Didsbury Ex A (3’s) v Oldham 3’s (a) – Saturday 8th October- 51-24

Didsbury Ex A (3’s) v Oldham 3’s (a) – Saturday 8th October- 51-24

We had already won the game by the time we arrived. Problems with their 2’s travelling away meant they had to concede that game, and by the laws of the league our game too. Good to get another win, but with points difference looking potentially significant in the race at the top of the league, this was a bit of a disappointing start. The fixture went ahead as a friendly as it would be a good test and training exercise for us as their team was now a combination of their 2’s and 3’s.

We started a little slowly and for the first part of the game and were guilty of missing a few tackles. It can be difficult to fully commit to a game which in some ways doesn’t count but this was most unlike the Didsbury team. However, some direct running from the forwards resulted in a try a little against the run of play but we were off and running. Oldham came back with some excellent kicking from their fly half who constantly turned us around and the Oldham catch and drive from a lineout saw them score and start to equalise the game. We were then dragged into something of a forwards battle, which was daft in some ways as the Oldham team were very strong in the forwards and this resulted in a number of turn overs and a creeping frustration in the team as Oldham started to put pressure on across the pitch and on the scorecard.

Didsbury were able to maintain parity and showed clever progress through the backs particularly when starting to move the bigger Oldham side around. Half time showed a 24-24 scoreline. The impressive thing with this Didsbury side is the capacity to play as a team and to adapt. The older heads in the squad provided useful constructive input and a collective agreement to a conscious change of approach – use our fitness, get through the lines, disrupt and, importantly, move the ball to our backs who had the beating of the Oldham back line.

This worked from the off in the second half with a score for Didsbury directly from the kick off and this somewhat set the tone. More excellent direct running from the Didsbury forwards but with more intelligent lines and away from the forward power with great support across the team meant that we continued to push ourselves ahead.

As the second half progressed, further Didsbury team tries across the backs and forwards and a clearly fitter side meant that we pulled away and won the game convincingly 24-51
Oldham were excellent hosts and the game was played in a tough but excellent spirit.
The Didsbury 3’s again recorded another good result and, more importantly, have showed again that this is a team. The collective performance was again great to see and this is why no names are included in this piece: the team works, adapts, scores, and wins as one, not as individuals. Onward we go.

Next game is at home to Marple 3s this Saturday.

Thanks to Matt Shanahan for the report and Oli Carr for the photo