Heaton Moor 21 – 0 Didsbury Toc H

Toc H made the short journey to Heaton Moor with several changes to their backline. Tom Rooney still carrying a knock from the previous week was replaced by Dave Hoare on the wing and Joe Bradbury came in at fullback to replace the absent Sean Bishop. Also veteran centre Dylan Williams was also unavailable for selection, and he was replaced by James Southall.

This was the first competitive encounter between the two sides for many seasons, and both teams had shown good early form in the league. The match was played in fine conditions on a good pitch, but there was a telling breeze which Didsbury had use of in the first half. The opening exchanges were tight as both teams battled to gain the upperhand, Didsbury dominated the scrummages from the start but Moor looked dangerous out wide. Both teams cancelled each other’s efforts out until 20 minutes when a Didsbury indiscretion allowed Moor to break the deadlock with a penalty. Heaton Moor soon extended their lead with a try in the corner, giving them an 8-0 lead. Didsbury had chances in their opponent’s territory, but a mixture of good defence and bad decisions kept Didsbury from crossing the whitewash. Moor again furthered their lead with another penalty, creeping the score up to 11-0. With the game nearing halftime the Moor scrum half looked to thread a grubber kick through, only for the ball to land in the arms of Chris Mathews, who looked to race in from near halfway. Unfortunately the scrumhalf atoned for his error with a last gasp tap tackle just as Mathews seemed likely to score. The ball was cleared and the score remained 11-0 at the interval.

The second half was an unyielding affair, with both teams unable to make any decisive breaks through either’s rigid defence. At the midpoint in the second half it took a fine break in open play from the home sides stand-off , to set up a try out wide. The conversion was added, and the home side had an 18 point lead, a long way back for Didsbury to even take a losing bonus point. Heaton Moor added another penalty to increase the lead further and despite Didsbury bombarding the tryline in the dying moments of the match they were unable to cross.
A disappointing result for Toc H, but after 3 straight wins to start their campaign in a higher league this will act as an eye opener to the side. Next Saturday Didsbury host Fleetwood, 3pm kick off at Ford Lane.