.
In a bizarre start to the second half and with both teams suffering injuries and having to make changes, Douglas clawed the score back to 20-20 with two converted tries with Glossop hardly touching the ball. It remained this way until the final 10 minutes when firstly McGovern slotted a penalty to ease Glossop’s nerves and then shortly before time, lock Marshall got a try for the home side to see a final score of 28-20. In the dying seconds of the game Douglas went for the posts with a penalty of their own which would have seen them gain a deserved losing point. Sadly for the visitors, the kick was short and wide and the final whistle blew.
Picture by Elizabeth Baines (Chris Sonczak drives forward with the ball)
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