Ormskirk brush off Bolton to progress in Lancashire Plate

Mar 5 2009 by Our Correspondent, Ormskirk Advertiser

Ormskirk brush off Bolton to progress in Lancashire Plate

ORMSKIRK stormed into the third round of the Lancashire Plate with an emphatic 71-0 victory over Bolton at Green Lane on Saturday.

Hat-tricks for wingers Andy Wroe and Luke Parker were the highlight of the day as Kirk ran in 11 tries in a one sided affair. Gareth Little scored twice while Ray Doolan, John Curley and James Illingworth also crossed the try line.

Ormskirk dominated right from the start as Bolton’s defence struggled to cope with the home side’s expansive attacking play. It was only in the scrum that Bolton’s determined pack found parity although it was not enough to prevent a rout.

Curley was the first to score after seven minutes as the Outside Centre collected a deft kick through from John Armstrong, before rounding the Full-Back to score under the posts. Illingworth then doubled the lead, intercepting a pass from Bolton’s number 10 and sprinting 60 yards to score.

Parker then claimed two scores, one in each corner, in quick succession to give Ormskirk a 38-0 lead at half-time.

The second period started as the first had finished, with Kirk in complete control. Wroe, who had come on as a substitute, made his mark on the game with an outside break before side-stepping Bolton’s Full Back and sprinting in under the posts.

A superb break through the centre channel by Ben Davis set up the next try as the Number Eight offloaded to Andy Wilson, who in turn set up Little to score under the posts.

In the final quarter of the match, Wroe and Parker completed their hat-tricks in fine style while Doolan capped another impressive performance with a try of his own. Armstrong added five conversions and Andy Healey claimed three. Hutton will be the visitors to Green Lane for the next round although the date of the tie is still to be decided.

Ormskirk 2nd XV claimed an impressive 18-10 win at home to Buxton. Johnny Cobbold and Andy Montrose scored tries with Barry Whalley and Phil Armstrong each kicking penalties to seal the win.

The 3rd XV lost 33-0 away at Christleton and the 4th’s lost 50-7 at home to Upper Eden.

Next week, Ormskirk return to league action in South Lancs Cheshire One, with Winnington Park the visitors to Green Lane. In the corresponding fixture earlier in the season, Kirk ran out 39-27 with tries from Andy Healey and John Curley.