Vale of Lune 9 Macclesfield 11: Vale give their opponents a difficult afternoon

Vale of Lune were beaten 11-9 by Macclesfield in their NW1 league match last Saturday when, weather-wise, it was not an afternoon for the faint-hearted, writes BARRY LEES.

The initial 15 minutes play took place in Vale’s half as the high winds made each clearance and place kick a lottery.

Playing towards the clubhouse, Vale scrum-half Billy Swarbrick’s box kicks from the base of the rucks repeatedly soared into the sky before returning disappointingly close to where they had been launched.

It was Macclesfield who took the first points with a penalty from 30 metres as the ferocious winds abated for the ball to fly straight.

This gave hope to both teams and after a Jamie Mayall 50/22 kick to the right corner, he took a similar penalty to equalise.

Ben Gould came on at full-back and, in the Vale front row, Archie Fowler made way for Tadgh Butler, who put his power to good use in gaining the hard yards which ended with a first man-of-the-match award.

A Vale score looked possible before the break but, despite a prolonged phase, the lead didn’t come their way.

It was looking promising for the Vale to strike prior to the break, but, despite a prolonged phase, the crucial lead went missing.

A half-time score of 3-3 said more about the weather than it did about the participants.

The restart saw Vale’s top tryscorer from last season, Harm Dokter, make his first outing since knee surgery.

He was soon in the heart of the action but Macclesfield regrouped well and created a break for the game’s first try.

The northerly wind now gave the impetus to Vale, who saw Jamie Mayall keep his focus and find the target with the boot.

When he did it again, the crowd forgot the dismal weather and revelled in the possibility of a win against pre-match expectations.

With both teams chasing a win, the stakes were elevated and tensions rose accordingly.

Vale’s Sam Wallbank felt the referee’s ire and was sinbinned before a close-range penalty restored Macclesfield’s lead.

The final whistle brought a mixed sense of achievement as although four points for a win didn’t go Vale’s way, they showed a tremendous disrespect for the form book.

Speaking afterwards, Vale head coach Mark Goodman said: “The lads were resilient and fully committed. We will build on this.”

Saturday sees the Vale take their NW1 campaign to Wirral RUFC and, because of the clock change, kick-off will be at 2.15pm.

Vale of Lune: Fowler, Bradshaw, Crompton, Sutcliffe, Goodman, Ayrton, Lashley, Wallbank, Swarbrick, Mayall, McGarvey, Clifton, Walton, Cook, Macfarlane. Replacements: Butler, Dokter, Stevens, Gould.