Ormskirk III 34-0 Formby Vikings

Jan 17 2013 by Our Correspondent, Ormskirk Advertiser

ORMSKIRK third XV didn't quite know what to expect when they set out to face Formby Vikings.

They had been told during the week that Formby had lost their pitch and were now playing fixtures at St. Mary's ground.

The rumour mill also had them short of players and sadly this was the case. With half an hour to kick off Formby were short of the 9 players required in order not to concede the fixture. Ormskirk having travelled with a full complement and 5 players on the bench and did the honourable thing and supplied them with 4. Luckily Formby managed to find two extra players.

The Ormskirk pack used their vastly superior weight difference to their advantage. Some direct running from the likes of Green, Buxton, Dolce and Denholm soon had the Formby pack on the back foot. Ben Mitchell one of the Kirk players who kindly played for Formby was awesome in his efforts to thwart the rumbling machine that soon kicked up a gear.

Domination at the set piece from the Ormskirk front row of McDermott, Povey and O'Donovan gave their opposite numbers a master class in retreating at a rate of knots.

This forward play soon made space for man of the match Mahood to demonstrate his gazelle-like running which eventually led to him touching down three times.

The backs also made significant impression with sniping runs from Quirk and swift delivery that gave Bailie time to run the show. He was equally as good at unleashing the outside backs as he was kicking to the corners.

Newman at inside centre, returning to the team after a several year hiatus, proved difficult for the Formby defence to cope with on the crash ball. At outside centre young flier Tom Povey showed his pace and deft footwork to score a try and prove why he is the third team’s top try scorer.

In attack and defence the back three of Bennett, Cheung and Barton were lethal in attack and provided a stern defence.

Try saving tackles from both Cheung and Barton helped keep the home team with a score of nil. Bennett who is fast becoming a deadly finisher came away with two tries. The powerhouse boot of Barton was responsible for the extra points with his kicks at goal.