​Matlock RFC secure a crucial win over Wolverhampton

Matlock kicked off and were soon camped in their opponents’ half and despite looking threatening an early chance was missed when a clear overlap wasn’t executed.

However, on seven minutes the early pressure paid off when James Fairclough slipped through a gap in the visitors’ defence to score out wide, unconverted.

Matlock kept on the pressure and on 22 minutes they had a midfield scrum which saw Simon Wright break blind to feed Callum Massey-Campbell who in turn put Fairclough through a gap to draw a defender and send Harry Morton over in the corner. The conversion was added for 12-0.

Wolverhampton began to get into the game but Matlock turned them over and when Sam Ball cleared up field he was late tackled giving Matlock a penalty kick at goal which was wide of the target.

With the weather becoming more inclement Matlock again built some pressure and were rewarded with two more tries in the space of two minutes. The first followed a very dominant five metre scrum that pushed the defending pack back over their own line and Massey-Campbell beat Simon Wright to the touch down.

The second came from a strong run by Tom Cruttenden and the ball was recycled via Simon Wright who put Harry Boyd over out wide for the bonus point try. Fairclough’s conversion was on target and Matlock led 24-0 at half time.

The second half began in worsening conditions but Matlock maintained the upper hand with the scrums and line outs both going well, however a number of promising opportunities came to nothing and a series of penalties, including some for careless but not dangerous high tackles, gave the visitors some rare attacking opportunities.

On 65 minutes Mike Allen made a good break taking play to the five metre line. Desperate defence from the visitors resulted in a penalty at the breakdown. Matlock chose to have a scrum and another strong drive saw Cruttenden touch down. The conversion was again off target – 29-0.

Wolverhampton again worked hard to get something from the game and another conceded penalty gave them a strong attacking position. Conor Loughnane was shown a yellow for not rolling away and the visitors saw their chance but Matlock’s herculean defensive effort on the line eventually gained the turn over when the visitors were held up over the line.

Fairclough’s goal line drop out to half way and excellent kick chase forced a knock on by the visitors. Matlock gathered the loose ball and James Harrod sailed through a gap to race 20 metres before passing to =Cruttenden in support to brush off a couple of tackles and side step past the last defender to score a fine try. Fairclough added the extras for a final score of 36-0.

A good team performance brought this much-needed victory but the squad knows there is still much to improve on before they travel to Newark on October 14.