Crewe & Nantwich 29 – Stafford 21

The opening game of the league season saw Stafford travelling up the M6 and into an overcast Cheshire. The two sides hadn’t met for several years, but pre-season form looked healthy for both teams, with each having decent wins the previous week.

Crewe started the game the brightest and were soon putting pressure on the visitors. The Stafford defence remained solid and held off several promising attacks but eventually succumbed to give Crewe the first try of the game. Stafford responded with a series of aggressive plays which battered their opponents into a well worked penalty, Rich Martin slotting the ball between the posts to steer the scores back together. Another Crewe try restored the home side advantage and another Rich Martin penalty hauled the visitors back into the game. The play was relentless and bruising as both sides started to amass injuries. Two more Crewe tries closed the half with the home side securing the bonus point and holding a sizeable lead over the travelling Cathedral faithful. Stafford went into half time trailing 22 – 6, but having held their own for long periods of the game.

An inspirational half time talk by the coaching team worked wonders for the visitors. Stafford took to the pitch breathing fire and prised open gaps which had eluded them in the first half. The Crewe defence was left standing as Danny Duggan hacked the ball forward, showing good footballing skills, and stretched a hand across the line to grab Staffords first try. A subsequent minor altercation resulted in a yellow card for both teams, reducing the game to fourteen a side. This unsettled Crewe more than Stafford, who struggled to contain a resurgent attacking performance from the visitors, Nick Oxley eventually shouldering his way across the line to score Staffords second. As the confidence surged, Danny Duggan danced through desperate hands to score Staffords third of the afternoon and narrow the scores to a 1 point gap. The pace and ferocity of the match really began to show at this point as both benches contained a strong complement of walking wounded and the pitch was festooned with patched up players. With the game balanced on a knife edge, both teams created opportunities, but it was Crewe who finished the game with a last minute try to deny Stafford the reward for a superb second half performance.