ANDERSON'S HAT TRICK OF TRIES SEES SHAW CROSS DEFEAT THE ROOSTERS

SALFORD CITY ROOSTERS 12 V SHAW CROSS SHARKS 36
NCL LEAGUE 1 @ HALLSWORTH RD 2.30PM 20 JUNE 2015

SALFORD EARLY SECOND HALF CONVERSION PULLS IT BACK TO 6-8

A powerful hat trick of second half tries from Jordan Anderson made the difference tell between these two sides on a overcast and wet Manchester afternoon.  In fairness to Salford they trailed just 8-0 at the break but even though they secured two tries, one right on the whistle, the second half was dominated by a powerful Shaw Cross side.

ARRIVAL IN ECCLES VIA METROLINK TRAM

So as ever a quick look at the day and the start from base was on a very busy Manchester train that got even busier at Sheffield but after a few minor delays over the 'tops' Piccadilly was arrived just behind time.
Having secured a Metrolink tram almost immediately to Eccles the fare of £3 seemed a bargain mind you up until Media City it was a case of 'up close and personal' so maybe not the bargain it may have seemed at first!
It was a first visit to Eccles and this area of Manchester, indeed the only thing that sprang to mind on visiting was the cakes and Ken Barlow's dog of the same name on Coronation St  The town has a nicely positioned church which was doing a good trade with its jumble/craft sale and the small precincts were brisk with people.  There was not too much to keep me in the town so a walk along Liverpool Rd to the ground beckoned and first impressions were as of most city areas lots of small businesses mixed in with lots of run down old buildings.  After a short walk Peel Green was arrived at and a small stop off in the local supermarket for some provisions gave us a little break before the final 10 minutes took the blog through the side streets and Hallsworth Rd. 

THE APPROACH TO THE ROOSTERS HOME

Thankfully I had done a bit of research because there are not too many signs of the club from the end of the street.  As the club house opens up with a small car park to the right is a larger fenced off area with car parking possible and behind this and protected by spiked topped school perimeter type fencing is the main floodlit pitch with 4 poles either side.  Behind the main pitch is a second playing area which is not floodlit, the whole area seems to have a public footpath around it making the ground hard for the club to control, I guess. 

WELCOME FROM THE ROOSTERS

Back to the clubhouse a friendly welcome at the bar were small 7up was selected and the chance to have a little perusal of the memorabilia that is familiar to most rugby clubs adorned the walls.   Roosters PR man Ken kindly provided the blog with a photocopied team sheet along with also telling us of a late change a little later.

HOME TECHNICAL AREA WITH ROOSTERS PR MAN COMPILING HIS MATCH REPORT

Outside the rain was now sharper in drizzle format but a quick circuit of the ground was undertaken and a few pictures taken.  As previously mentioned there is not a lot here on site with a grass surround with one side uncut, the whole area is railed off with the old type concrete posts and metal bars.  There are no dug outs just marked out 'H' and 'A' technical areas on opposite sides of the pitch, very reminiscent of the old Welbeck FC ground in the Central Midland Football League, sadly there is also a lack of some sort of scoreboard.

HALLSWORTH RD GROUND

Although I guess its all about keeping the area as safe as possible and as with many clubs the few people here who are keeping it going are working their socks off to keep amateur rugby league going in the area.  The ground is separated from the busy M60 up the tree lined bank by Worsley Brook.
Salford City Roosters is the name the club seemed to have settled on after, I believe, Eccles ARLFC and Eccles Roosters until 2014.

WARM UPS IN PLACE

Having gone back towards the clubhouse for a few moments dryness it was soon time to return pitch side with the rain still quite sharp.  Entrance fee of £2 paid along with a decent effort of a programme included, its worth pointing out again with a crowd of around 50 here today it does make you wonder what people want when value for money like this is offered in sport as opposed to the professional games prices.
During the first half it was a case of trying to get some steady pictures in the dark conditions but it was also nice to catch up during the afternoon with quite a few of the visiting supporters including full back Sam Ottewell's granddad with whom we had a little chat about Batley and Dewsbury.

OTTEWELL GOES OVER TO MAKE IT 8-0 TO SHAW CROSS

The first half saw Shaw Cross complete 40 minutes 8-0 to the good with two unconverted tries.  Ben Gledhill first and then a quality weaving run by Ottewell as he dummied past a few on the way to going over after 17 minutes.  At this stage you expected Sharks to romp away but with credit to Salford they fought hard and kept the score line the same at the turn round.
Then within a minutes of the re start they pulled it back to 6-8 when Will Rigby went over and Joe Marchant converted.  This seemed to be the signal for the visitors to up their game and within 5 minutes a try from Andrew Fawkes and the conversion opened up a gap again at 6-14.

ANDERSON SECOND HALF TRY

A devastating session of play saw Shaw Cross secure four tries in 17 minutes including a hat trick from Anderson on 58, 64, 74 minutes, the middle one a lovely effort from  turnover from Shark's sheer commitment,  the first and the latter were converted the middle effort of the three was not.  Mixed into that spell of dominance was a further try on 67 minutes with Martyn Holland supplying Will Poching the chance to convert.  As the game drifted away in the last minute Salford proved they had never given up with a try in the last minute from Andrew Muscat and a successful conversion pulled the final score back to 12-36.

A FURTHER ANDERSON TRY

During the second half I had got into further conversation with Shaw Cross Supporters and one gentleman kindly introduced me to their PR man Ryan Conway who it was a pleasure to meet.

RYAN CONWAY PR MAN FOR THE SHARKS DOES A POST MATCH INTERVIEW

Over the last few weeks regular readers will have noted my frustration at some clubs lack of promotion for their upcoming games never mind promoting their club, well it has to be said todays clubs can be excluded from this.  The Roosters were advertising this game from midweek and have since tweeted the final score and along side this Shaw Cross have a good website and a very active twitter feed, well done as a neutral and traveller to different games it is much appreciated and hopefully picks up extra interest from other fans for the clubs concerned.
So at final whistle I made a steady walk to the main road and having witnessed many Arriva number 10's passing me on the way to Manchester on my journey to the ground earlier in the afternoon I decided to forget the return tram ticket and take one of these hybrid electric double deckers back to Shudehill.  From the top deck there was a good view through Weaste and the Salford town centre before departing for a walk across Manchester for the train to return the blog to base.
A steady afternoon with two friendly clubs and hopefully both sides will find some success in the remainder of their season Normanton Knights visit Shaw Cross for a big game next Saturday and in two weeks time Salford have a big game in The Conference League Challenge Cup versus Egremont Rangers.
[There will be a few additional pictures on the 'we all stand together' Facebook page too]

THIS WEEKS TRANSPORT PICTURE IS IN THE MAIN ARTICLE
SO HERE IS SOME MORE MATCH ACTION